Pokeberries Prove to Be Valuable in Solar Panel Production

Scientists at Wake Forest University have discovered that pokeberry dye can improve the efficiency of some solar cells. When applied to fiber-based solar cells, the berry's dye acts as an absorber, helping the cell's fibers capture more sunlight to convert into power. Fiber-based solar cells can produce twice as much power as current flat-cell technology and are less expensive to produce. Civil War soldiers used juice from the weeds to write letters home, reports UPI.com.

Suntech Power Finishes Solar Installation at Harrah's

Suntech Power Holdings announced it completed a 1 megawatt solar power installation at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Southern California. The project consists of 4,000 solar panels on five-and-a-half acres of land and will provide almost 90 percent of the power needed to run the casino’s HVAC system. The casino-hotel contains 662 rooms.

Solar electricity may seem like a gift from the Gods, but in fact it was an invention of man (perhaps God inspired), and it is not new. The photovoltaic (PV) effect was discovered in 18th century France, promoted by Germany's Werner von Siemens, and developed as a workable product by our own Bell Labs in 1954. But it was pioneers like Peter Varadi, with the appropriate initials "PV," who created the modern solar PV industry. (In this blog I'll occasionally profile solar leaders, but only those I've had the privilege of knowing personally.)