Australian researchers show next gen solar cells can beat the heat

Yep. Investor bait. And I mean that in a good way.

How many "breakthrough" articles have you seen over the last 20 years in regards to renewable energy that never make it to market? Where are they now?

Well, there's got to be some kind of progress or we stagnate.

That said...99% of the time the post above seems to apply. Especially today.

There are other factors too. Just having good investments based on research results to actually build a breakthrough product, is not a guarantee that the company itself will be run properly and be sustainable or die in the actual marketplace due to poor management.

And of course in the U.S. there is always the temptation that if a product does not garner enough investment to make it, a sad alternative to generate revenue is to become a patent-trolling NPE attacking those that come down the line with their own breakthroughs.

In fact, a major part of an initial investment is to fund a protective "patent-troll warchest" just to get off the ground. But now we are getting waaaay OT.

That's why I usually \yawn\ at all the energy-breakthroughs I've seen over the last 20 years. Bring it market, and THEN we'll talk.

Substrate said:

Yep. Investor bait. And I mean that in a good way.

How many "breakthrough" articles have you seen over the last 20 years in regards to renewable energy that never make it to market? Where are they now?

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UNSW has long been a global leader in solar efficiency records, having held the solar cell efficiency record for several decades."
You are incorrect & didnt bother to look into it - this is scientific research from the group that have been global leaders in Photovoltaics for decades.

In terms of market - this is a *VERY* sensitive topic given current political situations here in Australia, and the US is well aware.

aaannnndddd on the exact same page as that story...we have a "no thanks for any more solar" story hehe

I wonder how many of the researchers on this project are Chinese Nationals.

Brano from Bundy said:

I wonder how many of the researchers on this project are Chinese Nationals.

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Lets take the even the sidelines of nationalism and ecology out of the equation and get back to the business basics:

Researchers don't necessarily make the best businessmen. So you aren't investing in research as a whole, you are going to Las Vegas gambling that the businessmen behind these breakthroughs won't get their hat handed to them when/if it does reach market.

And as usual, investors don't get to pick and choose how much goes into research, and how much at first goes into a patent-troll warchest fund, necessary in today's environment.

Follow the money, not the research - even if it is good - in some cases it is not viable without good management support behind it.

That's why all such green-technology improvements - without looking at the whole cycle - from a business standpoint just as if you were doing it solely from an ecological standpoint - is crucial.

Investor bait still stands as harsh as that sounds. For businessmen, this is not a slur, but reality.

On a totally unrelated topic (well not totally), Solar as it is currently conceived is a non starter due to high cost, lack of on demand availability, lack of scalability, incompatible grid requirements, unworkable financial model.

Everyone here globally is proving that wrong. Much of the time we're just fighting politics, perception, marketing, and competetive FUD.

What doesn't help is investor bait. World + dog comes out with a new solar research breakthroughs every day to the point where it is laughable or suspect even if it IS good. Unless you bring it to market FIRST, and prove you are viable from BOTH a technological and business standpoint, then it is VAPORWARE, which by now the public is well acquainted with.

At worst, it can almost be seen as a "delay tactic" to try and convince consumers to just keep on waiting for the advancing tech just right around the corner and stick to the old ways. That is also a business tactic.

Weasel-words like "next generation" stand out like a sore thumb. It means "keep on waiting folks, don't do anything positive right now".

In the end, it comes down to "Hey, your tech is great and promising. Now let's meet your board of directors and go over your business model" to make sure this isn't yet another laboratory one-off project.

@Diysolar123 - thanks for bringing that to my attention.

In the CWA's case, I see it more of a social problem about land ownership, rather than being a solar issue per se.

Hijinks abound everywhere. Like windmills in Southern California that haven't turned in 20 years, blades missing or broken, yet the owner still gets an eco-tax break! I could see in the CWA's case getting doubly angry if that land was turned over for energy use, and it never gets a performance review and just rots, wasting land.

Need a different forum focus if we go much further...

Diysolar123 said:

aaannnndddd on the exact same page as that story...we have a "no thanks for any more solar" story hehe

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Renew Economy has a pretty low pass filter for "renewables" stories. Not so great when it comes fact checking or assessing the validity of any claims/statements made by those pumping out media releases. Some stories are good but jeez there's also a load of tripe in the mix.

Not being from Australia, it would be unfair of me to focus on anything with an American lens.

But there are generalities - stories are fine, but always stay one step ahead to be footed in reality.

Such as windmill farms. Fine - but is *anyone* doing a yearly performance review to prevent anyone from squatting on the land, letting gear rot, or justifying any eco-benefits from government or institutions based on energy output from them?

I'm going to bow out since this is not truly an energy-related issue for it's own part, but something different...

Substrate said:

Such as windmill farms. Fine - but is *anyone* doing a yearly performance review to prevent anyone from squatting on the land, letting gear rot, or justifying any eco-benefits from government or institutions based on energy output from them?

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You mean like how coal mines and coal power stations get to externalise all the pollution costs as well as leave a hideous mess behind after closing, pushing the cleanup costs onto the public purse?

shawniskelly said:

On a totally unrelated topic (well not totally), Solar as it is currently conceived is a non starter due to high cost, lack of on demand availability, lack of scalability, incompatible grid requirements, unworkable financial model.

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On a totally unrelated topic ( well not totally), Solar as it is currently conceived is a non starter due to high cost,lack of on demand availability, lack of scalability, incompatible grid requirements, unworkable financial model. I resolved all these 23 years ago and got into the solar business. I got a major order from an airline and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This attracted negative attention of oil majors whom still believe what their founder Rockefeller said over a century a half ago, "competition is a sin". Read more https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/categories/construction.

shawniskelly said:

Solar as it is currently conceived is a non starter due to high cost,lack of on demand availability, lack of scalability, incompatible grid requirements, unworkable financial model.

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Not sure I follow? At present solar PV is the cheapest form of new energy supply into the market, and massive solar farms are in operation or being constructed right now. Solar PV is shoving coal right out the door. Adding firming capacity is also now happening and still makes solar PV cheaper than new fossil/nuclear options.