Solar Innovator

A solar innovator predicts the top 5 trends in solar’s future

Organic photovoltaics will allow solar panels to move off rooftops into other areas of a building, such as curtain walls, roof tiles (like Tesla’s offering), skylights, facades, and railings.These developments will also further boost developments in the battery field.

Controlled agricultural environments

We will see farmers use solar technologies for things like net negative energy greenhouses.These will be made possible by increases in efficiency but also by new materials, like self-cooling greenhouses powered by solar energy.Another example will be sustainable desert agriculture, where tech is used for cooling energy.The concept of agrivoltaics, where land is used jointly for food production and energy production through solar, will become more prevalent.

Photocatalysis

Photocatalysis is a process where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen, an effective method for converting solar energy or sunlight into clean and renewable hydrogen fuel.Developments in solar tech will facilitate the catalytic reactions needed for water splitting, and “green hydrogen” will be of critical importance for the fight against climate change, for things like developing carbon-neutral fuels.

Solar charging stations for EVs

As electric vehicle adoption continues to increase, the charging infrastructure will have to grow with it.Solar-powered charging stations will take advantage of developments in better battery technology and will help refuel EVs without straining the grid.Electrek spoke with Derya Baran, assistant professor of material science and engineering at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, about solar trends.

We will see farmers use solar technologies for things like net negative energy greenhouses.These will be made possible by increases in efficiency but also by new materials, like self-cooling greenhouses powered by solar energy. Another example will be sustainable desert agriculture, where tech is used for cooling energy.The concept of agrivoltaics, where land is used jointly for food production and energy production through solar, will become more prevalent.