SolarWorld AG announced today that the company is following its group-wide conversion to high-power PERC technology with adoption of even higher-efficiency cells featuring five bus bars. Taken together, the innovations will extend the company’s leadership in producing high-power conventional crystalline silicon solar panels at significant volumes. By moving from three to five bus bars, the primary electrical contacts that stripe photovoltaic cells, SolarWorld can manufacture cells in which electrons travel shorter distances from grid lines to bus bars and thus enable more to reach the bus bars. The advance lifts module power by 2 percentage points.
Recommended: PV Modules reach 20.5% Efficiency
The company’s factory in Hillsboro, Ore., began producing cells featuring five bus bars early this spring. Production of these cells for certain products will ramp up this summer. The milestone is a yet another step along the company’s path to manufacture the industry’s first 300-watt, p-type, standard 60-cell modules at production volumes.
Comments are closed.
