Pretty Useful – Art and Energy

So, you know what solar panels look like, but did you know there is a significant untapped flexibility in the aesthetics that will allow us to incorporate colour, new shapes and modulated surfaces and did you know the tech is actually fairly easy to work with?

We’ve spent the last year working with some great partners – The RSA, The Renewables Department at the University of Exeter, GB-Sol, Exeter City Futures, Regen, Plymouth Energy Community and other awesome people to develop products and projects, deliver workshops and generally try and have more fun with energy generation!

Ultimately we’d like to think that people could design and make their own unique and beautiful solar projects and connect more meaningfully with our energy system.

Catalyst funding from the RSA has allowed us to test a variety of etching techniques on the surface of solar panels with some surprising results. Firstly we discovered that some etching/engraving techniques have very little negative impact on the efficiency of the solar cell and that two techniques actually improved the power output which we hope to ratify in due course.

In early 2019 we hope to fabricate the first solar panel artworks for display in gallery spaces and are raising funds to do this over the next few months. We’ll then tour an exhibition of these works later in the year.

Take a look at our website www.artandenergy.org and please also bear in mind that we are a fairly new arts organisation with lots to learn!

Can you help?

• Do you know of an event, space which would be interested in our touring exhibition?
• Do you know who might be interested in hosting a workshop or talk about this work and the opportunities it could lead to?
• Could you sponsor or financially support the fabrication of these initial artworks?
• We would value any support, pointers, connections or advice that you can offer.