Could plastic make cheap solar power?

Not only could plastic help produce cheaper solar power, but many researchers expect it to. Plastic offers a less complicated way to manufacture solar cells, and given that manufacturing costs are a primary reason for the current expense of solar cells, it would ultimately offer cheaper solar power. The main obstacle for plastic solar cells has been how to efficiently bind the layers of solar cell material together to create a product that is both cheap and efficient at converting sunlight into electricity.

Plastic is flexible and affordable. And the fact that solar cells can be embedded directly into the plastic opens up a range of possibilities, including solar-powered clothing and solar paint. Scientists have worked vigorously to improve the conversion efficiency of plastic solar cells over the past eight years. While excellent improvements have been made, plastic solar cells are not significantly cheaper than more conventional options. Despite low production costs, it would take twice as many plastic solar cells as, say, crystalline silicon cells, to produce the same amount of solar electricity. However, as soon as plastic cells become competitive in terms of efficiency, we'll have cheap "plastic" solar power.