A new breakthrough from scientists at Washington State University could soon cause the price of solar power to plunge well below the US Department of Energy’s 2030 cost targets for renewable energy way ahead of schedule. What the scientists have discovered is a new way to produce cadmium telluride, a key component in solar paneling.
The experiment involved using high-pressure argon gas, the third most prevalent gas in the earth’s atmosphere, to incorporate arsenic into the cadmium telluride, raising the material’s efficiency for solar power generation at a lower cost of production. How low? The scientists say the new process could cut the cost of producing cadmium telluride by 45 percent.
A wave of scientific breakthroughs, such as the one at Washington State and the development of new battery technologies, is causing green energy costs to plummet. According to green energy investment expert Elizabeth Levy, “there is no there is no reason to think their cost won’t continue to fall even farther below incumbent fossil-based 20th-century technologies.”
