Earth Equity News

Dyes Could Turn Windows Into Powerful Solar Panels. By Alok Jha, Guardian (UK), July 10, 2008. "Windows could be used as powerful solar panels thanks to a clever new technology that concentrates the sun's rays. The technique uses transparent dyes to capture, concentrate and redirect light along the surface of the glass to photovoltaic (PV) cells in the frame, which convert the light into electricity. The breakthrough means that there is a tenfold increase in power output compared to use of the PV cell alone. The team, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), claims the technology could slash the cost of generating electricity from sunlight, making it more competitive with standard grid power. This is because the expensive PV cells only need to be installed at the sides of the panels, rather than across the whole surface... Marc Baldo, an electrical engineer at MIT [said,] 'The concentrator collects light over its whole front surface, but the solar cells need only cover the area of the edges.' As the edges of a glass panel can often be 100 times smaller in area than the surface itself, he added, solar panels would need 100 times fewer PV cells to collect the same energy. 'So we can save money. Since industry can't produce enough solar cells to satisfy demand, this might also be a good way to stretch production.'"