Tag Archives: module
Should We Worry About Defective Solar PV Panels?
In the rush to compete are PV manufacturers putting out higher levels of defective products? That’s the question central to a new New York Times article out this week. If it’s true, it could lead to billions of dollars of insurance claims and lawsuits says at least one prominent law firm. The New York Times [...]
Amonix Achieves Solar Module Record at 33.5% Efficiency
Over one-third efficient at converting sunlight into electricity—in real-world conditions—that’s what Amonix Inc. achieved earlier this year. The company announced Oct. 30 that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) tested its newest module in real-world conditions where it reached an outdoor operating efficiency rating of 33.5 percent, and peaked at 34.2 percent. The level is [...]
California’s Oldest Winery Goes Solar
The Charles Krug Winery, California’s oldest, has joined a growing number of California wineries turning to the sun for more than just growing grapes. The winery is becoming the latest to add photovoltaics to reduce its grid-supplied electric demand. It’s also taking advantage of the installation to reduce its energy use. The Napa Valley winery [...]
Silevo Brings 21% Efficient PV Modules to Market
Silevo, Inc. is bringing a new type of silicon-based photovoltaic to the market that the company is calling a hybrid PV cell. The Triex design integrates a standard silicon wafer with other, active layers to produce a more efficient PV module, which the company says is more than 21 percent efficient. “We’ve developed our own [...]
10 Millionth Module Installed by First Solar
First Solar has been on the uptick lately. Last week its 230 megawatt Solar Ranch One project in California’s Antelope Valley was allowed to move forward. And on June 25, 2012, First Solar announced that it has installed 10 million of its modules. While that’s an impressive figure for a company that’s only been in [...]
SolarBridge Lands $25M
As solar module prices drop, the cost and performance of the rest of the solar installation becomes even more crucial. Soft costs need to be addressed, as in the recent legislation in Vermont. Balance of system needs to play a larger and more innovative role — and the biggest piece of balance-of-system costs is the [...]
Solar Junction Can’t Keep up with Multi-junction PV Cell Demand
You don’t hear this too much these days with all the silicon photovoltaic manufacturers suffering from an overheated market, but Solar Junction may face shortages of its mullti-junction gallium arsenide PV cells for concentrating PV (CPV) systems even as the company ramps up production. Most recently the company received an order of 5 megawatts from [...]
3-D Solar Modules Developed @MIT
With photovoltaics, it’s generally been thought that flat-plate collectors tilted at an angle or mounted to maximize the amount of direct sunlight that hits them are the best way to get the most out of PV. But research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is showing that 3-D modules, which look much like [...]
New Wafer Production System to Cut Cost of Solar Modules
There is an urgent need to cut down the cost of generating power using solar energy. With this aim in mind, Twin Creeks Technologies, a pioneer in making next gen solar modules, has developed a wafer production system that will reduce the cost of solar modules, considerably. The trick is reducing the thickness of the [...]
SolarOr’s “Honeycomb” BIPV Module
Most localities now require double pane windows for energy efficient. In between the panes of the window is a gas usually argon that helps cut down on heat transfer. An Israeli, SolarOr, has created a substance that instead of simply helping conserve energy actually generates energy. This innovation was on display the Intersolar event in [...]
China Sunergy Lands 7MW Solar Module Deal $CSUN
China Sunergy (CSUN) has secured a 7 MW solar module supply contract with CEEG (Nanjing) Solar Energy Research Institute, for the NanjingSouth Railway Station solar roof project. It’s the world’s largeststand-alone building integrated photovoltaic (“BIPV”) project for onestructure and will be one of the most energy efficient public buildingsin China. The company announced a big [...]
15 Largest PV Module Producers in 2013
As some of you might know, GTM Research recently published its third report on the global PV supply chain, PV Technology, Production and Cost Outlook: 2010-2015. As with any report of this ilk, competitive analysis features quiteprominently in its coverage, and a quite natural question to ask is howmodule producers across the landscape are positioned [...]