Lowering the Cost of Solar Power

A collaboration between James I University in Spain and Oxford University has achieved a new record in efficiency for solar cells.  And not only is the solar energy more efficiently captured with titanium oxide (rather than silicon), but the techniques used to produce them require less energy, and are thus lower cost.

The high efficiency solar cell, consisting of several layers, can be manufactured at rather low temperatures of about 150 degrees Celsius. The low temperature requirements combined with its high

efficiency, the researchers believe, make the device a suitable candidate for large-scale manufacturing. Lower energy demands mean lower cost of production compared with conventional solar cells. The low temperatures during production would also enable the graphene-petrovskite-based solar cells to be combined with devices based on flexible plastics

sources: 
http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2014/jan/graphene-solar-cell.cfm
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