While most people seem to hold the impression that solar panels are black-shaded tiles which are installed on rooftops just to generate power, researchers at Mingdao University’s Photovoltaic Research Center unveiled their latest innovation yesterday — thin-film solar cell modules that can be used to make transparent windows with full-color images on them.
At a press conference in Taipei, images of a monarch butterfly, the Virgin Mary, Bodhidharma, a nighttime scene of skyscrapers, Taipei 101 and other colorful designs were displayed on glass window panes covered with laser-plotted thin-film solar cells.
Meanwhile, university students explained how the technology could be used to generate electricity.
Photovoltaic Research Center director Lien Shui-yang (連水養) said the thin-film solar cells are cheaper and thinner than the traditional crystalline silicon solar panels and they are therefore easier to incorporate into urban life.
Although a standard size 1.1m by 1.4m solar cell window can generate about 100 watts per hour, while the color-imaged windows can only generate about 90 watts per hour — enough to power about four energy-saving light bulbs for an hour — Lien said he is still positive about their market potential.
Consumers can choose to customize the windows into pieces of art — either for their pleasure or for commercial use — while at the same time generating electricity to power electric appliances, the research center director said.
Lien said that six of the windows would be installed in the energy classroom at Yunlin County’s Sinyi Elementary School in October for demonstration purposes.
Mingdao University president Chen Shih-shiung (陳世雄) said that the school has been emphasizing the importance of green energy for years.
Chen said that Mingdao was the first university to establish a photovoltaics research center in Taiwan.
The center has been involved in more than 30 research projects in the past three years, he added.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS