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28 February 2006 at 9:19 pm #30479Anonymous
Subject: South African solar power research eclipses rest of the world
South African solar power research eclipses rest
of the world
Willem Steenkamp
February 11 2006In a scientific breakthrough that has stunned the
world, a team of South African scientists has
developed a revolutionary new, highly efficient
solar power technology that will enable homes to
obtain all their electricity from the sun.This means high electricity bills and frequent
power failures could soon be a thing of the past.The unique South African-developed solar panels
will make it possible for houses to become
completely self-sufficient for energy supplies.The panels are able to generate enough energy to
run stoves, geysers, lights, TVs, fridges,
computers – in short all the mod-cons of the
modern house.Nothing else comes close to the effectiveness of
the SA inventionThe new technology should be available in South
Africa within a year and through a special
converter, energy can be fed directly into the
wiring of existing houses. New powerful storage
units will allow energy storage to meet demands
even in winter. The panels are so efficient they
can operate through a Cape Town winter. while
direct sunlight is ideal for high-energy
generation, other daytime light also generates
energy via the panels.A team of scientists led by University of
Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University)
scientist Professor Vivian Alberts achieved the
breakthrough after 10 years of research. The South
African technology has now been patented across
the world.One of the world leaders in solar energy, German
company IFE Solar Systems, has invested more than
R500-million in the South African invention and is
set to manufacture 500 000 of the panels before
the end of the year at a new plant in Germany.Production will start next month and the factory
will run 24 hours a day, producing more than 1 000
panels a day to meet expected demand.Another large German solar company is negotiating
with the South African inventors for rights to the
technology, while a South African consortium of
businesses are keen to build local factories.The new, highly efficient and cheap alloy solar
panel is much more efficient than the costly old
silicone solar panels.International experts have admitted that nothing
else comes close to the effectiveness of the South
African invention.The South African solar panels consist of a thin
layer of a unique metal alloy that converts light
into energy. The photo-responsive alloy can
operate on virtually all flexible surfaces, which
means it could in future find a host of other
applications.Alberts said the new panels are approximately five
microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick)
while the older silicon panels are 350 microns
thick. the cost of the South African technology is
a fraction of the less effective silicone solar
panels.Alberts said in Switzerland it was already
compulsory for all new houses to include solar
technology to lessen energy demands on national
grids.“And that was the older, less effective
technology. With our hours of sunlight, we will on
average generate twice as much energy than, for
instance, European countries.”While South African scientists developed and
patented the new, super-effective alloy solar
panels, other companies have developed new,
super-efficient storage batteries and special
converters to change the energy into the power
source of a particular country (220 volts in South
Africa).* Eskom spokesperson Carin de Villiers said any
new power supply that lessened the load on Eskom
was to be welcomed.She said Eskom was also doing its own research on
solar energy.“In fact, we are currently investigating building
what will probably be the largest solar power
plant, in the Northern Cape – a 100-megawatt
facility.”She added that Eskom was also researching wind and
fuel-cell technology as alternative energy
sources.* This article was originally published on page 1
of Saturday Argus on February 11, 2006http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1415&fSetId=513
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1 March 2006 at 8:51 pm #32845
a bit of more cautious info here: http://www.carbonfree.co.uk/cf/news/wk08-0005.htm
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11 January 2007 at 10:12 pm #32846
This is relevant and the site is a useful resource for assessing new energy technologies:
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Sliver_Solar_Cells
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