Solar cell breaks world record for efficiency

Department of Energy researchers claimed Wednesday to have broken the world record for efficiency in a solar cell.

Their cell converted 40.8 percent of light into electricity at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. They subjected the cell to the equivalent concentrated light of 326 suns.

Researchers grew the solar cell upside down on a wafer of gallium arsenide rather than thick germanium, and then removed the wafer.

The development could lead to flexible, lightweight solar cells used in land-bound, concentrated photovoltaics as well as in space satellites.

The previous record for photovoltaic efficiency was 40.7 percent. Scientist Mark Wanlass is credited for leading that design. A key innovation in those multi-junction solar cells was to space their atoms at uneven intervals. Researcher John Geisz led the team that expanded Wanlass' work to improve efficiency.

[biznatch11]

40.7% to 40.8%...really? Is that a typo or is 0.1% really a big deal when it comes to increasing solar cell efficiency?

[Joe Real]

"Their cell converted 40.8 percent of light into electricity at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. They subjected the cell to the equivalent concentrated light of 326 suns."

What is the context of this statement?
What is the context of the efficiency quoted?

Is the efficiency based on the total energy output divided by the total solar energy intercepted by concentrator area? Or is this a bogus efficiency measure where the efficiency is based on energy output divided by just the active solar cell area?

Do we need to concentrate the light 326 times in order to push the efficiency to 40.8%? And is that 40.8% based on the total intercepted area of sunlight?

[russkeller]

Unless the difference is the new version is cheap to mass produce I don't see any reason to get excited. It's like the whole green tech industry is about status symbols and not actually bringing this stuff to market.

[Kichchi]

Yes. russkeller is correct. Until such time any green-tech is commercially produced at sold at affordable prices the people are not going to be benefited. For example there are said to be that many models have produced for hydrogen driven vehicles how many of them have come into the market for common use. Something like "Pickens Plan for wind Energy" must come in not only to save on oil fuel but also to "Save Mother Earth".