Magic dyes: The dyes can double the efficiency of solar cells used today.

A simple sheet of glass coated with dye could be enough to cut the costs of solar power. That's the claim from researchers who have created a

Of the reported 25 lakh homes worldwide that use solar home systems today, about" 3.6 lakh are in India, second only to China which has four lakh solar home system users.

inorganic solar cells used today are also quite bulky. Initial costs also seem to be a major deterrent in the spread of solar energy. A us-Austrian team led by 2001 Nobel laureate Alan Heeger has

The Government has received an application from Phoenix Solar India for setting-up a Rs 1,200-crore solar PV cell and module project in the country, taking the total number of proposals under the new scheme for semiconductor fabs and other micro and nano technology manufacturing industries, to eight. According to sources in Department of IT (DIT), the proposed project is expected to come up at Greater Noida. The company filed its application with the Government in early April, sources added.

Hi-tech investments: The Minister for IT & Communications, Mr A. Raja, addressing a press conference in the Capital on Thursday. New Delhi, April 3 Marking the largest-ever project under the new semiconductor policy, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has approached the Government with plans to set up a semiconductor wafer fabrication plant and solar PV module unit, at a total outlay of over Rs 30,000 crore.

Solar cells generate electricity from sunlight without producing' pollution, but some environmentalists have been concerned about the potential negative impact of this photovoltaic technology. This is because the manufacture of solar cells involves toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium and produces carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. However, the first comprehensive study of the pollutants produced during the manufacture of solar cells gives them a reassuringly clean bill of health. Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York report that photovoltaic cells produce far fewer air pollutants than conventional fossil fuel technologies when manufacturing is fully accounted for. The study will appear next month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, Vasilis Fthenakis and colleagues gathered data from 13 solar cell " manufacturers in Europe and the US over three years. The cells included four major commercial types: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon silicon and thin-film cadmium telluride The study concluded that generating electricity from solar cells reduced air pollutants by about 90 per cent compared with using electricity generated in conventional power stations

Tokyo Electron, a leading maker of semiconductor equipment, is set to develop solar cell manufacturing equipment through a joint venture with Sharp in an effort to capitalise on demand for clean energy. The two Japanese companies plan to develop production equipment for thin-film solar cells. Tokyo Electron will produce and sell the equipment, starting next year. Thin-film solar cells use just 1 per cent of the silicon needed in conventional solar cells. The technology is attractive because, as a result of scarcity, the price of silicon has rocketed to as much as $350 a kilogramme. Japanese companies are at the forefront of thin-film solar cell technology, with Sharp, Kaneka and Sanyo the three big manufacturers. Sharp, the world's leading maker of solar cells, is set to boost output capacity for thin-film solar cells more than tenfold this year, by investing Y22bn ($203m). In western Japan, Sharp, which also makes LCD televisions, is constructing the world's biggest solar cell plant. It will be dedicated primarily to thin-film solar cells and is expected to start operations by March 2010. The joint venture will be capitalised at Y50m, with 51 per cent held by Tokyo Electron and the remainder by Sharp. For Tokyo Electron, it is an attempt to diversify and capitalise on a sector with a growing demand. Thin-film solar cells are more versatile than conventional crystalline solar cells because they are transparent and so can be used as walls that allow light to shine through. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

a new nanowire promises to revolutionalize the world of nanotechnology. Developed by scientists at Harvard University, the wire, which is a fraction of the width of human hair, will function as a

a new solar panel unveiled by Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta in April 2007 promises to produce about 60 times more electricity than traditional solar cells. The new cells are smaller