Going solar is currently very costly (I priced some panels for my home - $8000 per panel). Newer thin film technologies aim to use lower cost alternatives - materials and commercial production processes that could produce solar collectors at a more reasonable cost than silicon based solar cells. Popular Science Magazine featured a product called the Nanosolar Powersheet as one of 2007 Innovations of The Year. In addition to providing solar collection without a panel, Nanosolar uses no expensive silicon and relies instead upon a “semiconducting ink” made of a mixture of copper, indium, gallium and selenium nanoparticles that are printed onto aluminum.

Some of the other companies working with thin film technologies are:

• BioSolar, Inc.- (OTCBB:BSRC)
• China Solar Energy Holdings Limited (HKG:CHINASOLAR)
• Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) (Uni-Solar Division)
• ErSol Solar Energy AG (FRA:ES6l)
• First Solar, Inc. (FSLR)
• Flisom
• Solar Applied Materials Technology Co. (TPO:1785)
• Solar Thin Films, Inc. (SLTF.PK) (thin film equipment manufacturer)
• Wurth Solar
• XsunX, Inc. (OTCBB: XSNX)