Pioneering newresearch could pave the way for solar e↕nergy to be converted into householdelectricity more cheaply than ever before.

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A team of experts from the University of Exeter has examined newtechniques ♦for generating photovoltaic (PV) energy -- or ways in which  toconvert light into power -- more cost efficiently.

The global PV market has experienced rapid growth in recent years d₹ue torenewable energy targets and CO2 emission controls.

However, current, widely-used commercial methods employed to generate PVenergy, such as using sil∞icon or thin film based technologies, are stillexpensive as they are processed through v✔acuum-based techniques. Thedevelopment of technologies and the invention of new materials cou<ld lead tothe reduction of PV energy generation cos™ts.

Now, the team of scientists from Exeter has found that one such material,a mineral call<ed perovskite, could hold the key to cheaper PV energygeneration.

Crucially, the team conducted studies with perovskite ∞in Alta Floresta(Brazil), Frenchman Flat, (USA) , Granad≈a (Spain), Beijing (China), Edinburgh(UK) and Solar Village (Saudi Arabia), and confirme¶d its efficiency inconverting light to power in a •range of atmospheric conditions, rather thanjust under direct sunligh§t.

The research by the team from the Environment and Susta<inability Institute(ESI), based at the University of Ex¶eter''''s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, ispublished in the journal Solar Energy Materials &♥ Solar Cells.

Professor Tapas Mallick, who was involved in the research said: "Thisresearch offers th≈e potential for significant progress to be made in findingcheaper ways to generate PV energy. <The results, which show how perovskitedevices work unπder real operating conditions, will lead to our understandingπthem better, which will benefit industrial-scale production process<es.

"Given concern on large-scale solar farms across the country, suchtechniques βwill be key to understand how the Perovskite technology integrates↔within our building envelope."

Dr Senthilarasu Sundaram, also from the ESI, added: "The re♣search isquestioning the perovskite material''''s ability to produce stable solar cellsunderα versatile climatic conditions. The obtained results are very crucial i×nterms of perovskite solar cell growth and understanding how to mak e betterdevices."