New research highlights the challenges of significantly boosting solar cell efficiency. Instead, they propose innovative approaches like making solar panels more adaptable and optimizing their arrangement for enhanced solar energy capture, offering promising avenues for global solar energy improvement.
The researchers were interested in finding out if solar cells, devices that turn sunlight into electricity, could be tweaked to perform better in different parts of the world, where the concentration of solar light may be higher. To examine this, they usedmodels and neural networks to understand how the sun’s radiation would behave in different spots on Earth.
Imagine solar panels that can flex and fold like origami or become partially transparent to blend seamlessly into surroundings and make them easy to install. By enhancing the durability and versatility of these panels, they could be integrated into a wide range of settings, promising longevity and efficiency.