Are Solar Panels More Efficient Than Plants

The 550 mw desert sunlight solar farm for example is one of the largest solar power plants in the world with 8 8 million solar panels covering six square miles.

Are solar panels more efficient than plants.

The ultimate way to compare solar energy to fossil fuels is by cost where solar has quickly caught up with its non renewable counterparts. In fact one wind turbine can generate the same amount of electricity per kwh as about 48 704 solar panels. Scientists working at the stanford institute for materials and energy sciences simes have improved an innovative solar energy device to be about. So solar power is more expensive than all these other forms of alternative energy.

Utility scale solar uses much more land than a coal power plant since each solar panel needs to face the sun and can t be shaded by other panels. The less reflection in solar cells the better. All that s certain is plants do a lot more good to the environment than solar cells ever did and they ve been doing that for billions of years without having to be more energy efficient. According to the wikipedia page on photosynthetic efficiency typical plants have a radiant energy to chemical energy conversion efficiency between 0 1 and 2.

Most commercially available solar panels have more than 10 times this efficiency. Compared to solar panels wind turbines release less co2 to the atmosphere consume less energy and produce more energy overall. But here s the worst part. Plants are less efficient at capturing the energy in sunlight than solar cells mostly because they have too much evolutionary baggage.

In terms of environmental impact solar power is a much more optimal resource than fossil fuels. Photosynthesis is less efficient than solar panels. Wind is a more efficient power source than solar. For solar to produce as much electricity as is generated by a nuclear power plant it would require about 13 000 mw of utility scale solar capacity which about four times as much as built in the existing plants.

If we think technically though it s possible solar cells produce more oxygen than plants and gather more energy in a form that wouldn t need. Plants have to power a living thing whereas solar cells only have to send electricity down a wire. This number is enough to power only 500 000 homes which is considerably less than nuclear power. As a result these panels tend to cost less than the more efficient monocrystalline panels.

In terms of reliable application coal and natural gas have the edge. Based on the photon enhanced thermionic emission pete process a new solar energy device is about 100 times more efficient than its previous design.