Solar Cells Info

Wedding Thin Film Technology to Bio-Based Substrate

By: Marketwire / Apr. 10, 2007
SANTA CLARITA, CA
Source: BioSolar press release via Marketwire
http://www.sys-con.com/read/359598.htm

BioSolar(TM), Inc. (OTCBB: BSRC), developer of a breakthrough technology to produce thin film, flexible solar cells on bio-based plastic substrates, today announces that the company is launching its development program to produce a proprietary bio-based resin uniquely suited to the rigors required for solar cell production. The methodology the company is developing to create low-cost thin film solar cells is a multi-faceted endeavor, with this newly launched bio-based specialty resin project signaling commencement of the first phase of the development.

Explaining some of the intricacies of the process, Dr. David Lee, BioSolar’s CEO, said, “Our thin film solar cell development is unique because it involves the deposition of thin layers of amorphous silicon directly onto bio-based substrates utilizing a process known as chemical vapor deposition, or CVD. One of the challenges faced by BioSolar is that the current generation of bio-based resins has much lower melting and degassing temperature points than those of conventional petroleum-based plastic substrates. Currently available plastics made from bio-based resins begin to exhibit signs of degradation at processing temperatures used by existing CVD chambers. Therefore, we believe that existing bio-based plastics are not suitable for the manufacture of thin film solar cells, and we have launched our development program to blend the appropriate resins.”

The company’s primary bio-based substrate development effort is to overcome the processing temperature challenge of degassing and deformation of the bio-based substrate material during the thin film deposition process. Lowering the processing temperature will not result in solar cells with desirable characteristics. Therefore, we are developing various ways to correct or overcome these undesirable material properties at the processing temperatures currently used by existing CVD chambers.

The secondary objective of the bio-based substrate development effort is to satisfy the durability and environmental requirements established by conventional petroleum-based plastic substrates. These include electromagnetic properties, mechanical strength, dimensional stability, opacity, reflectivity, hydroscopic properties, weatherability, adhesion, flame resistance, and other traits identified by BioSolar’s engineering and development group.

The Solar Power is Yours!
Montreal- April 18 2007
Press Release from ICP Solar Technologies
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/partner/story?id=48170

MONTREAL – April 18, 2007 – ICP Solar Technologies, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of solar cells and products, is proud to announce a new partnership with the Captain Planet Foundation to bring solar power to planet Earth! As part of ICP’s commitment to environmental causes across the globe, for every online purchase of their of Sunsei(TM) brand products via the ICP online store, they will make a contribution to the Captain Planet Foundation to support hands-on environmental projects for youth.
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JIANGSU, China, April 17, 2007
Source: Canandian Solar Inc, press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196781&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=985952

Canadian Solar Inc. (“the Company”, or ”CSI”) (Nasdaq: CSIQ) celebrated the grand opening of its subsidiary, CSI Cells Co., Ltd. in Suzhou, China on April 15, 2007. The first phase of CSI Cell’s new facility, with an area of about 10,000 sq meters, has an annual capacity of 25 MW, and is expected to be ramped up to 100 MW by the middle of Q4 of 2007.
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Suntech America President Appointed to Board
WUXI, China and OLNEY, Md., April 19, 2007
Source: Suntech Power Holdings, press release
http://www.suntech-power.com/News/tabid/99/Default.aspx?id=276&Module=597

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, today announced that it has joined the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and that Suntech America President Roger Efird has been appointed to the association’s board of directors.
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The Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center Funds Plextronics
PITTSBURGH, PA – April 10, 2007
Source: Plextronics /press release
http://www.plextronics.com/press.aspx?view=96

Plextronics, a world leader in developing and delivering active layer technology for electronic devices, announced it has been awarded a $340,500 grant from the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center(the Center). This initiative will focus on the continued development of Plexcore PV active layer technology for organic solar cells. Plexcore PV is a new generation of polymer-based semi-conductive inks that increase solar conversion efficiency, while extending the lifetime of the device.
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by Phil Schewe and Ben Stein, April 11, 2007
Source: American Inst. of Physics – Physics News update
http://www.aip.org/pnu/2007/split/819-2.html

Because of its ubiquity in electronics, silicon is the favorite semiconductor used in solar photovoltaic cells. Still, one would like to reduce the amount of Si needed for large-area devices. Furthermore, silicon is a poor light emitter and absorber, and therefore solar cell efficiencies have generally been poor.  The efficiency of thin-film Si cells is even poorer than for wafer-thick Si cells. How to make the cells cheap (using thin films) but also nicely absorptive is an important goal. Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have now enhanced the absorption of sunlight using surface plasmons.
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First-of-Its-Kind Program Leverages Resources of SunPower to Improve Customer Service Across Dealer Network
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 16, 2007
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=238067

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, commercially available solar cells, panels and systems, today announced the first nationwide program to support a network of solar power system dealers that sell, install and service SunPower products. SunPower currently works with more than 70 dealers across the U.S.
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Independent Organizations Validate SunPower’s Technology Leadership
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 18, 2007
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=238439

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, commercially available solar cells, panels and systems, announced today that Sandia National Laboratories measured SunPower’s SPR-315 solar panel at the highest recorded conversion efficiency ever tested by Sandia for a commercially available, mass produced solar panel. This announcement follows recent renewable energy industry accolades from PHOTON Magazine and Energy Focus Ltd., (ENF) in the first quarter of 2007, underscoring SunPower’s position as the global leader in solar electric technology efficiency, performance and satisfaction.
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by David Kay, Cosmos Online, 18 April 2007
source: CosmosOnline
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1224

The expense of photovoltaic cells has prevented their widespread use, but a raft of new technologies is pushing their prices down. One of them is solar slivers.  The usual weather conditions in Scotland – cold, overcast and damp – are hardly inspiring for scientists trying to figure out how to cheaply capture energy from the sun.

But in May 2000, physicist Andrew Blakers and electrical engineer Klaus Weber from the Australian National University in Canberra traveled to Glasgow for a professional conference. To their surprise, in two weeks they experienced rain just once; the long, sixteen-hour days were bright and sunny. Perhaps that helps to explain what happened there.
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The Business Journal of Phoenix, April 20, 2007
source:
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2007/04/16/daily44.html

Amtech Systems Inc. has signed a 10-year licensing deal with a Korean firm to market an existing product and to develop new technology related high-volume solar cell manufacturing, company officials said Friday.  Tempe-based Amtech Systems (NASDAQ: ASYS) signed the royalty-free deal with PST Co. Ltd. to market its existing plasma-enhanced chemical vapor disposition (PECVD) system, and to develop and manufacture a new model.
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