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Welcome to Planet Warriors, the podcast where we power up our brains and plug into the facts about energy and the incredible ways kids like you can help our planet thrive.
And, along the way, get to meet the band of super connected superheroes powering the path to a brighter future.
I'm Bryce Corbett, and today we're flipping the switch on one of the brightest renewable energy sources out there.
So slap on your sunnies, charge up your curiosity.
Let's get glowing.
Okay, let's start by playing a game.
What's 150 million kilometres away, weighs 2000 trillion trillion tonnes and sends out enough energy every second to power Earth for 500000 years.
Did you guess the sun?
Correctamundo.
But here's the wild part.
Even though Earth catches just a tiny bit of that energy, it's still way more than we actually need.
So how do we catch it and turn it into something that can power our fridges TVs, iPads and e-scooters?
Pick me.
I know this one.
Blaze, our solar powered superstar and founding member of the Planet Warriors superhero crew.
Welcome, my friend.
We can't wait to get to know you and your Planet Warrior buddies in this podcast series.
So, you think you know the answer to this one, Blaze?
Hit me.
Solar panels.
You might have seen them on rooftops or in big fields called solar farms.
They're made up of solar cells, usually from silicon, and their job is to turn sunlight into usable electricity.
Pretty clever, right?
Ah, so clever.
So, sunlight hits the panel and then what?
The solar cells absorb the light and get electrons moving.
Moving electrons means electricity.
It's a smooth process.
Sunlight comes in and power flows out.
That electricity runs through a converter called an inverter, so we can use it to power things in our homes, schools and more.
Ah, got it.
And if we don't use all of that energy straight away?
Then it can be either stored in batteries or shared with a power grid.
Nothing goes to waste.
Very efficient.
But Blaze, not everyone seems to be convinced.
Uh, uh-uh.
You've been hearing some rumours, right?
Oh, yes.
I've heard people say that solar panels take more energy to make than they produce and that they can't be recycled, that they don't work unless it's sunny, and even that they're full of harmful materials.
Well, we're not about to take rumours as fact, so let's bring in someone who knows solar energy inside out.
Yes, let's talk to somebody who actually works in the field.
Joining us now is Dr Catherine Chan, a senior lecturer from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at University of New South Wales.
She helps turn sunlight into real world power.
And she's here to clear up some of these solar misunderstandings.
Dr Chan, welcome to Planet Warriors.
Thank you, Bryce.
Now, Dr Chan, can you tell us what your job is and how you help to bring solar energy into people's lives?
Sure.
I'm a solar energy research scientist at UNSW, and that means my team and I work in a lab where we make and test solar cells.
So they're the parts inside solar panels that turn sunlight into electricity.
And my job is to figure out how to make those solar cells work better, last longer and use fewer materials and ultimately just cost less.
When we make solar panels better and cheaper, we can help make clean energy more affordable than fossil fuels like coal and gas.
And that means more people can use it.
And our work helps bring solar energy to the world and helps protect the planet at the same time.
Amazing.
Now, Blaze mentioned to me that there's a rumour out there that solar panels take more energy to make than they ever produce.
Is that true?
Yeah, that's a really common myth.
And it may have been true decades ago, when solar panels were a brand new technology and scientists were still trying to figure out how to make them efficiently.
But today it's simply not true.
Solar panels, they do take some energy to make, just like baking a cake takes heat and ingredients.
But once they're made, they can keep producing clean electricity for 25 years or more.
Most panels these days.
They make back the energy that was used to build them in only one or two years.
And after that, it's just pure free energy from the sun for the rest of its working life.
That is incredible.
Another thing you sometimes hear, though, is that solar panels cannot be recycled.
Is that true?
Great question.
Almost all of a solar panel can be recycled, including the really valuable bits like silver, silicon and aluminium.
Kind of like taking apart a giant Lego castle and using almost all of the pieces to build something new again.
And some Australian states like Victoria have even made it illegal to put solar panels in the bin.
So they actually have to be recycled.
And in Australia right now most old solar panels get put through these big like shredding machines and turned into concrete for roads or building materials.
And that keeps them out of landfill.
So that's great.
But there's people working on even better and smarter ways to separate all those valuable materials so that they can make brand new solar panels.
But the tricky part is getting all those materials out cleanly.
So it's like trying to separate all the different coloured Lego blocks after you've mixed them all up in one big pile.
It's totally possible.
But in this case, we need special technology to do it efficiently and importantly, very cheaply.
The exciting news is that researchers right here at UNSW are developing better recycling technology, and scientists all around the world are testing lots of fancy new separation methods.
So it's totally a myth that they can't be recycled.
We're just getting better and better at doing it properly.
That is amazing.
But what about... Sometimes you hear that solar panels stop working if it's cloudy or rainy.
Nope.
Solar panels are much tougher than that.
On cloudy days, they make less electricity than on sunny days, but they definitely still work.
You can think of it like this.
Even when the clouds cover the sun, there's still light getting through.
Enough for you to go outside and see and do things like read or play sports.
Solar panels can use that light too.
Even when it's raining, some sunlight gets through the clouds.
And the cool bonus is that the rain actually helps to clean the dust off solar panels.
So that makes them work even better when the sun eventually comes back out.
They really are like a superpower generator, aren't they?
Yeah, totally.
And finally, if you could bust one big myth about solar power for kids and their parents, what would that myth be?
I think the biggest myth that I would like to bust is that solar power can't be our main reliable source of electricity.
Because people say well, the sun doesn't shine at night.
What are we going to do?
And people think that, because they don't work in the dark, that solar can never be baseline power, which is the steady, always-on electricity that we count on and that we're so used to getting from coal-fired power stations.
But I think that's almost like saying You can't drink water during your class because there's no tap in the classroom.
But that's silly because you can fill up your water bottle at home or at the tap outside and then bring it into class to drink when you're thirsty.
And solar energy kind of works in the same way.
So we can collect it during the daytime, when it's available, and then store it in giant batteries for nighttime use.
The other thing is that solar panels don't have to do everything alone.
It's like a soccer team, right?
So you need different players for different situations.
And solar panels are like the star daytime players making tons of electricity when the sun shines.
And then you've got other teammates like wind turbines that can come in at night when it's breezy and the batteries can share the energy that they've stored during the day.
So smart power grids can help all of these energy players kind of pass the ball to each other.
And there's already some amazing success stories.
So take South Australia, for example.
In August last year, they ran on 100% renewable energy for an entire week.
So solar doesn't have to carry the whole team on its shoulders.
It doesn't have to carry the whole burden.
It's just got to be really, really good at making lots and lots of clean electricity during the day.
And it's absolutely brilliant at that.
So it's already ready to be a major part of our baseline power team.
All right.
I'm sold and I'm excited.
Thank you, Dr Chan.
No worries.
Thank you.
So Blaze, if I'm understanding correctly, solar energy is bright, powerful and packed with possibility.
That's right, Bryce.
So next time you see solar panels on your school roof or garden lights glowing at night, you'll know the sun's not just hot, it's helpful.
Thanks, Blaze.
You really are a super connected superhero.
Now, listeners, we'll be back next time with an episode that'll blow you away.
We're talking wind power.
Until then, stay sunny, stay curious and keep being planet warriors.
