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The deployment at Stanford University Stadium in California marks one of the largest deployments of mobile solar power at live events today and offers a high-profile test of organic dye-based photovoltaics. When the rock band Coldplay challenged Australia-based Kardinia Energy to design a mobile solar system that could travel the globe with their world tour, Kardinia didnt start with traditional panels. They started with a wine label printer. Last weekend, that retrofitted machine helped power Coldplays shows at Stanford Stadium with a 550-square-meter display of ultralight, recyclable printed solar energy in Kardinias North American debut. The solar power was used to charge the bands rechargeable battery array, which powers the C stage and backstage operations at the show. The deployment marks one of the largest deployments of mobile solar power at live events today and offers a high-profile test for organic dye-based photovoltaics. Kardinia CEO and co-founder Anthony Letmon told pv magazine that Coldplay approached the startup a few years ago looking for a solar solution that could be easily deployed and transported. They gave us a challenge, he said. The result is a paper-thin, plastic-based organic photovoltaic film weighing just 300 grams per square meter. Developed by Kardinias other co-founder, Paul Dastoor, a professor of physics at Newcastle Universitys Centre for Organic Electronics, the technology completely omits silicon. Instead, Kardinia prints carbon-based semiconducting polymers onto recyclable plastic sheets using a low-cost printing process. The film can be rolled like a paper tube for shipping and can be installed in less than two hours by a two-person team using only ratchets and cable ties. Letmon said the deployment at Stanford marks one of the largest real-world demonstrations of mobile solar power in a live music setting. And while the solar energy output has yet to be quantified in kilowatt-hours, Letmon said, What we do know is that all the batteries we needed to charge were charged. Kardinias modules have been road-tested with Coldplay for over 18 months, initially in smaller deployments. The latest expansion was designed to test the technologys power output, durability, and mobility, demonstrating how printed solar power can be integrated into a fast-moving world tour. Its incredible to see this small army arrive, build the entire tour infrastructure, and put on a show in 24 to 48 hours, Letmon said. We had to figure out how our systems would fit into that and determine how we needed to adjust them to work best in each stadium. While still a niche technology, Letmon noted that printed solar could open up new avenues for rapidly deployable, off-grid solar power in stadiums, warehouses, and more. Yes, the panels arent as efficient as silicon per square meter, he said, but theyre especially well-suited for surfaces where weight and shape are limiting factors, such as lightweight roofs or disaster relief tents. And unlike conventional solar panels, there is little concern about end-of-life management, which is handled entirely by Kardinia. This is a fully recyclable technology, Letmon added, noting that the printed panels have been tested for four years on roofs in Australia and are still going strong. Even with that potentially shorter lifespan, the low cost and recyclability make the technology cost-effective. We dont need a really long lifespan for the printed panels to become damped, he said. |
