Perovskite Solar Cells Explained: Less Land, Lower Costs, More Power

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In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I spoke with Laura Miranda Perez, Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer at Oxford PV, about one of the most important developments in solar tech today: perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.

We unpacked how Oxford PV’s approach improves solar panel efficiency from the typical 20–22% to over 30%, and why that matters not just for land use, but also for grid capacity, system costs, and the speed of global decarbonisation. Laura also explained how tandem cells work, why silicon has hit a performance ceiling, and how perovskite offers a new path forward.

We dug into the real-world implications:

• Why higher efficiency panels lower the cost of electricity, not just hardware
• How tandem solar can reduce emissions by 20% or more, even compared to conventional solar
• What’s holding Europe back in solar manufacturing, despite strong deployment figures
• Why utilities, not just residential customers, are driving early demand for Oxford PV’s tech

Laura also addressed common misconceptions about solar, including whether it works in cloudy weather and the overblown concerns about solar panel waste.

If you’re working in clean energy, manufacturing, or just curious about where solar is headed, this is a must-listen conversation.

🔗 More on Oxford PV: https://www.oxfordpv.com

Listen and subscribe at https://www.climateconfidentpodcast.com

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Credits
Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Chapters

1. Perovskite Solar Cells Explained: Less Land, Lower Costs, More Power (00:00:00)

2. [Ad] Digital Disruption with Geoff Nielson (00:34:10)

3. (Cont.) Perovskite Solar Cells Explained: Less Land, Lower Costs, More Power (00:34:48)

4. (Cont.) Perovskite Solar Cells Explained: Less Land, Lower Costs, More Power (00:34:48)