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Video direct sunlight solarcell3/19/2023 ![]() Syngas can be burned directly, or converted into diesel or other hydrocarbon fuels. While plants produce fuel in the form of sugar, the artificial leaf delivers syngas, or synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide. “Instead of producing energy in an unsustainable one-way route from fossil fuels to greenhouse gas, we can now reverse the process and recycle atmospheric carbon into fuel using sunlight,” he said. “The new solar cell is not photovoltaic - it’s photosynthetic,” says Amin Salehi-Khojin, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at UIC and senior author on the study. A solar farm of such “artificial leaves” could remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and produce energy-dense fuel efficiently. Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored in heavy batteries, the new device essentially does the work of plants, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel, solving two crucial problems at once. A provisional patent application has been filed. The finding is reported in the July 29 issue of Science and was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy. This can help communities make plans for possible space weather-related power outages.Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. The GOES-R Series satellites have space weather instruments that can detect approaching space weather hazards. It can also impact the performance of the power grid. Space weather is caused by energy and charged particles being released by the sun. For example, information about cloud formation can help in determining where to build solar power plants and what type of solar panel technology will capture the most energy.Īnother way that weather satellites help with energy issues is in the detection of space weather. Information from weather satellites can be important in deciding the best spots to capture it. Cloud top height information is useful for understanding where these clouds will cast shadows on solar panels. ![]() on May 14, 2020, represent measurements of cloud top heights in kilometers. They can use this information to track and predict the movement of clouds and estimate the amount of sunlight that will reach solar panels.Ĭolors on the left side of this GOES-16 imagery of the Continental U.S. GOES-R Series weather satellites measure cloud properties that can help energy companies predict solar energy production. How can weather satellites help?įrom their orbit 22,300 miles above Earth’s surface, satellites in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites – R (GOES-R) are constantly keeping an eye on Earth’s weather-including clouds. ![]() So, producing more solar energy than expected could potentially cause big problems. This balance is important because unexpected surges in the amount of available electricity can damage electrical devices, or even trigger a power outage. People who manage electrical grids – the electricity networks that connect electrical producers with consumers – must keep a careful balance between the energy they generate and the energy their customers consume. More sunlight means more energy, but that’s not always a good thing. ![]() Is more sunlight better for solar energy production? This phenomenon is called “cloud lensing” because the high clouds act as a lens, focusing the light in a certain region. One example happens when ice crystals inside of high-altitude clouds cause the sunlight to appear brighter than usual. However, certain cloudy conditions can be great for the production of solar energy. So, if you live in a place that commonly has a lot of low clouds, solar panels might not be able to produce as much energy as they would somewhere else. High clouds reflect less sunlight energy. When sunlight hits low clouds, most of that light is reflected back to space. ![]()
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