Researchers discover new process for solar conversion

Always something new on the solar frontier: Researchers at Stanford University have figured out a new way of converting sunlight to electrical current. A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate ...
Aug. 5, 2010

Always something new on the solar frontier: Researchers at Stanford University have figured out a new way of converting sunlight to electrical current.

A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, say the Stanford engineers who discovered it and proved that it works. The process, called "photon enhanced thermionic emission," or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

Stanford press release

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Doug Chandler, Senior Staff Writer

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Doug Chandler began writing about the electrical industry in 1992, and still finds there's never a shortage of stories to be told. So he spends his days finding them and telling them. Educationally, he's a Jayhawk with an English degree. Outside of work, he can often be found banging drums or harvesting tomatoes.