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Solar Mimicking Plants

plant Many Americans are yearning for an alternative energy source, and solar power just seems to make the most sense. Why not take full advantage of the sun’s continuous rays? Despite the growing demand and interest in solar energy, it simply remains financially just out of reach for so many of us. A glimmer of hope for the future arose this past week. Is this “revolutionary leap” the major breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?

According to this article published in the August 1, 2008 edition of Science Daily, MIT researchers have finally discovered a very efficient, inexpensive way to capture sunlight and to store the energy for extended periods of time. According to one of the discoverers of this new technology, Daniel Nocera, this can potentially break the solar dilemma wide open. “Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon.”

So what exactly is this exciting new procedure, and will it work? Nocera and fellow researcher Matthew Kanan created a process that captures the sun’s energy, and then uses it to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. These gases can be stored, and then later recombined inside a fuel cell. These fuel cells can then be used to create electricity for both residential use and electric cars. This process is much easier and less expensive to use than the current method of photovoltaic cells or wind turbines.

Other solar advocates and researchers within the industry are heralding this as a major breakthrough. We as consumers can only watch and hope, and wait for this new discovery to be developed into usable products for our use. In light of our current energy problems, it is encouraging to at least hear of new advancements in the solar arena even if we have to wait a while for them to materialize.

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