Author Topic: "Solar Power Will Soon Be 90% Cheaper Thanks To 3D Printed Panels" (it won't)  (Read 1785 times)

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Offline Helio_CentraTopic starter

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Some starry-eyed noob shared this article in a 3D printing group.

https://medium.com/predict/solar-power-will-soon-be-90-cheaper-thanks-to-3d-printed-panels-720d21b63748

Using organic carbon diodes instead of silicon is an interesting idea, but it will never produce anywhere near the same power. And Before these things ever came to market they would switch to silk screen printing on the carbon instead of 3D printing it. So the writer is also naive.

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Dr. Dastoor’s panels are only 3% efficient at most and only last for two years. Compare that to a silicon panel that is 20% efficient and lasts over 20 years. This means that over a lifetime, a 3D-printed organic solar panel will only produce 1.5% of the power of a silicon one. Due to the fact that purchasing the solar panel is the majority of the cost of solar power, this would make 3D printed solar power nearly 7 times more expensive per kWh than standard solar power.

90% cheaper in the title, 7 times more expensive if you read the article.

 

Offline MrMobodies

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Moreover, 99% of the panel is made from recyclable PET plastic, and the organic solar ink can be recycled using cellulose nanocrystal substrates or can be disposed of safely. This means that the panel’s end-of-life is inherently very environmentally harmonious, which is more than can be said for our current solar technology.

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The cost savings of this technology is insane too. A square metre of 3D printed organic solar panel costs just $10, compared to a square metre of silicon panel at $100. Such a dramatic cost reduction can make solar power orders of magnitude cheaper than anything else we have and would set it as the golden standard of energy generation.

I wonder about efficiency where there is nothing here to reflect the light back and I mean with the backsheets.

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Well, not quite. There are two major issues with them.

Dr. Dastoor’s panels are only 3% efficient at most and only last for two years. Compare that to a silicon panel that is 20% efficient and lasts over 20 years. This means that over a lifetime, a 3D-printed organic solar panel will only produce 1.5% of the power of a silicon one. Due to the fact that purchasing the solar panel is the majority of the cost of solar power, this would make 3D printed solar power nearly 7 times more expensive per kWh than standard solar power.
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3D printed organic solar panels is a technology in their infancy. There have only been a few people researching them for a handful of years, so it is no wonder that they can’t hold a candle to silicon solar with its 50+ years of research and innovation. Despite that, it seems these new panels may soon overtake :bullshit:  their big brother and cause a second wave in the solar revolution  :bullshit:. The big question is, will this happen before it is too late?

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Solar Power Will Soon Be 90% Cheaper Thanks To 3D Printed Panels
Being in it's infancy how can they just a make a claim that it will be 90% cheaper and overtake everything else.

Not impressed with the claims.
 
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Offline james_s

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I guess there could be applications for dirt cheap short lived solar panels in disposable items, however I think they'll probably mostly be a nuisance, used in stuff like cheap solar garden lights that are not sold as disposable but effectively are.
 

Online SiliconWizard

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Yeahhhh. Isn't there some AI and graphene in there too?
 
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Offline Helio_CentraTopic starter

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  AI and graphene

You could use AI to control your 3D printer, and graphine is just carbon in a special structure. So this is doable!
 

Offline Someone

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    • send complaints here
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3D printed organic solar panels is a technology in their infancy. There have only been a few people researching them for a handful of years...
ha ha, because that 3D printing part is somehow improving upon the already well known and researched organic solar panels?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sensitized_solar_cell
No.
Yeahhhh. Isn't there some AI and graphene in there too?
Graphene is "old" news in this field, but perhaps AI could drive another round of money wasting grants.
 

Offline thm_w

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The "3D printed" part was just shoehorned in, probably by the person that wrote this article, to get more views. I wouldn't consider it 3D printed at all, if you read the other articles they just call it printed.

And we do have some decent results with printed flexible panels (12%): https://scitechdaily.com/printing-solar-cells-on-thin-films-for-cheaper-and-more-efficient-solar-energy/
Profile -> Modify profile -> Look and Layout ->  Don't show users' signatures
 

Offline JPortici

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The "3D printed" part was just shoehorned in, probably by the person that wrote this article, to get more views. I wouldn't consider it 3D printed at all, if you read the other articles they just call it printed.

If it's printed and it's not on paper then it's 3D printed duuuuuuuuh??????
What do you expect from medium?
I have this very useful extension installed on my browser that lets me block results from the search engine. First site i blocked was of course quora, then medium. Search results are becoming more and more relevant and with good content, but the size of the first page has shrinked a lot
 
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Offline RJSV

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   "Recyclable PET type plastic"...?
  How come not made from;
   "Actual recycled PET plastic"?

...AND...the INK can certainly be;
   "discarded, safely".
Thanks, that's good to know.
 


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