Tell your state leaders to proactively support the deployment of stretchable solar!
Cornell and ASU researchers are now working to commercialize their HelioSkin invention, a bio-inspired power-generating stretchable solar fabric capable of morphing to track the sun’s movement in the sky.
HelioSkin recently partnered with the E Ink manufacturer to become printable on a large scale and at a low cost using roll-to-roll printing of the integrated photovoltaic fabric.
Their pilot product will be a 150-square-foot canopy with customizable lighting and brands, with the goal of creating a more aesthetically attractive household solar product.
Long term, they hope to wrap buildings and roof stadiums with HelioSkin!
“If we can just start to shift that margin, turn the needle by bringing together performance, function, bio-inspired design strategies, and importantly, good design and aesthetics, we have something that will be truly transformative and impactful.
Imagine a skyscraper wrapped with these incredible geometries and forms that open up new questions around these important issues…
Making sustainability interesting, making it sexy to invite people to get involved, to get excited and fundamentally bringing people together — bringing solar to life.”
—HelioSkin architect Jenny Sabin
This brand-new “stretchable solar” technology has amazing potential, and it’s just beginning its journey towards commercial deployment! That means that right now is an excellent time for U.S. state leaders to proactively create a supportive legal and regulatory environment to support and enable the development and deployment of stretchable solar technology.
There are a range of policy options available to help explicitly incentivize and create a “virtuous cycle” for stretchable solar deployment in any U.S. state. Particularly valuable would be proactively clarifying that stretchable solar products would be a home appliance not requiring a permitting process, interconnection applications, or utility fees (as Utah recently did for backyard “balcony” solar!) as well as adding a few lines to state legal codes to clarify that stretchable solar canopies would be included in state-level cleantech rebate programs and are affirmatively allowed by state regulations. Let’s accelerate this promising new technology to help Americans access decentralized, sovereign, cheap, reliable, and beautiful clean energy!
Tell your state leaders to proactively support the deployment of stretchable solar!