Researchers from Michigan State University developed a transparent solar concentrator that produces solar energy when placed on any clear surface. These new solar concentrators have the flexibility to be scaled for commercial and industrial applications at an affordable cost.
This system uses small organic molecules developed by the team to capture specific wavelengths of sunlight. The light is guided to the end of a plastic panel and then converted to electricity by thin bands of photovoltaic solar cells. Additional development is needed to improve the efficiency of this new system, but the team feels this technology has the potential to generate solar power in a non-intrusive way because it can be used on windows of tall buildings or electronic devices.
Read more about the transparent solar concentrator system being developed at MSU.
