Solar Cells Info

Alzenau, Germany, 22.06.2007
Source: SCHOTT Solar GmbH press release
http://www.verivox.de/News/ArticleDetails.asp?aid=54674&pm=1

At this year’s Intersolar, SCHOTT Solar will be introducing the new framed version of the ASI F-90 thin-film module. In comparison to the previous model, ASI-F 32/12, this module produces nearly three times as much output, offering 86 watts to start with. Thanks to its design and dimensions, it is easy to install and particularly well-suited for large roofs and open surfaces in industrial and rural areas, but also stand-alone installations. With the introduction of the ASI F-90 an alternative module will be available to the market that is also ideally suited for off-grid usage.

To start with, the new thin-film ASI F-90 module now being introduced to the market generates nominal output of around 86 watts. This performance will gradually increase to approach 100 watts over the next few years. Particularly with roofs that do not face exactly the right direction or offer the perfect angle, or when temperatures rise significantly, independent studies show that ASI® modules deliver as much as 10 percent more power per watt than crystalline modules. With voltage of 17 Volts (V), the ASI F-90 is particularly well-suited for 12 V design stand-alone applications. Due to its dimensions, it also represents an interesting net-coupled system solution for use by industrial corporations, farmers and investors with larger roofs or open spaces.

Within only two years, the ASI F-90 module recovers all of the energy needed to build it. After all, thin-film technology requires very few milligrams of silicon for each watt of output. This not only conserves precious resources, it also means less energy is required to obtain it. The new manufacturing facility operated by SCHOTT in Jena, where the ASI F-90 modules will be manufactured in high volumes starting in September of 2007, precipitates the semiconductor silicon in layer thicknesses of only two micrometers onto large format glass substrates of up to 1.4 m² in size.

The ease with which it can be installed also has a positive impact on overall cost-effectiveness. The ASI F-90 modules are ready for installation – from the construction frame to the switch outlet – to provide for easy and cost-effective system-level integration. In comparison to conventionally mounted frameless glass laminates, installation is around 15 euro cents per watt (ct/W) less expensive. Another 10 ct/W can be saved when it comes to the electrical wiring, because with the system’s high voltage of up to 1000 volts, fewer parallel connections are required.

Technical data on the ASI F-90 at a glance:
– nominal output: 86 Wp
– voltage at nominal output: 16.8 V
– electricity at nominal output: 5.1 A
– maximum DC system voltage: 1000 V
– weight: 19 kg
– dimensions: 1308 mm X 1108 mm
– height of frame: 50 mm

– connections: Tyco socket with a bypass diode, Tyco connector

– sold and marketed by authorized SCHOTT Solar dealers and partners

SCHOTT Solar GmbH with its headquarters in Alzenau (Germany) is a world-wide leading company covering various segments of solar power products: fully integrated production of silicon wafers, solar cells and modules for the terrestrial market and thin-film modules based on amorphous silicon for building integration and OEM products. With the SmartSolarFab® SCHOTT Solar runs the worlds latest state-of-the-art integrated production site in Alzenau.

SCHOTT is one of the leading solar industry companies worldwide. The international technology group supplies components for almost all photovoltaic and solar thermal applications. PV solar electricity modules with various performance ratings are used for decentralized power generation. Receivers are the key components in solar thermal parabolic trough power plants, a future technology for centralized power generation along the Earth’s sunbelt. Highly efficient evacuated tube collectors provide solar heat for warm water, heating and air conditioning.

SCHOTT is an international technology group that sees its core purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions. For this purpose, special materials, components and systems are developed. The main areas of focus are the household appliances industry, optics and opto-electronics, pharmaceuticals and solar energy. The SCHOTT Group has a presence in proximity to its customers through its production and sales companies in all its major markets. It has approximately 16,800 employees producing worldwide sales of approximately 2.2 billion euros. The company’s technological and economic expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological responsibility.