Sony Solar

Sony Corp today announced today the development of a dye sensitized solar cell that breaks the magic 10% efficiency barrier. Dye-sensitized solar cells use photosensitive dye and do not require costly and large-scale production equipment required for the production of traditional silicon-based solar cells.

Sony's new solar technology is still in the R&D stage and no decisions have yet been made about bringing the technology to market. Regardless, this is exciting news for two important reasons. First, 10% conversion efficiency is the minimum efficiency that energy analysts traditionally consider to be commercially viable (current silicon-based PV is around 14% efficient). Secondly, Sony brings its brand name, broad market reach, and deep pockets to the solar table.

Dye sensitized solar is an exciting new technology because of its potentially broad applications and dramatically lower costs. Current silicon-based PV cells require expensive sterile production facilities, like the ones required to produce silicon computer chips. Dye solar on the other hand requires no such facilities, can be incorporated into different media (paint, ink) and applied to a variety of substrates including flexible materials (as in the above photo). Think PV paint on the exterior of your car or house. Windows that allow for light to pass through and produce electricity at the same time.

I think that the traditional measures of efficiency and viability need to be rethought here. 10% efficiency requirements may make sense for expensive production controlled by big corporations, but much less so for cheap PV cells that will allow for decentralized energy production. If the paint on you car can help recharge the batteries while parked during the day at work, is efficiency that critical ? If the cost is minimal, the free energy is a plus, even with low efficiency. If we can cheaply turn most any surface into a power generator so much the better. For big corporation spending billions of dollars for centralized solar generators producing power to retail to consumers, a small gain in efficiency translates into millions of dollars, so efficiency becomes more critical. Also, the 10% efficiency figure is based on current energy prices, but given the increasing cost of petroleum-fueled power, renewable technologies with lower efficiencies become more and more economically viable.