Delta Electronics (TSE:2308 announced that it has completed the development of a certified and cost effective assembly process for the manufacturing of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules, a solar cell technology that boasts greater than 35% efficiency.
Collaborating with Spectrolab, which developed the underlying technology, Delta aims to enable wide availability of CPV modules by its advanced assembly process. Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing, is the world leader in the development of highly efficient terrestrial concentrator solar cells. Its leadership position is further cemented with the recent demonstration of converting 40.7 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., verified the milestone.
Delta collaborated closely with several leading companies in the field, including Spectrolab, to develop a viable assembly process that solves difficult to address issues such as material suitability, heat dissipation, and hot spot formation.
“We believe that the solar cell receiver assembly process developed by Delta will enable Spectrolab to offer its customers the opportunity to obtain a complete receiver design that has been proven reliable, thus enabling our customers to speed up their entry into the CPV market,” said Dr. Raed Sherif, General Manager of the terrestrial photovoltaic products at Spectrolab.
“There is a great deal of growth happening in this market because CPV is offering higher efficiency leading to lower cents per kWh,” said Roland Chiang, Director of the CPBG R&D Center at Delta Electronics. “Our cooperation with Spectrolab, coupled with Delta’s expertise in module assembly, inverter technology, thermal management, optical design and testing, and material expertise, will ensure that Delta is able to introduce its own CPV solution in the near future. Delta is well positioned in the multibillion dollar PV industry to provide a variety of high-efficiency PV solutions and we are happy to add this technology to our growing green energy portfolio.”
Spectrolab has leveraged its expertise in space photovoltaic products to fabricate multijunction solar cells that are optimized for the terrestrial spectrum. The use of the high-efficiency multijunction solar cells in a high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) module offers the best opportunity to bring down the cost of solar energy, making it a commercially viable option for providing electricity in the terrestrial markets. The market for concentrator PV-based power production plants is projected to be greater than $500M or more than 250MW by 2010, according to several industry sources.
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