2 kinds of solar panels explained by Betsy Ferris Wyman of Sundog Solar.

Nice and simple explanation of the differences between photo voltaic and thin film solar panels and benefits/limitations of each.

We have a real and growing problem. Our natural resource dependency for energy and its limited capacity and effect on the environment. Fortunately, we do have options. Some may argue that they are too expensive, that they are too inefficient, or that they are too complex, and they may be right to some extent, so I decided to find out for myself by building an alternative energy device of my own as a learning experiment. I started by doing some research on alternate energy, also knows as Green Energy. There are a number of solutions out there, but the two solutions that I found the most information on covered wind and solar power.

I built two solar panels using nothing but the Internet for my research and would like to share my learning experiences as many others have done. One of the most valuable DIY resources I found was "How I Build an Electricity Producing Solar Panel. It was easy. You can do it too.". Most of what I have documented here should look quite familiar if you go to his site. The main difference between others documentation and what I'm providing here, is that mine goes into a lot of detail. My goal here was to document start to finish the dimensions and photograph every step of the way to make it easy to reproduce. I have also included a fairly detailed BOM (Bill of Materials). The most lengthy part of the whole process was waiting for the paint to dry.