[higherpurpose]

As they say in the video, even if these are half as efficient as regular solar panels, you could still see them on other types of surfaces where current solar panels can't be used right now: think windows or smartphone screens.

We could also see them on large buildings or rich people's villas whose owners perhaps want to use energy from solar panels, but don't like the "look" of solar panels on those buildings. So then the choice becomes using this or using no other solar panels.

[experiment0]

We really don't have a shortage of space to put solar panels. The challenge is making solar panels that are cost effective (e.g. $ per Watt).

In response to your edit: That is a possibility, that yes they may find a niche in the fancy of the rich.

But the point I'm making is that the article is hyperbolic and misleading.

Transparent solar is not the future of utility scale power generation. It is not going to solve any of the problems currently holding back solar power from becoming ubiquitous.

[antr]

Volume is key. Volume to push price of silicon panels down to have electricity reach grid parity levels. An intesting project (which I think has been ditched or put on hold) is/was DESERTEC. Install thousands of PV pannels in the Sahara dessert, and connect this to energy-hungry Europe thorugh a new HVDC grid connection.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertec

[ansible]

> The challenge is making solar panels that are cost effective (e.g. $ per Watt).

And the other key challenge is nighttime.

If we had relatively low-cost utility-scale electrical energy storage, we would see a much higher rate of solar energy adoption. More so in sunny places, but that would then drive down the cost for everyone.

I keep hoping something like a flow battery will turn out to be practical, where to size up the storage, you just need bigger storage tanks.

[jndetlefsen]

i get smartphone screens, but it's not that every other surface has been covered already or that you can't transport electricity from A to B.