Solar energy conversion

If solar energy is to become a practical alternative to fossil fuels, we must have efficient ways to convert photons into electricity, fuel, and heat. The need for better conversion technologies is a driving force behind many recent developments in biology, materials, and especially nanoscience.

If you thought solar energy is costly and less efficient in the currently politics and pollution driven era, Please read this article:

http://ptonline.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_60/iss_3/37_1.shtml

Reference for the figure: 2. W. Shockley, H. J. Queisser, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510 (1961) [SPIN]; M. A. Green, Third Generation Photovoltaics: Advanced Solar Energy Conversion, Springer, New York (2003); Y. Hamakawa, ed., Thin-Film Solar Cells: Next Generation Photovoltaics and Its Applications, Springer, New York (2006); P. Würfel, Physics of Solar Cells: From Principles to New Concepts, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ (2005).