Solar energy for dark places?

Good news for seances, Bognor Regis and teenage parties: a new breakthrough means even areas with low light conditions can be used to generate solar-alike energy.A breakthrough by University of Johannesburg professor Vivian Alberts means that photovoltaic panels can generate electricity in areas that aren’t ever so sunny, according to Independent Online.

Due to the construction of the cells, comparatively high yields can be obtained even under partially shaded or overcast conditions. Alberts, interviewed in Germany this week, said plans to make the photovoltaic panels commercially available in South Africa were at an advanced stage and there would be a major announcement at the end of March about when they would go on sale.Alberts said agreements had been signed with major investors and they were in the process of finalising agreements with banks for the funding, which prevented him from giving further details on the sale dates.

In case you’re wondering what’s the cunning tech involved, it’s a layer of wafer-thin, semiconducting material, made from copper, indium, gallium, sulphur and selenium. And it’s cheap too – apparently, it’s backers believe it could be half the cost of any equivalent on the market.