I was reading an article today on PopSci.com (Popular Science) and they showed their Innovation of the Year to be a solar panel. It's not what you think though!
"Imagine a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and converts it to electricity. From there, you can picture roof shingles with solar cells built inside and window coatings that seem to suck power from the air. Consider solar-powered buildings stretching not just across sunny Southern California, but through China and India and Kenya as well, because even in those countries, going solar will be cheaper than burning coal. That’s the promise of thin-film solar cells: solar power that’s ubiquitous because it’s cheap. The basic technology has been around for decades, but this year, Silicon Valley–based Nanosolar created the manufacturing technology that could make that promise a reality." -PopSci.com
I have not heard of this until today. When I clicked on the link that said 'Innovation of the Year', I thought it was just going to be another article about the Apple iPhone. But low and behold, it was something actually worth reading.
This solar film seems promising and hopefully will catch onto the public so we can back off on our dependence on coal and oil for energy and go to a cheaper alternative, well free actually, solar engergy. What I thought was most interesting in the article is when they said you could put it on your roof, in your windows, and just about anywhere else that can see the sun, with it being practically invisible! This is what will catch the public's eye, when they know they can put this in or on their homes without letting everyone know it.
Once I get my very first home, I will make sure I make it mostly green.