The technology is not new, but it is suddenly in high demand. As prices rise for fossil fuels and worries grow about their contribution to global warming, solar thermal plants are being viewed as a renewable power source with huge potential. more @ NYTimes

Researchers have created a new material that absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture. The chemists and their colleagues at Ohio State University combined electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium to create the hybrid material. more