Lonnie Johnson is a prolific guy. Not only has he helped do a risk assessment for the Atlantis space shuttle, he helped get the B-2 stealth bomber off the ground and he gave us the Super Soaker. Well, he has done it again, and this time he may have made solar power viable. His latest project is called the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter or JTEC and as Paul Werbos, director of the National Science Foundation, says "It has a darn good chance of being the best thing on Earth." Now that's a statement.
The JTEC stands to double the efficiency of the best solar cells running today. It has no moving parts and produces no waste. When I was a child I believed that in a few short years we would be doing things like the Jetson's and everything would run clean and simply. Well now it seems like we are well on our way and I think it's pretty exciting. We aren't exactly the Jetson's yet, but a machine able to double the energy production of a current solar cell and be competitive with coal (but cleaner) is pretty awesome.
Great article, Mallary! This seems like really promising technology. In the past, one of the biggest obstacles to using large scale solar power systems has been costs. They simply weren't economically feasible without some level of government subsidies. With this new technology being twice as efficient, it should really drive down the cost per kilowatt hour and make solar energy that much closer to being a practical alternative to coal and natural gas generated power.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that solar power may have the ability to be a primary factor of providing energy is pretty exciting. Now it seems like it is just a supplementary form for many buildings and processes, or a primary form for small things that don't require energy.
ReplyDeleteIt is exciting to see the change in the use of solar power. The fact that there is no waste with this method is even better too. It makes the invention even better for the environment.
But, I don't know if it passes the super soaker for awesomeness. I still bring it out during the summer!