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IIRC all the efficient solar cells we currently have contains some rare materials. Once a particular solar technology reaches grid parity, the demand for the re
by nroets 11y ago
IIRC all the efficient solar cells we currently have contains some rare materials. Once a particular solar technology reaches grid parity, the demand for the relevant rare material will increase, placing a floor under the price of that solar cell.
In the case of Moore's Law, a transistor can be any size. By contrast, solar cells absorbs too little energy if they are too thin.
TL;DR: There are real physical limitations to solar cells.
- RamezNaam 11y agoTwo things have happened in this area recently. 1. The grams of rare earths required per watt of solar have been dropping steadily. And Solar PV panels with no rare earths at all have been developed, though they are not yet common. 2. "Rare earths" are not so rare. Their prices have tumbled substantially as new mines have opened up and substitutes have been found.
- joshuapants 11y ago> 2. "Rare earths" are not so rare. Their prices have tumbled substantially as new mines have opened up and substitutes have been found. Yes, but mining them is an environmental disaster.
- danmaz74 11y agoWhich is nothing compared to the environmental disasters that a 3 or 4 celsius degrees increase in the World temperature will bring us.
- mikeash 11y agoCan you quantify that? I'm seeing comments in this thread saying, over and over again, that manufacturing these things is an environmental disaster. But without numbers, the statement is meaningless. We are currently poisoning pretty much the entire planet for our energy needs. If we cut that down to, say, poisoning an area the size of Texas for our energy needs, that would be a massive win.
- DennisP 11y agoSolar is definitely far better than fossil. It's just not entirely clear that it's better than nuclear, especially with the advanced reactors that get a hundred times as much energy from the same fuel, and produce only a small amount of short-lived waste.
- Daishiman 11y agoHumanity is an environmental disaster. The issue at stake is avoiding the worse evils right now so that we can continue to lead a somewhat prosperous existence which, with some hope, will eventually become sustainable.
- crdoconnor 11y ago>IIRC all the efficient solar cells we currently have contains some rare materials. Yeah, but the super-efficient solar cells are not the cheap ones that everybody is putting on their roof. They're the ones going on the international space station. >Once a particular solar technology reaches grid parity It already did in about half of the continental US, about two years ago.
- selimthegrim 11y agoSome so called third generation cells do not necessarily contain rare earths, especially those invoking multiple exciton generation
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- mikeash 11y agoWho cares about efficiency or size? I mean that seriously. Right now, pretty much all that matters is cost per watt. For normal terrestrial uses, a 20% efficient cell loses out to a 5% efficient cell that's 10x cheaper. (Numbers made up on the fly with no particular basis.) We're not currently hurting for space for these things, and sunlight is free.