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Aluminium makes solar power super affordable!

In a world obsessed with fossil fuel for energy, the choice for renewable sources become an important decision to take for our planet and our future. The developing economies of India and China which are growing at an unprecedented rate consume natural fuel in gigantic proportions. The government and the organisations in these nations have assumed responsibility for this and are taking measures to curb the trail of our collective carbon footprint. Solar energy is a renewable form of energy which is plentifully available and does not damage the environment at all.

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. There are two important ways of achieving this. The first method is through concentrated solar power systems using lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The second is through Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect.

Solar Cells
In 2014, The International Energy Agency estimated that by 2050 under its "high renewables" scenario, of the worldwide electricity consumption, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power would contribute about 16 and 11 % respectively. This would make solar power, the world's largest source of electricity. Not surprisingly, it also predicted that most solar installations would be in China and India.

Harnessing electricity through solar power has huge benefits. It is 100% environment-friendly and very cost effective. In the mid-1970s, the average cost of a solar module cost around $96 (Rs. 6550 approx.) (Adjusting for inflation). Through persistent process improvements and a very large boost in production have brought that figure down to 68 cents (Rs. 40 approx.) per watt in February 2016, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In fact, Palo Alto, California signed a wholesale purchase agreement in 2016 that secured solar power for 3.7 cents (Rs. 25 approx.) per kilowatt-hour. 

Aluminium plays an important part in making the solar power affordable and its benefits accessible to a larger number of people. Solar panel customers and manufacturers both look to Aluminium to reduce prices and increase efficiency. In 2015, the Natcore firm announced it was replacing silver in its photovoltaic cell systems with Aluminium. It was a bold move which entailed using twice as much Aluminium into the cells than silver content. However, they were able to prove a point about the cost efficiency and scalability of the solar cells compared to other forms of energy without compromising on the performance in any way. 



 The company said, that the average solar panel was calculated to use around 15 grams of silver, which amounted to about 11% of raw material costs. The Aluminium studs incorporated into solar panel construction improved their performance after it was found that adding small studs to the panel surface bends and traps the light inside the absorption layer. This study was made at the Imperial College in London which also proved that the panels were 22% more efficient in creating electricity without adding prohibitive costs. The replacement of silver by Aluminium brought down the cost of the solar cells to a staggering 0.6% of the original costs in some cases!

The summary of the physics is as follows: “More energy is extracted from the light, in part because the system causes the rays to travel longer distances, extending the absorption time. Light passing through gold or silver studs is absorbed because it penetrates the studs, but with Aluminium, the light bounces, bends and scatters as it passes into the panel layer – all with far less costly materials too.”

India too is leading by example. In an article by the Aluminium Leader, “A large office complex called the Arcade building, with 120 offices at MVIRDC World Trade Centre at Colaba, is situated at the very tip of the Mumbai peninsula on the Arabian Sea. The company announced that its entire rooftop is now covered in Aluminium solar panels – and has become the first large company in Mumbai to move toward self-sufficiency in generating its own power.” This truly speaks much about the solar advocacy within our own country. 

So how has using solar energy to power the building helped them? 
According to the article – “The commercial enterprise has 808 solar panels spread across its 2,323 square meter roof, generating 250 kilowatts of peak power (KWp), a measure of power output when solar panels are under full-sun radiation conditions. The panels now represent a 30 percent cut in the company's annual electricity bill.” 

This is simply amazing!

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power
http://www.aluminiumleader.com/focus/aluminium_makes_solar_power_affordable/
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21709297-small-scale-solar-power-surging-ahead-africa-unplugged
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