Energy creation under a new light; Companies pushing to make the cost of solar power competitive with coal.(Main)

Byline: MICHAEL HILL - Associated Press

NISKAYUNA - The rows of gleaming blue panels tilted toward the sun atop the GE Global Research labs will become outmoded if solar research conducted here and around the country succeeds.

General Electric Co. and a dozen other companies are starting work under a federal program to make solar power cost-competitive by 2015 - a feat that has taken on new urgency as gasoline prices hover above $3 a gallon. Among the products being assessed here are "thin film" solar cells that can be applied on glass, metal or flexible plastic.

While the technology has shown early promise, GE will see if it can help create a …