Kyocera Solar Modules Ranked "Performance Leader"

GTM Research has ranked Kyocera as the "Performance Leader" among 15 solar PV manufacturers in all 6 categories, including Temperature Cycling, Dynamic Mechanical Load, Humidity Freeze, Damp Heat, and two Potential Induced Degradation Tests. The tests were carried out by independent testing body PV Evolution Labs.

“With the exception of one manufacturer, Kyocera, no company consistently ranked within the Performance Leaders group for all test regimens,” GTM Research noted. “Results showed that most producers that performed well in one test did not necessarily perform well in all tests.”

PV Evolution Labs’ stringent test protocols exceeded the current industry standards to emulate various real-world climatic conditions over lifetime periods while observing power degradation performance of the solar modules being evaluated.

“Kyocera has proven time and again, both in independent testing and by solar modules performing uninterruptedly in the field for decades, that our modules are able to consistently produce clean, renewable energy even in the harshest conditions,” said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar Inc.

Source: http://pv.energytrend.com/news/20140826-7309.html

By 2017 Half Of U.S.A. states Will Have Solar Reaching Grid Parity

The Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists has just published a series of 3 quick infographics about U.S.A. rooftop solar installation. Here’s what they show:

(1) By 2017, more than half the states could have rooftop solar as cheap as local electricity prices. 

(2) Installing rooftop solar has never been more affordable.

(3) The number of households with rooftop solar is skyrocketing.

Recycling Old Batteries Into Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells have been the focus recently in the solar research. In less than 2 years, perovskite solar cells efficiency has been improved to more than 19%, which is close to most of the commercial available solar cells.

Researchers from MIT, U.S.A., have found a way to produce a 0.5um (0.0000005 meter) thick thin-film Pb-based perovskite solar cells using recycled lead from old car batteries. This helps to divert toxic material from landfills the old batteries and reuse it in solar panels that could go on producing power for decades. Each single car battery can produce enough solar panels to power 30 households.

The technology behinds isn't new. The team extracted the lead (Pb) and lead-dioxide (PbO2) from the battery's positive and negative electrodes, respectively, and ground to fine pieces. Then they heated up the PbO2 to 600 degree Celsius to convert to PbO (lead-oxide). The Pb was dissolved into Nitric acid and PbO was dissolved into acetic acid. Potassium-iodide was then added to both solutions to form lead-iodide which then will be sprayed deposited onto the transparent substrate, following with sequential deposit, to form solar cell.

For more info and video to produce the solar cells go to http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/recycling-batteries-into-solar-cells-0818.

Yingli Reduces Production Cost of Monocrystalline Silicon Wafers

Silicon wafers are produced by slicing silicon ingot (as shown on the picture). Conventional, monocrystalline silicon ingots are produced by pulling out from graphite crucible. Graphite crucibles are known to have low strength, short lifetimes, and a high risk of silicon leakage because the crucibles are prone to cracking during the heating process.

Yingli has successfully completed trial production of monocrystalline ingots using new material technology. They are using crucibles made from a carbon-carbon (C-C) composite material. Initial estimates suggest that the new material could reduce manufacturing costs by nearly US$0.01 per watt. This is few percent of panel production cost already.

C-C composite crucibles are not as vulnerable as graphite because they are made from a reinforced carbon fiber matrix that is low-density, high-strength, with high thermal conductivity, thermal shock resistance, and dimensional stability. The new crucibles can improve the stability of crystal pulling, and increase the utilization rate of monocrystalline silicon ingots by approximately 3%.

Source: http://pv.energytrend.com/news/20140811-7210.html