Everyone is used to clunky and heavy panels that are affixed to the tops of buildings and carports, but now GE has announced that it has taken the skinnier solar panels farther than they’ve ever been before, achieving record efficiency for a single cadmium telluride thin film solar cell–a 12.8% conversion rate of sunlight into usable energy. Cadmium telluride solar cells are considered to be the most affordable thin film solar cells on the market.

These are the types of panels that you might see on the back of cell phones, for example. Light and thin equals much broader uses for the cells, which means more potential energy produced from the sun.

Most people know GE for light bulbs, but they are much more than that. “Over the last decade, through technology investment, GE has become one of the world’s major wind turbine manufacturers, and our investment in high-tech solar products will help us continue to grow our position in the renewable energy industry,” said Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s renewable energy business.

In other solar news, Google has invested roughly $5 million in a German 18.7-megawatt solar power plant. It is Google’s first investment in clean technology outside of the United States.

The solar power plant occupies around 116 acres and can generate enough power for around 5,000 homes. More than 70 percent of the panels installed at the plant are manufactured in Germany.