Kids love plastic – what if we made solar panels out of plastic?
Everyone knows solar panels are good for the environment. They are far better than any of the fossil fuel options, which literally kill people. For example, air pollution from coal still causes about 52,000 premature deaths a year in America alone. Despite their environmentally sustainable performance, the majority of solar photovoltaic panels are eventually landfilled as this is less costly than recycling standard EVA encapsulated panels. Previous studies found secondary uses for some old solar panels like picnic tables. What we need is an easy way to take solar panels apart – maybe we can skip the lamination? The purpose of this study is to overcome that environmental shortcoming.
Solar panels are often landfilled- a new study finds a way to recycle them indefinitely.
For the first time, a study investigates a novel laminate-free polycarbonate encapsulated solar panel design. This is accomplished by subjecting single-cell test mini-modules to reliability testing. Spectral transmissivity analysis is performed on the plastic sheets and current-voltage (IV) curves are prepared before and after module encapsulation to observe any performance drops due to the plastic optical losses (plastic is not quite as clear as glass). The authors threw the plastic modules through a whole series of mechanical tests (IEC 61215-1:2021-02 certification's core mechanical Module Quality Tests including 01, 06.1, 16, 17, and 20) to demonstrate the design's mechanical integrity.
How to make plastic solar panels
The results of this study revealed an 80% light transmissivity for the plastic sheets, and while substantially below solar grade glass, the loss is offset by the module's improved recyclability and potential for extended material reuse. The study demonstrated that the proposed encapsulation processes maintain cell performance within ±5% of initial electrical measurements. The module design successfully passed several IEC 61215-1:2021-02 sequences, including static and dynamic mechanical load assessments, but it failed hail tests, which demand future work.
Hail damage on rented truck on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, in Hitchcock. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) (Photo by Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
The module design, however, also achieved an IP68 equivalent rating for underwater testing. By eliminating conventional lamination, the novel design simplifies end-of-life processing, enabling intact recovery of solar cells for reuse or refurbishment. Overall, this study successfully developed a novel laminate-free plastic-encapsulated solar panel design that enables a circular economy framework. Although you should invest in solar now, perhaps your next solar investment will be made from plastic. It looks like they would work everywhere that does not get a lot of hail.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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