Honda solar cells went on sale this week in Japan
Source: Telegraph.co.uk /Nov 3, 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?
xml=/motoring/2007/11/03/mfshow03.xml
from the report
“Tokyo Motor Show: Japan’s new horizons are full of cuddly cars ”
Honda’s own thin-film photovoltaic solar cells went on sale this week in Japan. They are claimed to offer about half the payback time of conventional silicon crystal cells and are guaranteed for 10 years. Each 1.4×0.79 metre panel generates 125 watts of electricity in direct sunshine and has a conversion ratio of 11 per cent, against the industry standard for silicon cells of 15 to 17 per cent, although Sanyo announced a 22 per cent silicon cell this week.
To generate the typical Japanese domestic requirement of 3kW would require 27 square metres (770lb) of solar panels, which would cover the entire roof and cost 1.6 million yen (£6,884). Payback at current Japanese domestic electricity rates would be about 20 years.
The thin film cells, which are made of copper, indium, gallium and selenium, are produced in Honda’s purpose-built plant at Kumamoto, southern Japan, which has a capacity to deliver 9,000 3Kw installations a year with 150 Honda Soltec staff. The film is attached to a 1.45-inch flat glass panel at present, but the company is researching ways of making the film self-supporting so it could be “wrapped” around the southern faces of existing walls or roofs. Honda currently has no plans to offer its cells in Europe or America.