In investigating solar panels and solar energy, I discovered that interesting renewable energy solutions come around when doctors of science from areas as diverse as fuel cells, photovoltaics and milk enzymes come together...

The link between a fuel cell, a leading multinational food company and solar energy is with Alexandre Closset, CEO of Flexcell, a company that produces flexible photovoltaic elements.

After studying physics at the EPFL (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) he worked for a further two years there as assistant in the field of fuel cells in the department of chemistry.

Fuel cells are really useful as backups for renewable energies when they're not able to run at full fling because the wind's stopped blowing or the water's dried up...

Alexandre met Diego Fisher while they were both doing an Executive MBA in Management of Technology in Lausanne (MoT). Diego's a solar energy expert and today, the Technical Director of VHF-Technologies which he founded.

The third link is where Enrico Tagliaferri comes in. Originally he was doing research on milk and so on at Nestlé. But he proved to be innovative in devising “lift-off equipment”, the machine Flexcell use to wash the plastic substrate on which they deposit a thin layer of metal for their flexible photovoltaic cells. It just goes to show that the world of enzymes and vitamins in milk can have broader implications than one might first imagine...

According to Solarbuzz, worldwide photovoltaic installations increased by 1 744 MW in 2006, up from 1 460 MW installed during the previous year. By comparison, in 1985, annual solar installation demand was only 21 Megawatts. The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year, but there are two billion people in the world who have no access to electricity and they can’t afford solar photovoltaics, although it would be their cheapest source of electricity.

Getting solar energy from the roof of a building 
                         

Other energy figures
The IEA (International Energy Agency) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme has figures that show there's growth capacity potential in Europe, Australia, the USA and Canada of 23 billion square meters of existing roof space for PV (photovoltaics). Taking an efficiency figure of 5% of the irradiance converted into electricity, that represents an installed power potential of 1 000 GW which is enough to replace several nuclear power stations. The potential is there. For example, in German Bavaria which is not exactly a tropical area of the planet, they're already covering 1% of their total electricity needs using PV energy. There are laws in place that ensure that electricity companies buy back the solar power that’s generated and encouragement programmes for industry to install photovoltaic panels. Over a period of five years, Germany's created over 100 000 jobs in the area of photovoltaics.

Environmental consequences linked to solar energy
When you convert sunlight into electricity, because there are no moving parts you have minimal maintenance costs and it doesn't make a noise or let off gases. Silicon used for PV is non-polluting, and plastic is easily recyclable.

Special flexible photovoltaic cells
Mike Horn, the South African explorer, has taken a couple of rollup photovoltaic battery chargers with him on his latest expedition to Pakistan. They're light and fit easily in his backpack. In the company of three other 8 000 meter climbers he's aiming to be the first man in the world to broadcast live over the Internet from the top of the world. These 13.5 Watt, 15 volt systems allow him to charge up any 12 volt electronic battery.

Other more every-day uses
The TGV (high speed train) from Paris to Strasbourg in France had a problem with the glass solar panels they’d erected along the railway line because the stones kept on shattering them. Because it wasn't feasible to link up the emergency phones to the same electricity grid as the train, they solved the problem using flexible photovoltaic cells instead.

There's another example in the city of Lausanne
                              

where they’ve integrated photovoltaic sheets into the pull-down sun awnings on the balcony of an apartment. So, not only are they protecting the apartment from the sun, but, at the same time, they’re generating green energy.

The substrate's so light and supple, you don’t have the problem of rigidity and weight normally associated with traditional solar panels. They simply adapt.