Solar Power 1.9
CANADA'S FIRST ROOFTOP BIFACIAL SOLAR PV INSTALLATION UNVEILING
I’d love to report that solar power has made a quantum level jump and give it a full 2.0, but it’s not quite there. I can see that day arriving, however.
Solar power is growing, both in deployment and in terms of technological advances. As these areas rapidly expand innovations are spurred by the convergence of laboratory research and real-world acceptance. That’s what happened in Canada recently.
Solar panels can be installed in all sorts of places. From rovers on Mars, to Christmas trees in Australia (home to the world’s largest solar powered Xmas tree), to backpacks.
And then there’s that old prosaic placement: rooftops. What more could be done up there, eh?
Of course, it’s precisely because rooftop PV systems have been around for so long that that’s where to look for innovations. In this case, the roof is on the headquarters of the Canadian manufacturer, DuROCK Alfacing International. Among other things, DuROCK makes reflective roof coatings. That white surface you see in the photo is DuROCK’s Tio-Coat urethane roof coating. It reflects 89% of solar radiation, allowing buildings in the summer to stay cool using less energy.
On flat rooftops (which cover most commercial buildings) PV arrays have to be placed at an angle to receive the most sunlight.
When the ultra-reflective roof coating is combined with angled solar panels, in theory, a new source of solar radiation can be harnessed. “In theory” because solar panels are made to receive light coming from one direction.
Enter Sanyo’s new “bifacial” solar PV modules. According to Sanyo, the two-faced panels, combined with the reflective roof, generate 30% more electricity than single-sided panels.
All I can say is “coolio!”
Look, I’m still just as excited about solar fibers and molten salt heat storage for concentrating solar power. High tech means high thrills. But, I also recognize that some of the greatest advances come from using old technologies in creative ways.
My guess is that Solar 2.0 will owe as much to new thinking as it will to new technologies.
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Good call on the incremental version number- I’d argue 1.5 even. Making cells a little more efficient is an increment.
Convention holds a whole number increment to be a paradigm change. I think when alternative energy is a non-event, like a checkbox on a building code inspection form instead of a bunch of head-scratching and work halts while the City Inspectors make a decision about “environmental impacts”, is when we’ve safely made that shift.
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