10 December 2013 Carlos García Garzón

Jaén Scientists create very efficient solar panels

Researchers at the Solar Energy Group at the University of Jaén have designed a prototype solar panel can transform into electricity 43 percent of the sunlight it receives , compared to 15 percent of conventional plates .

This is possible thanks to a system of lenses and mirrors to concentrate the sun beam in more efficient photovoltaic cells.

The new model also reduce costs because it uses less amount of silicon , the main and most expensive component of solar panels .

The solar PV is the jewel in the crown of renewables in Spain , at least from the point of view of R & D. From the perspective of the social impulse , it seems not much , considering the latest government policy to tax the energy produced by these sources. A kind of tax to the sun as a measure to reduce electricity deficit.

In recent years , the scientific challenge of the PV sector has been manufacturing panels with greater ability to concentrate energy , maximizing sunlight. The multi millionaires have allocated resources to open new lines of research , both in the field of materials – looking new cheaper and more efficient silicon semiconductor as in the techniques for enhancing sunlight.

In this sense , the use of lenses ( flat or curved ) and mirrors are not new , but a team of scientists from the University of Jaen has managed to combine these techniques with the manufacture of a type of smaller cells. The result is a revolutionary prototype from the point of view of efficiency