Flexible Solar Panels Get First Ever UL Certification

September 14th, 2010 by Zachary Shahan

If you are a regular CleanTechnica reader, you’ve noticed that we’ve gone through a major site redesign in the last week or so. As time moves one, innovation and better design is a natural (for things people care about). People clearly care a lot about solar power and I think one sort-of-new innovation — flexible solar panels — is something worth cheering about.

I’ve seen plenty of news on flexible solar panels before, but the latest from a leading flexible solar power company is definitely worth a nod.

“SoloPower, a company that makes thin-film solar panels, has broken the mold with durable flexible panels. The company has received the first every UL Certification for their flexible, CIGS modules. SoloPower’s UL certification was a first for the PV solar industry,” as Summer Minor of Green Building Elements writes.

UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories. UL tests product safety internationally, and it’s been doing so since 1894!

SoloPower writes:

This is the first UL-certified product in a line of high-power flexible modules being introduced initially to European and North American markets. The flexibility and high-power rating of these products will allow SoloPower’s customers to reduce balance-of-system and installation costs, while their low weight and application features will facilitate solar installations where they are otherwise impossible.

“The certification of SoloPower’s flexible CIGS module is an important step toward the realization of lightweight, high-power, flexible solar modules with potential to expand the roof-top solar market and reduce balance of system costs. It is an important milestone for the industry. I feel very gratified to see, after a 30-year career in Thin Film CIGS PV at NREL, the technology become mature,” says Dr. Rommel Noufi, Principal Scientist of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Great to see these flexible solar panels moving forward. Before long, perhaps the hard, solid-structured solar panels we are used to will look like old Atari video game consoles to us.

Photo Credit: pt via flickr

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Tags: flexible solar panels, solar photovoltaics, solar technology, SoloPower, UL certfication

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

Anonymous

I love solar and wind, but natural gas will set the competitive benchmark for price. It is relatively clean enough for the voting majority, is plentiful, and is in many areas around the world. Carbon concerns are not much of a factor for the vast majority. Jobs and cheap fuel are.
- Anonymous
  
  - *71 percent *of Americans say global warming should be a very high (13%), high (27%), or medium (31%) priority for the president and Congress, including 88 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and 50 percent of Republicans.
  – *91 percent *of Americans say developing sources of clean energy should be a very high (32%), high (35%), or medium (24%) priority for the president and Congress, including 97 percent of Democrats, 89 percent of Independents, and 85 percent of Republicans.
  – http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/06/14/245469/poll-independents-republicans-global-warming-support-clean-energy/
  I’d say the vast majority are concerned about CO2 and climate change.
  
  The price of natural gas is artificially low due to a market glut. Tremendous amounts of money flowed to new NG wells and we have experienced a large surplus which has made prices cheap. As we add NG plants and start selling NG overseas that surplus will go away.
  
  Then, many are reporting that there is likely less NG that we anticipated. Natural gas wells, unlike oil wells, tend to produce a lot of gas for the first couple of years and then peter out.
  
  The last time I checked the futures market expect the price of NG to rise 40% by 2016. Natural gas will not remain the cheap way to make electricity.
  
  Jobs are a concern, but wind and solar create a lot of good jobs. And they
  don’t cause the fracking problems of drilling for NG.
- Anonymous
  
  I’m not denying that NG might be in the mix, but it is already more expensive than wind in Brazil and many other locations. There’s a reason West Texas is growing wind turbines at such a fast clip. And, as Bob points out, Nat Gas is going to see rising prices.
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http://zenestate.blogspot.com/ John W. Rivard

A big step forward for solar. UL certification really means something to the average home/business owner. This product would be a hit if it was available in a “plu&play” version with built-in power inverter and sold through Lowes or Home Depot.