Cheap solar panels in development
A team of Welsh scientists at Bangor University are planning to copy the manner in which plants take in sunlight, in a bid to create cheaper solar panels.
By mimicking photosynthesis, the intention is to bring solar energy more within the budgets of families across the UK and increase the use of electricity produced by renewable means.
Dr Peter Holliman, from the University’’s School of Chemistry, told icwales.co.uk: "We aim to test the feasibility of extracting the membranes from within the (plant) cell and attaching them to electrodes to create efficient low-cost solar energy harvesters."
He added: "It is already known that such solar cells are capable of generating very small currents from sunlight. Here we are aiming to increase these currents in order to develop a viable commercial technology."
Dr Holliman will spend a year working on the experiment, which is funded by the UK?s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Current solar panels cost in the region of £5,000, beyond the capabilities of most families, so their use is normally restricted to businesses.
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May 13, 2008 by The Editor
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