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Charles C. Mann Quote

When Chapin tested these novel photovoltaics, they converted about five times more solar energy to electricity than the older selenium panels. But they were still terribly inefficient. Chapin estimated the cost of silicon panels that could supply electricity for a typical middle-class home at $1.43 million (about $13 million in today’s dollars). It would be cheaper to cover the entire roof in gold leaf. Daunted by the economics, most researchers gave up on photovoltaics until the oil shocks of the 1970s revived peak-oil fears—and hopes that the sun might be the way to escape them. The numbers seemed so overwhelming, so alluring.

Charles C. Mann

When Chapin tested these novel photovoltaics, they converted about five times more solar energy to electricity than the older selenium panels. But they were still terribly inefficient. Chapin estimated the cost of silicon panels that could supply electricity for a typical middle-class home at $1.43 million (about $13 million in today’s dollars). It would be cheaper to cover the entire roof in gold leaf. Daunted by the economics, most researchers gave up on photovoltaics until the oil shocks of the 1970s revived peak-oil fears—and hopes that the sun might be the way to escape them. The numbers seemed so overwhelming, so alluring.

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About Charles C. Mann

Charles C. Mann (born 1955) is an American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics. In 2006 his book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus won the National Academies Communication Award for best book of the year. He is the co-author of four books, and contributing editor for Science, The Atlantic Monthly, and Wired.