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By Randall JeppesenPutting solar panels on our homes soon could be getting a lot cheaper, according to a professor who has developed a new kind of solar panel.
Professor Alan Heeger at the University of California, Santa Barbara has silicon solar panels on his roof. But he says for most people, getting electricity straight from the sun isn't easy.
"The cost to install solar cells on one's rooftop is just too high," he said.
So he's been working on a new type of solar panel.
"We're making these solar cells with polymers, plastics," he explained.
He says these plastic solar panels are a lot more efficient and a lot cheaper than previous panels. The goal is to make them affordable to masses.
Professor Heeger will be speaking about the new panels at the University of Utah next week. A news release says Heeger will describe the discovery of ultrafast photo-induced electron transfer as the foundation of a technology for the low-cost solar cells.
Lecture
Date: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium, University of Utah
Free and open to the public
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
