Solar Cell
A cell that produces current under sunlight.
The main types of solar cell are:
- Polycrystalline Solar Cell - cheap to make as the conditions required to produce the silicon wafers do not need to be so tightly controlled. The downside is they are no so efficient.
- Monocrystalline Solar Cell - more expenive to make as the crystals are grown under carefully controlled conditions. Higher efficiency than Polycrystalline cells.
- Amorphous Solar Cell - the silicon is deposited on a backing substrate. These cells are not as efficient as the monocrytalline cells but they do perform better in low light levels.
In a square kilometre of sunlight there are 1,000 megawatts of solar power, the equivalent of a large nuclear power plant. Even if only 10 or 20 percent of the sunlight’s energy is extracted as electricity, the area of the solar cells will not be much larger than what we currently devote to nuclear, gas, or coal plants.
- Energy can be stored at night (and during cloudy days) in a number of different ways:
- batteries
- hydrogen
See also: Amorphous Solar Cell, Concentrated Solar Power, Energy Return on Energy Invested, Monocrystalline Solar Cell, Photovoltaic Cell, Polycrystalline Solar Cell, Renewable Energy.
- Weblinks:
- Earthtoys Alternative And Renewable Energy News, Emagazine And Library.