POWER November 2015 - 8

New Options for Solar PV
The global market for solar photovoltaic
(PV) panels shows no signs of slowing
down, with cumulative installed capacity
expected to reach 700 GW and annual demand
to pass 100 GW by 2020, according
to GTM Research. This booming market has
spurred manufacturers to introduce a variety
of innovations intended to increase
panel efficiency and reduce manufacturing,
installation, and ancillary costs.
South Korean firm LG Electronics introduced
a new version of its NeON PV cells
at the Solar Power International (SPI)
conference in Anaheim, Calif., in mid-September.
The NeOn 2 makes several breaks
with traditional silicon PV cell design (Figure
1). First, rather than employ the usual
two- or three-ribbon approach across the
cell to gather the electric charge, the
NeON 2 uses an array of 12 wires.
LG says this design offers a number of
advantages. First, by dividing the current
among a larger number of conductors, the
electrical loss through each wire is greatly
reduced. Second, the use of round wires in
place of flat ribbons means light entering
the cell is scattered more efficiently and
less is reflected out. Finally, because each
cell has more conductors, microcracks and
other defects that develop in the cell over
1. Neon light. LG's NeON 2 solar photovoltaic
cells use an array of narrow wires to
gather power across the cell instead of the
traditional ribbons. Courtesy: LG Electronics
time have far less effect on output because
there are many more paths for the
electric current.
In addition, the NeON 2 cells are bifacial,
able to absorb light from both sides.
This makes them more efficient when sunlight
strikes the cells at less-than-ideal
angles during morning and evening hours.
LG says the 320-W, 60-cell NeON 2 panels
are able to generate more power than
conventional 72-cell panels and offer up
to 3% higher efficiency than the firstgeneration
NeON design.
Though they have garnered far fewer
sales and less attention than crystalline
silicon PV cells, thin-film copper-indiumgallium-selenide
(CIGS) panels have maintained
a market niche (around 7% in 2015,
according to research firm IHS) because of
certain advantages they have over crystalline
silicon-based panels, mainly that
they are lighter, thinner, more flexible,
and have a reduced visual footprint.
Taiwanese CIGS manufacturer Hulk Energy
Technology (Hulket) and Italian firm
ENERGYKA Electrosystem debuted a new
product at SPI that combines Hulket's
CIGS panels into a flexible multi-panel
module (Figure 2). The Prometea modules
are available in outputs from 100 watts
to 500 W. They are foldable, portable, and
can be installed with far less effort and
additional equipment than crystalline silicon
PV panels.
Finally, San Jose-based Silicor Materials
has developed an alternative to
traditional polysilicon that is produced
through a proprietary metals-based process
requiring two-thirds less energy but
still achieving conversion efficiencies in
line with traditional materials. Silicor announced
at SPI that it has secured $105
million in equity capital agreements to
support the construction of its first commercial-scale
manufacturing operation in
Grundartangi, Iceland. The company has
already secured sales commitments equal
to approximately 75% of the plant's annual
production capacity, it said.
Silicor CEO Terry Jester told POWER
that the process is based on traditional
aluminum smelting, where silicon is
viewed as an impurity. Basing their factory
in Iceland-where aluminum smelting
is a major industry due to the island's
cheap hydroelectric power-allows them
to reduce costs by partnering with local
aluminum companies. Unlike traditional
silicon production, which relies on hydrochloric
acid and trichlorosilane, Silicor's
process requires no toxic chemicals-a
major criticism that has been leveled
at the solar PV industry as its footprint
has grown. Jester said Silicor expects to
break ground on the factory next year
and begin production in 2018.
-Thomas W. Overton, JD, associate
editor
2. Solar accordion. The multi-panel Prometea CIGS module (2.2 m x 1.4 m x 4 mm) is
ideal for installation in areas with difficult topography or where traditional mounting approaches
are problematic. Courtesy: Hulk Energy Technology/ENERGYKA
8
www.powermag.com
POWER | November 2015
http://www.powermag.com

POWER November 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER November 2015

Contents
POWER November 2015 - Cover1
POWER November 2015 - Cover2
POWER November 2015 - Contents
POWER November 2015 - 2
POWER November 2015 - 3
POWER November 2015 - 4
POWER November 2015 - 5
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POWER November 2015 - 8
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