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However, unlike chlorophyll, silicon cannot be used for energy-generation in its raw state, and must be processed by humans. Silicon is favored "because it remains a good conductor of electricity even after it has been heated. In order for silicon to be used for solar cells, it must be heavily heated to separate it from oxygen so that it can be further processed" (Stier 2009). Although solar energy is widely touted as a 'green' technology, the actual manufacture of silicon cells is relatively labor-intensive and results in the burning of a considerable amount of fossil fuels. In contrast, the photosynthesis that takes place in plants is truly 'green' (no pun intended). "Plants are able to create their 'solar panels' relatively inexpensively, so much so that in seasonal climates they regularly shed their leaves and rebuild them the following year using a clean, low-power energy source; out of locally-available and life-friendly materials; and which decompose into nutrients that sustain soil organisms whose by-products ultimately support the continuing growth of plants" (Stier 2009). Plant solar energy is thus naturally part of the 'circle' of life on earth and plants naturally recycle the cells used in photosynthesis.
Although photosynthesis, because of its 'organic' nature is fundamentally a chemical process, while solar cells' conversion of energy is fundamentally an electrical process, both conform to the first law of thermodynamics. Commensurate with the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created or transformed, merely...
"The second law says that each time energy gets transferred or transformed, some of it, and eventually all of it, gets less useful" (Second law, 2011, Flying Turtle). This is one of the problems with using green sources of energy: "We can catch some of it as it flows by, maybe with a turbine, or piston and crankshaft, maybe even a sail or wind turbine blades. We can transform some of it (but not all) into useful work" (Second law, 2011, Flying Turtle). But photosynthesis also involves energy storage as potential energy in the cells of a plant, rather than simply dissipates the excess energy as in a solar cell. Ultimately, despite the advances in solar technology, photosynthesis is a far more efficient way to generate energy than any solar panel human beings have created thus far.
References
Farabee, MJ. (2007). Photosynthesis. Maricopa University. Retrieved January 11, 2011 at http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BiobookPS.html
The second law of thermodynamics. (2010). Flying Turtle. Retrieved January 11, 2011 at http://www.flyingturtle.org/energy/2nd_Law.html
Semiconductors: The science behind solar. (2011). Solar Cal Finder. Retrieved January 11, 2011
http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/solar-information/semiconductors-the-science-behind-solar/
Stier, Sam. (2009). Solar cell inspired by plants. Beyond Benign. Retrieved January 11, 2011 at http://www.beyondbenign.org/community/Solar%20Cell%20Inspired%20by%20Plants.pdf
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