New solar cells extract more energy from sunshine

SOLAR ENERGY has had a good crisis. In many parts of the world skies clear of pollution have helped photovoltaic power stations, which convert light into electricity, become more productive and reliable. Declining demand, meanwhile, has seen coal- and gas-fired stations taken offline. In Britain, on April 20th, solar generation peaked at 9.7 gigawatts. At the moment this happened that represented almost 30% of the country’s electricity supply—ten times the usual proportion. In Germany the proportion of solar in the mix reached 23% for an entire week in April, compared with an average of about 8% during 2019.

Though temporary, such figures are impressive. Solar power, they suggest, has come of age. In some ways, however, despite solar’s new and shiny image, this is the victory of an old technology.