According to research led by the University of Michigan, a new transparency-friendly solar cell design could combine high efficiencies with 30-year estimated lifetimes. It could pave the way for windows that can also generate solar power.

"Solar energy is about the cheapest form of energy that mankind has ever produced since the industrial revolution," said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering, who led the research. "With these devices used on windows, your building becomes a power plant."