Trends may come and go, even in the renewable energy world. However, the central goal remains unchanged: Deliver high power outputs at low costs with a small carbon footprint. This makes competition fierce, especially in solar, which is why innovators are “thinking outside the solar panel box.” This leads to innovative designs, such as the spinning blue pyramids that reportedly generate significant power despite their small scale. But are they the future of the industry?
Thinking outside the solar panel box
As the saying goes, “All’s fair in love and war,” and this couldn’t be more true in the solar industry. Globally, competition has become fiercer in recent years, as government funding and policies have led to mass overproduction, which resulted in a price war. As the industry’s technology became more advanced, a phenomenon known as “learning spillovers” took place, which sparked the “value war.”
This is why so many innovative designs have been introduced to the industry across several key markets over the years, as solar energy has become about so much more than producing clean power. Now, aesthetics must be considered while maintaining a low carbon footprint and land footprint. Simple integration capability has become essential, as well as several other factors.
All of this makes thinking outside the box quite difficult. However, a US-based startup company has proven that it is not easily deterred and has designed a rather unconventional spinning solar panel shaped like a pyramid.
An unconventional spinning blue solar pyramid
When one thinks of the color blue, one tends to immediately think about sadness. However, when it comes to V3Solar’s innovative blue pyramid-shaped spinning solar cells, there is nothing sad about it. The startup collaborated with Nectar Design to create the “V3 Spin Cell.” So, beyond its unconventional shape, what makes this cell truly unconventional is that it is covered with a “static hermetically-sealed outer lens concentrator.”
The prototypes show that concentrated solar power can thus be exploited differently on a small scale, and not just on a larger scale, as seen by the Gobi Desert being set ablaze by 12,000 mirrors’ concentrated power. However, unlike conventional solar panels that would have been ultimately destroyed by solar concentrations that are 20 times higher, V3Solar stated that:
“With the same concentration on the Spin Cell, the temperature never exceeds 95 degrees Fahrenheit.”
A technology that is durable and powerful
The company added that one of its Spin Cells can generate power 20 times more than that of a conventional solar panel. Other claimed benefits included:
- Smaller land footprint
- Low noise levels
- Lower maintenance needs
- Increased solar energy capture
- Lower power production costs
How it works
The Spin Cells, or cones, are 1m in diameter and consist of hundreds of triangular solar cells that capture solar energy at 56-degree angles. Some of the harvested solar energy powers a magnetic levitation (Maglev) system that spins the cones to prevent overheating and degeneration, and also ensures that noise levels are kept to a minimum.
So, where is this unique technology today? As with several other unique renewable energy designs, prototypes are created to “wow the crowds” – the flying 100 kW KiteKRAFT wind turbine comes to mind. Unfortunately, not all of them reach commercial production after the testing stage.
This was unfortunately the case with V3Solar’s Spin Cells. Between 2012 and 2015, prototypes showed great potential, but since then, there has been no talk of bringing this design to commercialization. There is no certainty as to why this innovative design has gone quiet, but hopefully it re-emerges soon. Fortunately, several other unique concepts did go to market, such as Germany’s colorful solar panels, which prove we have been wasting our time with black panels.
Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind.
