WASHINGTON (TIP): Researchers have created new “transparent” solar panels that can create solar energy while also letting people to see-through them. The device has been called transparent luminescent solar concentrator, which could be used on buildings, cell phones, windows and any other device that has a clear surface. The solar harvesting system uses small organic molecules developed by Richard Lunt of MSU’s College of Engineering, and his team to absorb specific non-visible wavelengths of sunlight.

One of the benefits of this new development would be its flexibility. While the technology is at an early stage, it has the potential to be scaled to commercial or industrial applications with an affordable cost. Lunt said more work was needed in order to improve its energy-producing efficiency, as currently it could produce solar conversion efficiency close to 1 percent, but noted they aim to reach efficiencies beyond 5 percent when fully optimized. The best colored LSC has an efficiency of around 7 percent. The research is published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials.