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New Solar Efficiency Records Abound

June was a significant month for industry progress, with at least three new solar technology efficiency records announced.

For example, California-based SunPower revealed yet another world record for a solar panel using silicon cells. After achieving a record-breaking 22.8% efficiency with its X-Series solar panel earlier this year, the company has now reached a new high of 24.1% efficiency. SunPower says the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has validated the world record.

According to the company, the module was made using laboratory solar cells of 25% mean efficiency and builds on the commercially available SunPower X-Series architecture, pushing the design to the next level.

“SunPower’s X-Series panel was tested by our lab under standard test or reporting conditions,” explains NREL scientist Keith Emery, manager of the PV cell and module performance laboratory. “The module measured 11,310.1 cm2 (aperture area) and had a power of 272.5 W. We recorded 24.1 percent efficiency, which is a new record for silicon module efficiency.”

Earlier in June, the Germany-based Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden Wurttemberg (ZSW) reclaimed the efficiency world record for a thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cell, at 22.6%. ZSW says that tops the previous record - set by Japan-based Solar Frontier last year - by 0.3 percentage points, and it brings the CIGS efficiency record back home to ZSW for the fifth time. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems has confirmed the results.

ZSW says its record-setting cell has an area of about 0.5 cm2, a standard size for test cells. The researchers accomplished this latest performance boost by improving the manufacturing process at several points, one being the post-deposition treatment of the CIGS surface with alkaline metal compounds being incorporated into this layer.

With these latest advances in research and development (R&D), thin-film cells could soon be a serious contender for the silicon-based solutions that have dominated the PV market for years, according to ZSW.

“I expect that we can achieve up to 25 percent efficiency in the years ahead,” comments Prof. Michael Powalla, ZSW board member and head of the photovoltaics division.

Furthermore, South Korea-based Hanwha Q CELLS Co. Ltd. set a new efficiency world record for multicrystalline solar modules in June. The company says the Fraunhofer ISE CalLab independently confirmed the record module efficiency rating of 19.5% in relation to the aperture area and a power output of 301 W.

According to Hanwha, this is the first time that a multicrystalline solar module with a standard size of 1,670 x 1,000 mm2 has broken the 300 W barrier. The module uses the company’s proprietary Q.ANTUM technology based on rear-side passivation of the solar cell.

The record-breaking prototype contains multicrystalline Q.ANTUM solar cells with four bus bars produced on the pilot line of the company’s Center for Technology Innovation and Quality in Thalheim, Germany. The cells and the module were produced with standard processes on industrial mass-scale production equipment.

The company says the module size is equal to Hanwha Q CELLS’ current 60-cell product lines, and it used the standard module components that are identical to what are currently being used in the company’s mass-scale commercial production lines.

“The industry has been trying hard to push the efficiency and power output of multicrystalline solar cells and modules,” says Jörg Müller, director of R&D cells at Hanwha Q CELLS. “Up until now, such values were only reached using monocrystalline silicon and complex processing.”

 

1366 Secures Investment From Major Polysilicon Maker

Massachusetts-based wafer manufacturer 1366 Technologies has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Germany-based Wacker Chemie AG, one of the world’s largest polysilicon producers. The deal includes an equity investment in the U.S. company and a major supply agreement.

1366 says its proprietary Direct Wafer technology forms multicrystalline wafers directly from molten silicon instead of using a multi-step process, thus saving on energy and capital equipment. This strategic partnership comes as 1366 readies for large-scale production with its planned commercial manufacturing plant in upstate New York.

Under the terms of the deal, Wacker will provide 1366 with the majority of the polysilicon it needs for its New York plant, which is scheduled to be online in 2017. The companies say this adds a strong supplier partnership to 1366’s other alliances. For example, 1366 recently announced an agreement with Hanwha Q CELLS to provide 700 MW of wafers made using its Direct Wafer process at the plant.

Furthermore, Wacker will invest $15 million in 1366 as an extension of the U.S. company’s Series C financing. The resources will be allocated toward the working capital necessary for the New York plant, specifically for the prepayment of 1366’s initial silicon needs.

The partnership will also initiate a close technical collaboration between the two companies, during which 1366 will benefit from Wacker’s silicon know-how, as well as its facility design, engineering and construction experience.

 

Beamreach Solar Unveils Panel For Commercial Roofs

Beamreach Solar, a California-based PV manufacturer that just changed its name from Solexel, has introduced a new lightweight solar panel designed for flat commercial roofs. The company claims the new product, called Sprint, can be installed on nearly all commercial roofs that cannot currently support heavy conventional solar systems.

Featuring maximum power capacities ranging from 290 W to 320 W, Sprint also integrates racking into the panel, enabling a faster install process that requires no tools and no grounding. Beamreach Solar says this allows Sprint panels to be installed up to five times faster than conventional panels and racking systems.

The company claims Sprint’s design also reduces the distance required between panel rows, enabling up to 30% more panels to be installed on a roof and increasing the solar system’s overall energy output. Sprint panels have been tested to support test loads up to 5,400 Pascals and withstand wind speeds of 115 MPH. Sprint also comes with a 25-year linear output warranty and 10-year product warranty.

 

First Solar Scraps TetraSun Panel To Focus On CdTe

Arizona-based First Solar Inc. has announced it is discontinuing its TetraSun crystalline silicon solar panel, whose technology the company acquired from start-up TetraSun in 2013.

First Solar has been manufacturing the product at its Kulim, Malaysia, facility, and the company will now be shifting production capacity at the plant to support a new assembly line dedicated to its recently announced Series 5 thin-film photovoltaic module offering.

As a result of discontinuing the TetraSun modules, First Solar expects to incur impairment and related charges of approximately $90 million to $110 million, substantially all of which will be non-cash. These actions are expected to reduce First Solar’s operating expenses by $2 million to $4 million this year and $8 million to $10 million annually going forward.

The shift in production capacity is driven by First Solar’s long-range business plan, which focuses on maximizing the company’s core technology based on thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe), according to Chief Operating Officer Tymen de Jong.

“TetraSun is a sound technology for space-constrained rooftops and served largely as a hedge against CdTe technology competitiveness that had challenged us in the past,” says de Jong. “With the success of our CdTe road map reflected in our record 22.1 percent cell efficiency, along with the proven higher energy yield and superior performance inherent in our thin-film technology, that hedge is no longer needed.”

With this production transition, virtually all of the Kulim production associates previously assigned to the TetraSun line will move to the Series 5 assembly line, which will be in full operational mode by early 2017.