Solar Cells Info

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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On the surface of a new photovoltaic prototype, microscopic nanotube towers perform best when they catch light on their sides.

By David Talbot, April 17, 2007
Source: MIT Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18539/

Solar cells generally crank out the most power at noon, when the sun is at its highest point and can strike the cell at a 90-degree angle. Before and after noon, efficiencies drop off. But researchers Georgia Tech Research Institute have come up with a prototype that does the opposite. Their solar cell, whose surface consists of hundreds of thousands of 100-micrometer-high towers, catches light at many angles and actually works best in the morning and afternoon.
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Coors Field Celebrates First Utility-Scale Solar Power Electric System in a Major League Ballpark
DENVER, April 20, 2007
Source: sunpower corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=238809

This weekend, the Colorado Rockies will take on the San Diego Padres at home under a solar-powered scoreboard. The new 9.9 kilowatt solar electric system, which was installed by Independent Power Systems as a result of a partnership between the Rockies and Xcel Energy, is being celebrated on Earth Day, April 22. Comprised of 46 solar panels from SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), it is the first commercial- scale solar electric power system to be installed in a Major League Baseball ballpark.
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by John Toon, Atlanta, Georgia, 17 April 2007
Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com

Unique three-dimensional (3D) solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity.  “The efficiency of our cells increases as the sunlight goes away from perpendicular, so we may not need mechanical arrays to rotate our cells.” — Jud Ready, Georgia Tech Research Institute, a senior research engineer in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory
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source: Scientific American /April 22, 2007
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa002&articleID=1496CAD6-E7F2-99DF-34B95C45D49BA57C

Solar cells made from cheap, plastic polymer barely capture the energy in sunlight. Photons reflect off the plastic and it is too thin to absorb much, giving the polymers color. “The very fact that it has color is telling you this thing is not working as well as it should,” says David Carroll, a physicist at Wake Forest University. But plastic solar cells also offer flexibility, light weight and, theoretically, low cost, and could be incorporated into a range of products. “You can’t think of doing anything cheaper than making Saran Wrap and that’s basically what these are,” says Lawrence Kazmerski, director of the Department of Energy’s National Center for Photovoltaics in Colorado.
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