A DRAMATIC cut in the cost of a super-efficient new breed of solar cell could put domestic solar power on a more economic footing. The cells, which helped take NASA’s electric-powered aircraft Helios to record altitudes, have till now been too expensive. But their manufacturer, SunPower of Sunnyvale in California, has found a way to make them as much as 20 times cheaper.
The cells convert light energy into electricity with an efficiency of 20 per cent – which means they generate one-third more electrical power than conventional silicon solar cells. Last month, delegates at a solar energy conference in…
