Obviously, if light is shining through a solar cell, it isn't operating at it's full efficiency, right? Not exactly. If it's efficiency per unit of expensive silicon, absolutely not. Some slim-thinking guys at the Australian National University have created a solar panel that uses extremely thin slices of silicon that are still able to convert light into solar energy. These silicon slices have achieved 20% efficiency, which is great as long as the cell is cheap.

The good news is, by using very small amounts of silicon, they've kept the costs of the panels quite low. These thin film silicon cells are different than anything we've seen at EcoGeek and could be extremely promising in household applications such as nearly invisible, but electricity generating, window or roof linings.

Of course, there's no mention of price in their paper, and mass production is likely a long way off. But we're definitely keeping our eyes on these australians and their thin-film silicon technology.

Via ABC.net.au