IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERSTATE DEFLATIONARY PRESSURES:

The Michigan State researchers behind the invention of TLSCs believe that, if fully deployed, transparent solar technologies could supply as much as 40% of the U.S.'s electricity demand, or about as much as nontransparent solar panels. 

And because the technology is still relatively new, proponents believe there will be gains in efficiency and adoption similar to those seen with other green technologies. 

"Traditional solar applications have been actively researched for over five decades, yet we have only been working on these highly transparent solar cells for about five years," Michigan State professor Richard Lunt said in 2017. "Ultimately, this technology offers a promising route to inexpensive, widespread solar adoption on small and large surfaces that were previously inaccessible."

They could be here sooner than you think. 

In December 2022, a team of Swiss scientists created the most efficient transparent solar cells yet. The newly adapted DSCs -- also known as Grätzel cells, after one of the project's leaders, professor Michael Grätzel -- use a layer of hydroxamic acid to increase the absorption of light and power conversion. They can achieve a conversion rate north of 15%. 

Additionally, companies like SolarWindow Technologies and Ubiquitous Energy are aiming to install electricity-generating glass on everything from cars to skyscrapers, maybe as soon as 2023.

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