Transparent solar cells could bring new era of personalized energy

by David Solomonoff

Personalized energy could be breakthrough for decentralized infrastructure (not just power but also enabling edge computing) as well as potentiating related social, political trends in that direction:

Could be integrated into windows, vehicles, cellphone screens, other consumer products, but panels must be handy and transparent. To this end, scientists have recently developed “transparent photovoltaic” (TPV) devices—transparent versions of the traditional solar cell. Unlike the conventionally dark, opaque solar cells (which absorb visible light), TPVs make use of the “invisible” light that falls in the ultraviolet (UV) range.

Design can potentially generate electricity even under low-light situations (for instance, on cloudy or rainy days).