Can a piece of glass with a layer of paint on top of it absorb enough sunlight to generate an alternative to the rather expensive solar energy we have at the moment?

A group of researchers say they’ve developed a new type of ‘solar concentrator’ that may provide a better way to extract energy from the sun. They use glass sheets coated in organic dyes to concentrate light hitting the panes. The dyes absorbs the light, then emits it into the glass, which carries the light to the edges of the pane much as fibre-optic cables transport light over distances.

At the edges of the glass are located small solar cells that then transform the light into electricity.

The researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hope that the use of this sort of technology can help bring the cost of solar power closer to the cost of conventional fossil fuel power sources such as coal.

All it consists of is a piece of glass with a layer of paint on top of it. The idea is that the light then comes in and hits the paint. The paint then bounces the light out to the edges of the glass. All you need is the solar cells on the edges, which is how the researchers are hoping to reduce the cost of solar electricity.

MIT researcher Jonathan Mapel, who also worked on the study, said the hope is that the use of this sort of technology can help bring the cost of solar power closer to the cost of conventional fossil fuel power sources such as coal.

Solar concentrators collect sunlight over a large area - in this case the panes of glass - and concentrate it into a small solar cell that turns the light into electricity.

The researchers think their system could be available within three years and even could be added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency.

Some of the MIT researchers are forming a company, Covalent Solar, based in Boston to develop and market the technology. [Reuters]