PerthNorg

Solar Power Gets Really Really Economical

What would you say to putting solar power on your roof and giving the flick to Synergy?  Sounds pretty good doesn't it?  But has the price of tens of thousands of $$$ been putting you off? How about one tenth of that price?  Tempting huh?

Nanosolar have made the breakthrough by printing solar cells in thin films barely thicker than a coat of paint on a layer of foil.  Their cells don't use expensive silicon, and can be turned out in a continuous stream or even applied in place on things like vehicles.  And the cost?  Compared to silicon PV cells (SPVCs) which will run you (in Perth at any rate) about $600 for a 60W panel, probably around $40 or $50 if Nanosolar's press releases are believable.

 Conventional SPVCs supposedly cost $3 per watt of output, meaning that the glass and the frames and the profit margin adds another $7 per watt for all intent and purposes here.  Well since Nanosolar's product doesn't need glass and frames, that has knocked a huge amount off the cost of going solar. 

Given the amount of sunshine we get here in Perth, it makes sense to produce a citywide solar community here. We could be a world leader in the technology, showing the way to the rest of the world.  Imagine your life if your house generated enough power to run your air conditioning and refrigerator all year round, and had enough reserve to sell some power back to the grid for commercial use as well. 

And imagine if your petrol-electric hybrid had the roof painted in Nanosloar film and got better than 2.5L/100Km around the city. 

 If you lobby your local Kevin Rudd or politician of choice, (RIGHT NOW!  Go on, pick up your phone!) we might even see a sizable rebate from the government for power storage which is the other big cost associated with going solar.

What are you waiting for?  John Howard?   Come on, let's be the leaders in this rather than the stop-outs!