Cafe Science
Solar Power
“3D Printing could be a game-changer” not our words but the words of next generation energy consultant John J Licata. In his blog on the Guardian today Licata explains how 3D printing could revolutionise the solar energy industry.
It seems to us that solar power has not really moved on from the calculators that we used in school. There’s the odd roof in the U.K. with solar panels on but they tend to be expensive to fit with little incentive from the Government to encourage greenness.
In a recent YouGov poll solar power was behind nuclear, wind, and tidal as the power British people felt like should get the most support. However 65% of people still wanted to see the government invest in solar power. So what next?
Licata says that the main problem with solar power is installation cost, due to production and shipping fees. 3D printing could decrease those costs by up to 50% by “eliminating many of the inefficiencies associating with the waste of costly materials such as glass, polysilicon or even indium.”
Expert, Licata also goes on to say that 3D printing could do away with the heavy-duty panels you see on roofs and lead to a more flexible and effective solar powered technology. Could this see a huge upturn in the fortunes of this fading tech?
