"March 24, 2008 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have moved closer to creating a thin-film solar cell that can compete with the efficiency of the more common silicon-based solar cell. The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell. Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3 percent. The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity. “This is an important milestone,” said NREL Senior Scientist Miguel Contreras. “The thin film people have always looked for matching silicon in performance, and we are reaching that goal.”

" Two Israeli billionaires make moves in the cleantech space, along with 24 other deals we spotted over the past week. The Arison Group and the Leviev Group, Israeli investment groups backed by No. 11 and No. 12, respectively, on Forbe's Middle East's 20 Richest list, both made waves in the cleantech industry this week, putting cash, resources and expertise into water and biodiesel ventures. This isn't either group's first move in cleantech, as each one has a laundry list of very diversified investments, including real estate, construction and energy, with both Arison and Leviev's holdings including stakes in green construction and other cleantech sectors."