A Paint That Generates Electricity?
Oh it’s almost too good to be true, isn't it? But here it is... a new grant to investigate the possibilities even further, sealed this month with a £1.5 million cheque, allowing further development of a photovoltaic solar-cell-paint which can do just that!
The idea of being able to build up layer upon layer of photovoltaic ‘cells’ in this manner has limitless possibilities, especially when painted onto the flexible, non-corrosive durability of manufactured steel surfaces.
Paint is currently applied to steel when it is passed through rollers during the final stages of the manufacturing process, and it is Dr Worsley’s hope to be able to apply the same type of process to ‘build up’ layers of the solar cell system.
The aim is to produce cells that can be painted onto a flexible steel surface at a rate of 30-40 square metres per minute.
Working together in the newly funded collaboration with Swansea University is the Bangor University, University of Bath and the Imperial College of London.
Dr Worsley says;
"Corus Colours produces around 100 million square metres of steel building cladding a year. If this was treated with the photovoltaic material, and assuming a conservative 5% energy conversion rate, then we could be looking at generating 4,500 gigawatts of electricity through the solar cells annually.
That’s the equivalent output of roughly 50 wind farms."
That’s the equivalent output of roughly 50 wind farms."
Woo hoo for the new look Aussie outback tin-shack of the future. Those sheep shearing sheds and classrooms can all be air-conditioned now, almost for free?!
Is that another irony I see coming?
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In what way?
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sounds like a brilliant idea!
It could be used in car duco too.
imagine the skyscrapers covered in it, all supplying their own passive power needs.
However, as you hint at, the electricity companies would not be too amused if their supply demand dropped drastically...
We may never win on that score I guess.
cheers
fog
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The way I see it is that neccessity is the mother of invention, and as such the electricity co's will eventually loose their monopoly and it'll become as deregulated as Telstra did the day mobile phones hit the streets...
Meanwhile, these wonder-inventions fill me with so much hope for all the options I will be able to take to affordably 'power my own life,' maybe even sell some back to the grid for the poorer citizens and rentals, etc.,
I can;t help but be optomystic I guess, just to be aroudn to see how it plays out : either way, as I have made my peace
Lilla ...
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just wondering if you would be kind enough to visit my last post, regarding one million names for the petition for suppprting Tibet, and maybe put your name on the petition, and if you will, maybe ask some of your pals to go to the petition site and put their names down too.
I would much appreciate it if you would.
cheers
fog
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Wow what a clever idea. Ingenuity at it's best.
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thanks for the info as always, hope you are well
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you bet, I realy hope they can work the kinks out of this one, too.
Sorry for delay in replying ... been interstate to see Autumn elswhere, full story on Extra Ordinary Life post.
Lovely to see you again...
Lilla ...
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Never better, I've been interstate, sampling Autumn elsewhere (full story on new Extra Ord. Life post)... otherwise it's wonderful to be back, and front and sideways...
I'm with you on this one and my mind boggles at the uses it will have when perfected... a real breakthrough indeed... exciting is the best word for it, no doubts.
lovely to be able to share that excitment with my fellow envirorbalists ...
Will visit you soon,
Lilla ...
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I think car Duco is an absolutely brilliant idea!
Bravo... and yes skyscrapers... hey whot!
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Sometimes I think that putting solar heat-assisted steam turbines in the really hot places of the world must make sense. I wonder how the math on that would work out, and e.g. how it compares to the solar paint.
Cheers, jill
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That's a really sensible suggestion ... I 'll look into it and see if anyone is doing that - or thinking of doing that - anywhere on the globe, yet?
It makes perfect sense that every available means of harnessing free energy is about to become the very next staple mainstay of our civilisation ... personally I can't wait, as the idea of floating fossil fuels in the atmosphere is absolutely one of the silliest ideas I ever heard of and true to my own beliefs, slowly killing us all with our "affluence" and good lifestyles... *chuckle* I'd take a little less good, thanks.
We live in such interesting times as the changes take shape, don;t we?
Lilla ...
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It makes the mind boggle with the possibilities... but we all know, 'free energy' has been there for a long time... it's just been waiting for the 'bottom line' to fall out.
Personally, I can't wait.
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It makes the mind boggle with the possibilities... but we all know, 'free energy' has been there for a long time... it's just been waiting for the 'bottom line' to fall out.
Personally, I can't wait.
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*laughs* Yeah, I was quick to forget that aspect of it, because of the energy potential ... but a really valid point in a world of shrinking resources.
cheers
Lilla ...