Sounds exciting, but I did a bit more research and found out:
click for 2013 MIT folks doing similar thingsoops, one more link from 2012
transparent cellsOf interest is this statement:
their power-conversion efficiency is low—only about 2%. In a detailed theoretical analysis, Lunt, Bulovi?, and others showed that their design should realistically be able to reach over 12% efficiency, a rating comparable to that of existing commercial solar panels.Yes, 12% was good, now some panels exceed 20%. In any case, a "few" years of research will be required to hone these into usable consumer products.
Of interest was a dye-sensitized cell that I found during my brief googling. These might be more effective on a building (in conjunction with those other cells)but still not all that efficient.
dye-sensitized cellsFor that matter, when I was growing up in the late 70's/early 80's I recall lots of Popular Science and Scientific American articles proclaiming that electric cars were only a few years away...
clicky1981 GM electric car predictionsand by 1990 it was finally a prototype...