I've found this graph handy as a primer for the trends of and relationships between the different major types of photovoltaic cells and their efficiencies: http

I've found this graph handy as a primer for the trends of and relationships between the different major types of photovoltaic cells and their efficiencies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PVeff(rev121211).jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PVeff(rev121211).jpg It will put a lot of these news articles in perspective when you know that, for instance, a 100% increase in efficiency in a thin-film tech only means that it's approaching the efficiency of existing multijunction tech (ignoring price-per-watt).