How to Build a Low-tech Solar Panel?

I have been following the Low Tech Magazine for many years.  Written by Kris De Decker and presented on his website which runs on a solar-powered server located in Barcelona, which will go off-line during longer periods of bad weather.He is a genius, with intellect and technical know-how which I find awe-inspiring.

His latest piece is about “George Cove, a forgotten solar power pioneer, may have built a highly efficient photovoltaic panel 40 years before Bell Labs engineers invented silicon cells. If proven to work, his design could lead to less complex and more sustainable solar panels.”

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George Cove stands next to his third solar array. Source: “Generating electricity by the sun’s rays”, Popular Electricity, Volume 2, nr. 12, April 1910, pp.793.