[CleanEdge]: Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, has achieved an unprecedented conversion efficiency for a terrestrial concentrator solar cell.
Using concentrated sunlight, these photovoltaic (PV) cells can convert 36.9 percent of the sun’s energy to electricity, a technology capability that could dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy.
Concentrator cells do require more surface area to focus extra light on the cells, but the assumption is that optics are less expensive than cells, hence better overall economics. But PVs can already be effective and economical in many regions today at ‘lower’ efficiencies, especially in ‘integrated’ applications like roofing shingles. Not everyone needs to drive a Ferrari…
