Calgary, AB, Canada--Qsolar, a company that has previously developed unusual types of silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells such as partially transparent cells, now has a line of multicrystalline PV solar cells in different hues, including red, green, blue, and purple. The idea is that the cells would be used much more widely because they are more decorative.
While specifications aren't available yet for the colored cells, Qsolar's standard multicrystalline panels, which are made up of individual 3 x 6 in. cells, are about 1 x 2 m in size and produce a little more than a quarter-kilowatt of electrical power.
The new colored PV cells are also available in semitransparent form, says Qsolar. (Qsolar's semitransparent cells are different from those developed at Xiamen University and the University of North Carolina, which are based on zinc oxide and zinc selenide.)
For more info, see http://www.qsolar.net/.
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