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News | REALLY?!
BGreen presents some of the world’s most surprising green news
Grass sold separately It doesn’t get greener than using the natural photosynthesis cycle as a template when harnessing solar energy. Researchers project home solar kits using grass cuttings in the near future.
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resent day solar cells are made of silicon wafers in a manufacturing process that falls in a grey area in terms of its carbon footprint. Researchers predict that in the near future, solar energy can be harnessed by the average consumer, equipped with a DIY kit of agricultural waste (read: grass clippings, leaves, et cetera) and a small bag of “stabilising powder.” A recent study released by MIT has found a way to chemically stabilise the structures inside plant cells that perform photosynthesis on a substrate that creates electric current when exposed to light. This new finding suggests the replacement of the layer of silicon in
March 2012
conventional photovoltaic cells with a more natural concoction of chemicals and plants to photosynthesise molecules. In theory, the complicated process of biophotovoltaics can then be massreplicated by anyone with the access to “stabilising powder” (cheap chemicals) along with a set of illustrated assembly instructions. All that needs to be selfsourced is green waste you can find in any garden, as well as a piece of metal or glass that can be used as a substrate. The end result of assembling this green waste, bag of chemicals, home-made substrate and a few wires is a functioning solar panel that can be hooked up to charge a battery or power a bulb.
MIT researcher Andreas Mershin speculates that people will be able to “take that bag [of stabilising powder], mix it with anything green, and paint it on the roof.” Granted these DIY solar panels have to increase their efficiency by tenfold to be of any actual use (from 0.1 per cent to the minimum requirement of 2 per cent), but this could happen in just a few years with help from other labs. “We wanted to lower the energy barrier for other labs to enter,” according to Mershin. This could mean cost-effective energy solutions for the eco-conscious in areas of abundant light like the Middle East.
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