Solar - Giving more than it takes

Greener Green Energy: Today's solar cells give more than they take from Science News. The full paper this is summary of Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles

There has been a criticism of solar that it takes more power to produce than it outputs. A new study says due to increased efficiency this has changed. And it may decrease again 50% within 5-7 years with improvements in manufacturing efficiency.

The four types of solar cells examined were:

• Multicrystalline silicon -Used by SunTech
• Monocrystalline silicon - Also called Single Crystal Silicon. Used by REC.
  
• Ribbon Silicon - Used by Evergreen Solar
  
• thin-film Cadmium Telluride - Used by First Solar

List of many different types of solar panels