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Solar Power-Cell Breakthrough

Posted by Zonk on from the better-to-work-in-the-shade- dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers from the Nanomaterials Research Centre at Massey University in New Zealand have developed synthetic dyes that can be used to generate electricity at one tenth of the cost of current silicon-based solar panels. These photosynthesis-like compounds work in low-light conditions and can be cheaply incorporated into window-panes and building materials, thereby turning them into generators of electricity."

2 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Off. The. Grid. by BobPaul · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They have the 10 years this will take to come to market to adapt. Remember, this is just an announcement that a university has done research, not that anyone even intends ends to develop it.

  2. Re:Off. The. Grid. by NerveGas · · Score: 4, Interesting

    $100,000 in batteries, and they couldn't use a microwave? Something's wrong there. When you can spend $1k on an inverter, and get a LARGE pure-sine unit that will handle a microwave without sweating, and another $1k will buy you enough batteries to run that for an hour straight, it's hard to believe that a $100,000 setup couldn't do it.

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.