Solar Power Windows Fast Approaching Commercial Production

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Commercial production of solar windows, using the patented SolarWindow spray-on solar power coating system, may be just around the corner. A recent announcement from US building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) developer New Energy Technologies Ltd. (which we’ve been following for years) has us feeling that the time may soon come.

As per New Energy Technologies’ recent announcement, the big news is that the fabrication time of the technology has been greatly reduced. The fabrication process, which involves methodically spraying layers of extremely small solar cells onto glass, has been reduced from a couple of days to only a couple of hours. According to the company, the process has been cut to 1/6 of the previous fabrication time.

And perhaps as significantly, New Energy has also reported that it has achieved “a two-fold increase in power conversion efficiency” and improved the transparency of the glass. Here are some more notes from the company:

Researchers achieved today’s advances by way of a novel, patent-pending breakthrough, which enables fabrication of large-scale mini-module SolarWindow™ devices, important to commercial deployment of the world’s first-of-its-kind glass window capable of generating electricity.

Generating electricity on glass windows is possible when New Energy researchers spray ultra-small, see-through solar cells on to glass surfaces. These novel spray-on techniques have been pioneered, advanced, and unveiled in operating prototypes by scientists who initiated early research efforts with New Energy Technologies under a Sponsored Research Agreement at the University of South Florida (USF). The Company’s SolarWindow™ technology has since progressed significantly beyond early research, and is now in advanced product development.

For more details about the most recent announcement, check out the full press release.

For previous stories about New Energy’s SolarWindow technology, see:

• One Step Closer to Invisible Solar Cells in Our Windows
• ‘Invisible Wires’ for Transporting Electricity on SolarWindows
• Your Tax Dollars At Work: Invisible Solar Cells That Look Like Glass
• Government Scientists Put See-Through Solar Windows on the Fast Track
• “Invisible” Solar Panels are on the Way
• SolarWindows from New Energy Technologies
• Spray-On Solar Cells

Notably, however, New Energy Technologies isn’t the only company working on such technology (it may just be the leader). Also check out:

• Solar Glass Buildings Now Possible, Just 10% Increase In Total Building Facade Cost
• Solar Windows from UK Company Could Hit Market in 2013
• US DOE, Israel Ink $3.5 Million Deal To Support 4 Renewable Energy Projects
• Solar Cells for Windows Take Another Step Forward
• Power-Generating Windows Offer New Horizons for Office Energy Efficiency
• Solar Power Generation from the Windows — See-Through Solar Cells from Sharp

In other words, a lot of people are working on developing this technology and getting it to market.