One potentially exciting trend in the solar energy industry is the success researchers are having with new technologies that could allow any number of new innovations to hit the consumer market in the coming years.

One recent example was provided by New Energy Technologies, which recently demonstrated its SolarWindow technology at the University of South Florida.

According to the company, SolarWindow can be sprayed onto a variety of surfaces, including windows, to generate clean energy from both artificial and natural light. The technology is also said to be up to 10 times more efficient than many of today's thin-film solar energy technologies.

By allowing light to actually pass through a surface, it allows for a wider range of applications than traditional photovoltaic panels, which are opaque in part because of the metals and manufacturing processes that characterize them.

Looking ahead, such products may be a helpful step toward the zero-emissions homes envisioned by many supporters of clean energy. Other researchers are also working on their own energy-generating windows, while the first generation of photovoltaic roof tiles has already entered the market.