IN MARCH 2007, MEMBER GOVERNMENTSof the European Union signed a bindingagreement to source 20 per cent of their energyfrom renewable resources by 2020. Whilebiofuels look set to become a popular choice offuel to help countries achieve these targets,concerns over the environmental impacts ofdedicating yet more land to agriculture mean thatwe will also need to investigate other, oldertechnologies that have yet to realise their initialpotential fully. One such technology is the solar cell. Butwhile, on the surface, it appears to be an idealsource of energy by making using of an (almost)universally available resource – the Sun – mostof us have yet to see the benefits in anything moreenergy consuming than a solar-powered hand-held calculator.
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