Day4 Energy Has Introduced A New Solar Panel Technology

Day4 Energy, A startup company in Burnaby, Canada, has introduced new solar panel technology, which will increase energy efficiency and decrease costs by 25 percent. President of Day4 Energy, George Rubin, has estimated that the cost per watt of solar power would be about $3 compared to the $4 for conventional panels. After months of research and experiments, Day4 has developed a new solar panel that has evolved in design and performance. The company has redesigned the solar-cell structure and has also developed a new electrode that allows these solar panels to absorb more light and operate at a higher voltage. This increases the efficiency from an industry standard of 14 percent to 17 percent, and these solar panels will generate more power than conventional panels do.

In conventional solar panels, the silicon that converts light into electricity is covered with a network of silver lines that feed into thicker wires called bus bars. Day4 replaced these bus bars with rows of fine copper wires coated with an alloy material, creating a new electrode. It covers up less silicon than the bus bars, leaving more area for absorbing light. In addition, less silicon was used in the production of this electrode, which allows more light to pass through to be converted into electricity. Although the new panels won’t be available for another 18 months, they are already in production.

Day4 Energy

e2 On Harvesting the Wind

A 3 minute trailer from the e2 series on PBS. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this particular video focuses on the story of a wind energy project taking place in southwest Minnesota. The farmers featured in the video have joined with a local developer to set up a wind farm, supplying energy to residents and businesses in their area.

According to Reuters, the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, United States wind power grew by 45 percent in 2007 and $9 billion was invested. In addition, through their annual year-end report, The American Wind Energy Association noted that wind power accounted for 30 percent of all new power generation in the US. In comparison, 2006 only saw a wind power growth of 20 percent and $4 billion was spent.