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Solar panels
that can generate electricity at night have been developed at Stanford
![](images/images_04_11_2022/pic1.jpg)
Farmland is
seen with standard solar panels from Cypress Creek Renewables,
Oct. 28, 2021, in Thurmont, Md.
Julio
Cortez/AP
A team of engineers at Stanford
University have developed a solar cell that can generate some
electricity at night.
The research comes at a moment when the
number of
solar jobs and
residential installations are rising.
While standard solar panels can provide
electricity during the day, this device can serve as a "continuous
renewable power source for both day- and nighttime," according to the
study published this week in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
The device incorporates a thermoelectric
generator, which can pull electricity from the small difference in
temperature between the ambient air and the solar cell itself.
The device incorporates a thermoelectric
generator, which can pull electricity from the small difference in
temperature between the ambient air and the solar cell itself.
![](images/images_04_11_2022/pic2.jpg)
"Our approach can provide nighttime
standby lighting and power in off-grid and mini-grid applications,
where [solar] cell installations are gaining popularity," the study
said.
Mini-grid applications refer to independent electricity networks.
These can be used when a population is too small or too far away to
extend the grid.
It wasn't until recently that solar
energy declined in price and became much
more affordable. Some
companies have bought into the program, and
California has even incentivized the shift to solar.
As the war continues in Ukraine, Abigail
Ross Hopper, president and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association,
the national trade association for the solar industry, told
CNBC that investing in energy alternatives is important.
"In the face of global supply
uncertainty, we must ramp up clean energy production and eliminate our
reliance on hostile nations for our energy needs," the CEO said.
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