Solar power plants could everywhere if two things were to fall precipitously: the cost of making solar cells and the price to install them. The first is actually falling fast (about 6% annually since 1998), but remains higher than equivalent fossil fuel energy in most places. The second is also distressingly high for those who want to see solar power rout coal and gas in today’s energy markets. So to make solar boosters’ dream come true, tomorrow’s solar panels must be printed on cheap, durable materials that can be installed anywhere sunlight is bound to strike them.

New research from around the world is driving us ever closer to that goal, says Silvija Gradecak, a materials science and engineering professor at MIT. And her lab, among others, is now releasing the bendy, peel-and-stick solar panels to prove it.

‘There was a significant effort to develop these type of devices [in the last few years], and the slope of this improvement is very high,’ says Gradecak. ‘In just a couple of years, power conversion efficiency [of new flexible solar cells] has gone from less than 0.1 percent to 5% to 7%. And it’s just a couple of years of work. We’re learning […]