Solar contacts: silver bullet?
The front contacts in today’s solar cells are made of screen-printed silver. Thus solar cells absorbed 11% of 2021’s silver market, and growing. Solar silver contacts can be substituted with…
Power grids: when will wind and solar peak?
…solar heavy grids. This 12-page note draws conclusions from the statistical distribution of renewables’ generation across 100,000 x 5-minute grid intervals. $499.00 – Purchase Checkout Added to cart Wind and solar are…
Wind and solar: what CO2 abatement costs of renewables?
…CO2 avoided. We have written a research note (below) aiming to answer this question and this data-file contains the underlying modelling. https://thundersaidenergy.com/2023/12/07/solar-and-wind-what-decarbonization-costs/ The CO2 abatement costs of solar and wind…
Solar module production by company?
The world produced over 400GW of solar modules in 2023, which is up 10x from a decade ago. This data-file breaks down solar module production by company and over time,…
Solar volatility: interconnectors versus batteries?
…cross-correlate with solar. Can power transmission lines offer a solution? We explore this option on pages 10-16, including some deep-dive modelling. The results are fascinating. Annual solar volatility is 96%…
Model of losses in a solar cell: surface, emitter and shading?
This data-file calculates the losses in a solar cell from first principles. Losses on the surface of the cell are typically c4%, due to contact resistance, emitter resistance and shading….
Solar and wind: what decarbonization costs?
The costs of decarbonizing by ramping up solar and wind depend heavily on the context. But our best estimate is that solar and wind can reach 40% of the global…
Solar Energy: Where’s the IP?
This data-file tracks 110,000 solar patents filed by geography, by company, by year, since 2000; but particularly in 2019. $299.00 – Purchase Checkout Added to cart Solar patent filings peaked in 2012-13…
Energy Costs of Constructing Solar Assets
This data-file quantifies the energy costs of manufacturing solar panels, based on 10 studies and prior projects. We see the average solar project requiring 5MWH/kW, with a 2.3-year energy payback,…
Solar water heaters: the economics?
…rooftop solar water heaters based on global average insolation and gas prices. In contrast, our best estimate is that solar and wind can reach 40% of the global grid for…