Abound Solar, a manufacturer of thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic modules, has begun the production of 82.8 W modules at its Longmont, Colo., factory.
The 82.8 W module represents a 12.2% aperture efficiency – a figure that is currently being verified by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The first 82 W module was produced in early January on existing production equipment, and several hundred modules reaching that wattage have been manufactured thus far. Abound Solar expects to begin mass production of 82 W modules in the second half of 2012 and 85 W modules in the first half of 2013.
