Solar power is one of several up and coming technologies in the drive to create green energy and help preserve the environment. Solar energy works by converting the heat from the sun's rays to produce energy and, using, special panels to transform the energy into usable electricity. A research team at the University of California, San Diego has produce a new version of solar material that captures up to 90% of the rays striking it every day. This increases the efficiency of each panel and can produce more power per panel than ever before. Also, it is built to withstand temperature of up to 700 degrees celsius and survive many years outdoors enduring the elements. One of the advantages to the improved ruggedness of the new material is that it does not have to be replaced every year. Each year for a day or two, crews go around and chip off degraded solar material of the panels and apply new coatings before restarting the system. This means there is a significant amount of time where the panels are not in use and prevents electricity from being produced. It has taken the team three years to develop this breakthrough, but hopefully, with patents and grants from the government, the project will take off and create a greener planet.
Submitted by Jake Bennet
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