CIGS, or copper indium gallium selenide, is being used as the key ingredient in solar panels. Silicon technically is more efficient at harvesting energy from the sun, but CIGS can be printed on flexible sheets. Proponents of the material, such as HelioVolt and Nanosolar, say CIGS can be incorporated into roof tiles and building materials, making the solar technology invisible and the benefits it offers cheap.
In Wales, Shell Solar set up the CIGS-based panels shown in the photo at left. At right, CIGS cells are printed at Nanosolar, a solar-power company based in Palo Alto, Calif.
What’s with the darkened roof tiles? They are silicon solar panels, which can provide up to 65 percent of a home’s electricity needs. Earlier this year, California builders began to incorporate them into new homes.
These solar tiles are darker because dark absorbs light better. Grupe Homes has installed these silicon solar tiles on some new homes in a development in Rocklin, Calif.
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Previously, Bill was an IT manager in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.
