Not too long ago we mentioned research being conducted about how solar panels could be sprayed onto one’s home, much like paint, to provide for alternative energy needs. Other solar research being conducted as well continues to look at ways to shrink the footprint of solar panel technology so it becomes less expensive to produce and purchase. One such bastion of analysis is going on at the University of Queensland in Australia, where researchers are studying solar panels which are “plastic, portable and low-cost.”

This particular research, recently given a big grant by the government for continued operation, wants to develop panels based upon “inexpensive and environmentally friendly plastic materials.” The researchers feel these new solar cells, given their “light and flexible characteristics,” could potentially allow for solar power in a greater range of use, such as electronic gadgets and cars. While these product categories are already somewhat impacted by solar energy, the idea of these particular solar cells is that they could be “stuck to windows like shade tinting or embedded into roof materials to turn the entire roof surface a solar energy-capturing device.”

image via University of Queensland

University of Queensland [via The Green Optimistic]