Solar news - 43.6% PV record - Oil recovery with Greenhouses

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2013/MAY/FRAUNHOFER-ISE-SOITEC_220513.html Fraunhofer ISE and Soitec achieve 43.6% efficiency with four-junction CPV cell


http://www.csp-world.com/news/20130521/00927/middle-easts-first-eor-concentrated-solar-power-plant-has-been-commissioned-oman
Using renewable energy to extract more fossil fuel from old oil wells. If you think about it , it's a sort of solar storage, in a similar way to nuclear over it's whole lifetime being a way to store fossil fuel energy

solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project using Concentrated Solar Power technology.

...
GlassPoint’s unique Enclosed Trough design encloses parabolic mirrors inside a glasshouse structure, protecting the solar collectors from harsh conditions of high wind, dust, dirt, sand and humidity common to Middle East oilfields. The glasshouse enclosure enables the use of ultra-light, low-cost reflective materials and proven automated washing equipment, further reducing costs. GlassPoint steam generators are designed to use the same low-quality boiler water as once-through steam generators, the industry’s current standard, eliminating the need for costly water pretreatment.

Capt'n Midnight

http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/04/these-transparent-solar-cells-provide-50-more-battery-life-for-your-smartphone-and-give-you-infinite-standby-time/

Transparent solar panels for phones and stuff.

a French company that has developed a 95 percent transparent 300-micron-thick solar cell module that fits right on or under your phone’s touchscreen. If phone manufacturers plug in the $1 to $2 module, you may never have to plug your phone into the wall again.

Don't know the details but infra-red / UV panels exist and there'd be a lot of power from converting all south facing windows into PV