How PETE Technology Will Revolutionize Solar Energy

Solar energy has long suffered from an efficiency problem. Then along came PETE. After years of research, PETE looks set to double solar cell efficiency in the immediate future.

Okay, PETE is not a guy. Instead, PETE refers to an idea known as photon enhanced thermionic emissions. Now you can see why people call it PETE. Regardless, the basic idea behind PETE is to convert the heat produced by solar exposure into usable energy. This has been doable for years, but the conversion rate has been only in the five to ten percent range. 

If this range sounds familiar, it is. It represents the low range of solar cell efficiency as well. Historically, solar panels comprised of solar cells have only be able to convert the energy in sunlight into usable electricity at a clip of 7 to 15 percent. Recent innovations have suggested this number might be increased into the 20 percent range with one technology even testing up into the 40s. When we will ever see such figures on products being sold in the market is unknown. 

One of the problems with traditional silicone based solar cells is they become less efficient the hotter they get. This is a rather massive problem. Consider how hot your car gets sitting out in the sun in a parking lot and you can envision why. Sunlight is packed with energy and it manifests as heat when it hits substances. 

Well, you can probably see where this discussion is going. The National Renewable Energy Lab has successfully combined solar cell and PETE technology. Although neither technology is overly efficient, combined they produce a scalable energy production unit. Even better, the PETE technology extends the range of efficiency since it continues to produce as the solar cell diminishes with heat increases. 

The combination of solar cell and PETE technology is not something you are going to see on the evening news. That being said, it is the kind of small, boring advancement that will continue to make solar technology a viable energy platform for the future.