Manufacturing of ASWES is favored by the progresses in photovoltaic film encapsulated in fabric supports, that are used for wings, sails, airships. Now large areas are suitable.
Although I mentioned balloons or airships, flexible kites are also quite adapted, and if flexible ASWES are also of type fly-gen, the electrified tether is already there, as for FlygenKite.
Some features are explained on https://heole.fr/en/opv/ :
Organic photovoltaic cell technology (OPV for Organic PhotoVoltaic) is the eco-responsible transformation of light energy into directly usable electricity. It is based on polymers from organic chemistry: semiconductor polymers sensitive to light.
Advantages
- Flexible, fine and light:
30 times lighter than a conventional solar panel, it fits on curved surfaces and can be rolled up: it can fit on previously unused supports- Semi-Transparent:
it is made up of ultra-thin layers whose unit of measurement is the nanometer, which makes it possible to capture light energy on both sides- Efficient even in low light:
It produces energy even on a cloudy day, from early morning to late at night!- Environmentally friendly:
Low in energy to manufacture, it does not use rare materials and is easy to recycle- Low-carbon process:
they are to date the only carbon-free photovoltaic solutionIt is the dream technology to design the solar sail!
Perspectives
The energy conversion efficiencies of these organic semiconductor devices are in constant progress. The energy efficiency of OPVs has jumped from year to year.
This may become a turning point for the evolution of AWES into ASWES, when the efficiency, lightness and robustness of these complex films have progressed sufficiently.