nano

 We've been highlighing our favorite solar innovations for a while. In fact one of our readers' all-time favorite posts is about a spray-on technology.

 Although that particular product isn't quite ready for general market release, there are some other impressive ones that are.

Some of the most efficient and amazing improvements are from the world of nanotechnology.

Photovoltaic laminates were invented in the 70's, so it's pretty well expected that there will be ongoing improvements in the ways that PVs are developed and produced. In particular, there's a fascinating thin film technology that comes from Nanosolar in California, where they make solar cells into an ink that they spread on foils. They coat the foils with the ink using a method like a printing press. This speeds up production faster than your traditional methods. It is solar cell production in great mass.

Silicon wafers are fragile, where thin film is ink. Both act as semi-conductors to create electricity.

Thin is the operative word, as these films are 100x thinner than the traditional silicon. It is also interesting that thin film nanotechnology reduces required silicon by 90%, which therein held much of the high cost. However, the heavy glass that protects thin film ink is somewhat pricey. Check out www.nanosolar.com for the pdf and overview on thin film nanotechnology photovoltaics.  You can also find a video posted on JetsonGreen a while back that highlights what they are up to!

What are some of your favorite new technologies in solar? 

7 Steps in the Lifecycle of a Green Product7 Steps in the Lifecycle of a Green Product

Despite claims to the contrary, products with zero environmental impact do not yet exist. But
these new approaches to green design point to a day when that might just be possible.

By Martin C. Pedersen

As we set out to create a green-products issue, we were confronted with a pair of dil­emmas. Amid all the hype and hot air some real progress was being made, but as Ray Ander­son told us in 2004, “No one should be claiming sustainable products. There is no such thing yet in terms of zero footprint. What you can do is demonstrate reduced footprint.” This remains true today—and yet the dizzying array of new efforts boggles the mind. There is no shortage of products claiming the green mantle. So how do we mark this vast but imperfect moment? Borrow­ing from the Okala Design Guide (www.idsa.org/whatsnew/sections/ecosection/okala.html), we’ve organized our stories around the life cycle of green products. Since there is still no perfect product, think of these as seven pieces of a Platonic whole, a set of best practices, and a possible road map for a new model of twenty-first-century manufacturing.

More at: http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2998