Apparently, Something Called 'Nanomesh' Just Tripled the Efficiency of Solar Power

Researchers at Princeton have evidently found a way to triple the efficiency of solar cells by using what they describe as a "nanostructured 'sandwich'" of metal and plastic to trap sunlight. See, most conventional solar arrays lose plenty perfectly good light when it gets reflected away instead of absorbed by the panels.

Enter the nanomesh. It looks like this:

Princeton News reports that " researchers, led by electrical engineer Stephen Chou, were able to increase the efficiency of the solar cells 175 percent" by applying that nanostructure to solar cells. The advance should "increase the efficiency of conventional inorganic solar collectors, such as standard silicon solar panels," though research is not yet complete on organic cells.

The greatest challenge for solar manufacturers is getting their cells to efficiently trap and process light; the steadily rising efficiency of solar panels is what's making them more and more viable with old school power sources like coal and natural gas. The Princeton researchers claim to have made a major stride in closing that gap.

Here's the News again:

With their new metallic sandwich, the researchers were able to address both problems. The sandwich — called a subwavelength plasmonic cavity — has an extraordinary ability to dampen reflection and trap light. The new technique allowed Chou's team to create a solar cell that only reflects about 4 percent of light and absorbs as much as 96 percent. It demonstrates 52 percent higher efficiency in converting light to electrical energy than a conventional solar cell.

If this nanomesh solar consistently produces these results, and it can indeed be manufactured affordably, as Chou believes it can, it would be a gamechanger. Better, cheaper, more powerful solar; and closer to edging out cheap, dirty fossil fuels.