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Solar Panels As Building Clothing

Posted by michael on from the well-dressed-skyscraper dept.

Makarand writes "A Canadian company is developing a flexible solar-power generating material that can be draped over any building. This will allow buildings with curves and complex shapes to use solar panels. The new material is made of silicon beads, each acting as a solar cell, placed between two aluminum foils and sealed on the sides with plastic. The manufacturing process for the silicon beads can use waste silicon from the chip-making industry. The material has an overall efficiency of 11 per cent which is comparable to the performance of conventional photovoltaic cells. The material looks like blue denim and architects might love to work with it."

3 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Offtopic: M$ add on slashdot? by hardaker · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    Ok, I know this is way off topic but it was in this comment set that I saw my first M$ add on slashdot. I haven't been paying the extra add-free slashdot fee and thus get the in-line advertisements which I normally glance at and scroll down. I was shocked today to find that M$ actually wanted to advertise here (especially considering the borg icon their news items get here).

    Of course, this may be enough to get me to pay for the add-free fee.

    --
    The next site to slashdot will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and start slashdotting it early!
  2. Re:OT: Re:Good idea, but probably not a cost-cutti by goatboy_14 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    it was contra

  3. In other news... by sunilonline · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    JC Penny has all stocked jeans on sale... Looks like my plain old denim jeans are obsolete :(