A Utah energy developer is hoping to build the state’s first major solar project on state land in Millard County.
The 300-megawatt Utah Solar I, covering 1,754 acres managed by the state School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, would generate enough electricity to supply 80,000 homes and cost $600 million to build, according to proponent Energy Capital Group.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a new mechanism for extracting energy from light, a finding that could improve technologies for generating electricity from solar energy and lead to more efficient optoelectronic devices used in communications.
Dawn Bonnell, Penn’s vice provost for research and Trustee Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, led the work, along with David Conklin, a doctoral student. The study involved a collaboration among additional Penn researchers, through theNano/Bio Interface Center, as well as a partnership with the lab of Michael J. Therien of Duke University.
“We’re excited to have found a process that is much more efficient than conventional photoconduction,” Bonnell said. “Using such an approach could make solar energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices much better.” Read More