A solar cell developed by Boeing-Spectrolab has achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 40.7%. This is in contrast to the 12% efficiency common in current solar cells.
This should eventually lead to solar systems that produce electricity at $0.08 to $0.10 per kilowatt/hour. The cost per kilowatt/hour of coal is between $0.045 and $0.157 with an average of $0.076 in the United States.
Solar may be cheaper than coal sooner than you think… Wow!
- Department of Energy – New World Record in Solar
- Solar America Initiative
- Wikipedia – Solar Cell
- Coal Education.org – Cost per Kilowatt/Hour
