Last summer I wanted to have my phone completely off of the power grid. The experiment used a $40 Solar panel set from Amazon and a $40 16000 mAh portable battery bank from Anker. The idea was that the solar panel would charge the large battery throughout the day. Upon returning from school or work, I would then charge my phone with the battery and reconnect it to the solar panel to recharge again in the morning.
On a macroscopic level, this represents a replacement strategy for coal power plants and even nuclear power plants. Use a solar panel of moderate efficiency in a solar farm, and store all of the power generated over the time the sun is on it on mega batteries. These batteries would then be connected to the grid in a certain way, and also through sets of generators to deliver the necessary variation of currents society is accustomed to. The solar farm, much like my little experiment, would need a few days to charge the batteries to maximum capacity. Then the batteries begin their period of usage, and the solar panels recharge those batteries during the day. The batteries must be of a high enough capacity to not run out during the day, and the solar cells must be of a high enough efficiency to at least level off power consumption at the peak of solar intensity.
This combination would make a solar farm power generating system viable and capable of replacing current installations. This solves the problem of putting a solar cell on all residential roofs, a massive undertaking legally for any company and lacking in efficiency in areas like Canada, most of Europe and the USA megapolis area. So when one decides to create infinitely efficient solar panels, they have missed a vital part of the power generation process, the battery.
This is where Tesla intends to come in. Musk intends his company to advance battery technology to the point that the balance between solar efficiency and battery capacity has been achieved. The parameters for such a balance are important to define in order to understand what companies and which projects are approaching this necessary technological and green system with the proper prowess. These parameters exist because of the limitations on both the battery and the solar panel industry. Solar panel efficiency has only been maxed out at 25% by solar cells. A massive array of solar panels in Nevada or California could take great advantage of such power. The battery industry is limited by its maximum capacity and recharge rates.
Much research and development has gone into the solar cell industry attempting to create more efficient solar cells. However, much more should be placed into batteries – not only to create an ideal green balance, but because of the fact that batteries are already an important part of our current tech world. Improving batteries in phones, cars and homes could greatly reduce the carbon footprint of many people before more efficient solar technologies come into existence.
