White Room

Installing feed-in tariffs for solar power, where small-scale solar producers can sell their power back to the grid, is gaining popularity in US cities. The policy, accepted by Germany more than a decade ago, has turned the country into a solar powerhouse.

In a deal signed yesterday, First Solar Inc. will build two solar power plants for Southern California Edison to produce 550 megawatts of electricity.

Using thin film technology, flexible solar panels could be made into small panels, then applied to a roof like shingles.

Fred Wudl, professor of Chemistry and Materials and Co-Director of the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS) at UCSB, discusses the design and synthesis of organic molecules and polymers for applications in organic light emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics.