More power from the sun

Electricity from the sun is cheap and clean but the solar cells we see on our rooftops could be much more efficient. Henry Snaith of Oxford PV has developed a new material which helps solar roof panels extract more energy from the solar spectrum.

Tom Heap visits Henry's lab and joins Dr Tamsin Edwards to consider the carbon-cutting potential of a new generation of solar energy.

Listen now on BBC Radio 4

What our expert says

We asked Society Fellow, Professor Stephen Peake, a Professor of Climate Change and Energy at the Open University, to offer some observations on the potential of perovskite solar panels. His points take some of the themes of the programme a step further:

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is indeed a critical piece of the net zero, 100% renewables jigsaw. PV panels generated 665 TWh (terawatt hours) in 2019 from a global installed capacity of 603 GW (see table below). The global annual average capacity factor was just under 13% as the capacity factor for solar PV varies with solar irradiance conditions from around 10 to 20-25% max.

The question we are asking relates to what might happen if we double the capacity factor from a notional baseline of 20% to around 45%. 2019 IRENA report imagines 8519 GW of solar PV by 2050.