By Jesse Berst If you have friends at San Diego Gas & Electric,
then you've heard of the difficulties rooftop solar can cause.
With one of the nation's highest penetrations of solar PV, SDG&E
is racing around to find ways to control the massive swings up
and down. They're even considering grid scale storage. Solar on
every rooftop will be enough of a problem as it gradually
arrives in other regions. But what if there were solar in every
window? That is the possibility held out by scientists at UCLA.
They have invented a thin, transparent plastic solar cell that
could be used on windows to generate power, the Los Angeles
Times reported. Solar panel is 70% transparent to the whole
human eye. Its power conversion efficiency is only 4%, but that
figure would undoubtedly go up if the material is perfected for
mass production. This solar-cell material could even be
fabricated as a liquid and sprayed on the surfaces â€“ windows,
consumer electronics, or even a skyscraper. The UCLA team claims
the cells can be produc