How New Technology Will Make Solar Power More Affordable

For home owners, there has probably never been a better time to know how to make a solar panel. Thanks to a raft of tax credits and solar rebates coupled with the falling costs of the components of a solar system, installing solar power is cheaper today than it has been in years. Whats more, continuing research is exploring new avenues for making solar energy even more affordable.
Here are just a few of the technological developments that will enable people to tap into cost effective solar power.
Plant-based Solar Energy
Researchers at some of the world's leading universities have devised techniques for using plant cells to generate electricity vastly more efficient than current solar technology. But how does this work? Well, the photovoltaic panels isolate the plant proteins that are necessary for photosynthesis, the method through which plants convert the sun's rays into solar energy.
The end goal of such research is to one day build photovoltaic modules that are just as efficient as plants. Remember, photosynthesis captures and uses almost 100% of sunlight the plant's leaves are exposed to. Compare that with a conversion rate of just 40% for the vast majority of solar power units available in the market today.
Replacing silicon with dye
Dye-sensitive solar cells are made from a thin film where a photosensitized dye is used to convert the sun's rays into energy as opposed to the conventional silicon. The technology makes it no longer necessary to use expensive metals. While such solar cells are not necessarily cheap, they do provide significant cost savings. Interestingly, the biggest cost in the process of how to make a solar panel from dye-sensitive cells is the metal-based dyes.
But the metal dyes may not be necessary for long. New research has identified ways of using a resin for the dyes as opposed to metal. If such new technology makes it into the market, it will massively cut the cost of how to make a solar panel. So far, the only drawback has been the lower efficiency of generating power compared to silicon panels.
Replacing silicon with plastic
Dye is not the only thing replacing silicon on photovoltaic cells. Scientists have now identified ways of using lamination to build plastic panels. Plastic is not only cheaper but it is also sturdier and lighter. Lamination has also made it easier to automate the process of producing the panels. The static layers in the plastic panels are more resistant to weather-induced degradation thus allowing the panels to last that much longer.
Replacing silicon with copper and copper oxide - Copper is significantly cheaper than silicon (though far less visually appealing) and the discovery of ways of making solar panels from copper should open opportunity for lower cost solar power. Previously, the use of copper and copper oxide was hampered by its inability to retain doping agents for long - unlike silicon. To circumvent this problem in making solar panels, minute electric fields are used to realize the same results as conventional doping agents.