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I'm watching an "alternative energy" show on the Science channel now, and they're discussing a technology that's new to me. Apparently you can dope plastics with fullerenes ("buckyballs") and get a more efficient photovoltaic effect than you can with silicon cells. The estimate on the show is ten cents per kilowatt once commercial production is underway. Different chemistries are sensitive to different wavelengths. They can be created as pigments, and sprayed on a substrate in multiple layers.
They also discussed geothermal power, but noted that one downside is that the drilling seemed to contribute to an increase in seismic activity.
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