The sun is like a big spender at a casino, throwing wads of energy-money at the spinning roulette table that is the Earth, most of it turning into losses. The amount of solar energy hitting our planet reportedly exceeds global demand by a factor of 5,000.
Hopefully that will change due to a breakthrough by Professor Michael Gratzel, who won this year's Millenium Technology Prize, the Finland-sponsored competition to develop "life-enhancing technological innovations." The biannual MTP is recognized as "the world's biggest technology prize" and Gratzel's entry could be similarly huge: He's developed solar cells that are organically made, cheap to produce, translucent, and tintable to a variety of colors.
Hit the jump for a video and more info.
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