Investing in Solar Energy
Jul 24th, 2007 | By Penny Sleuth Contributor | Category: TechnologyA new approach to solar power has people looking at it, quite literally, in a new light.
While the ultimate source of solar power may be solar power satellites (SPS) — a source quite capable of single-handedly supplying all the power humanity could ever want — MIT Technology Review reports that a new Earth-bound approach is causing quite a stir.
The silicon used to make most solar photovoltaic (PV) cells is costly. Researchers have attempted to reduce the use of silicon via solar concentrators. However, being large and conspicuous, these are hard to integrate into housing designs.
Prism Solar Technologies has figured out how to use holograms to concentrate light. This should reduce the silicon required by up to 85%, thereby making solar panels cost-competitive with fossil fuels.
That’s at today’s prices — as India and China rocket upwards in their demand for oil and related products, solar will begin to look cheap by comparison.
Instead of large concentrators, the Prism systems use flat panels that contain holograms. Not only do they fit on rooftops, but they also can even be built into windows and glass doors.
Also, they are beautiful, giving off pleasant shifting rainbows of color when viewed.
Unlike conventional solar panels, the PV material is arranged in rows. Specially designed holograms capture the sunlight and redirect it until it reaches a strip of photovoltaics. Researchers estimate this will reduce costs from about $4 per watt to $1.50.
The company seeks $6 million from venture capitalists this year, and plans to start manufacturing first-generation products before 2007. It will sell them at $2.40 per watt.
At least two more opportunities to strengthen this product offering exist. First, I am aware of a VC-backed startup that has developed PV material that sprays on like paint. This material, while probably not as durable as the Prism approach, could supplement it by capturing sunlight in odd locations and on curved surfaces.
Second, holograms are not as powerful as conventional concentrators. They currently multiply the light reaching solar cells up to tenfold. Lens-based concentrators have been demonstrated to be up to 100 times more effective.
I believe it’s just a matter of time before researchers devise ways to make holograms more closely approach the efficacy of concentrators. That will drop the cost of solar even further.
It’s fascinating to watch recent developments in solar power. Just a few years ago, I heard scientists and engineers decrying attempts to milk more power from photovoltaics. They simply didn’t think the technology was amenable to major improvement.
We now know that view was wrong. It’s reminiscent of the U.S. Patent Commissioner who once opined that everything worth inventing had been invented (this was a century ago).
Solar power is coming. I’m continuing to scan the horizon for the most commercially promising applications of technology.
On the business side, companies are ever figuring out newer and better ways to make the return on an investment in solar arrays viable. I currently have a solar power holding like this in my Emerging Capital Report portfolio and will be adding another shortly.
To your profitable future,
Jonathan Kolber
July 24, 2007
P.S.: If these ideas interest you I urge you to check out my newsletter, which is packed with all kinds of these plays. I also focus on small pharmaceutical companies that have some kind of secret competitive advantage.
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