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Cheap solar energy

Summary

27 June 2014

A new way of producing solar cells could make energy from the Sun cheaper than coal, gas and oil. The research by a team at Liverpool University has been published in the journal Nature.

Reporter:

Pallab Ghosh

Report

Solar cells convert energy from the Sun into electricity. The researchers have replaced a toxic¹ compound, used to make one type of solar cell, with a chemical that is much cheaper, completely safe and works just as well.

The new compound, magnesium² chloride, is used to make tofu and is found in bath salts. It's also found in sea water, and so costs much less than the poisonous chemical currently used.

Dr Jon Major, who led the research at Liverpool University, believes that the ensuing cost savings³ have the potential to transform the economics of solar energy.

Dr Jon Major, Liverpool University:

"Potentially you could reduce the cost of making these solar cells overnight. We think that this process could cause a step change in the cost of solar energy and that could really make the difference into making it competitive with fossil fuels."

More work will need to be done to see if the cost savings found in the lab can work on an industrial scale. But the cost of solar energy has been steadily⁴ falling. And many involved in research in the field believe that it's just a matter of time before it becomes cheaper than coal, gas and oil, and one day replaces fossil fuels entirely⁵.