CleanTechnica » thin film solar cells http://cleantechnica.com Clean Tech News & Views: Solar Energy News. Wind Energy News. EV News. & More. Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:48:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1 Silicon Thin-Film Solar Going Nowhere, According To New Report From EnergyTrend http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/09/silicon-thin-film-solar-going-nowhere-according-energytrend/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/09/silicon-thin-film-solar-going-nowhere-according-energytrend/#comments Fri, 09 May 2014 11:50:19 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=66481 The future of the silicon thin-film market is looking bleak, according to a new report from EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce. After the (relatively) recent announcement from DuPont that it was planning to terminate its silicon thin-film operations, questions have certainly begun to come up about how much longer the market can keep going.

Silicon Thin-Film Solar Going Nowhere, According To New Report From EnergyTrend was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/09/silicon-thin-film-solar-going-nowhere-according-energytrend/feed/ 4 Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set By Solar Frontier http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/11/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-solar-frontier/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/11/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-solar-frontier/#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:50:06 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=65168 Originally published on Planetsave. In the close race for PV efficiency, copper indium gallium (di)selenide cells have taken the lead again in tests at the Atsugi Research Center in Kanagawa, Japan. The Fraunhofer Institute, Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization, has independently verified the results. A Solar Frontier 0.5cm2 CIS configuration achieved 20.9% conversion efficiency, a

Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set By Solar Frontier was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/11/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-solar-frontier/feed/ 1 Thin-Film Solar May See Manufacturing Costs Fall Thanks To New Superabsorbing Design http://cleantechnica.com/2014/03/04/thin-film-solar-may-see-manufacturing-costs-fall-thanks-new-superabsorbing-design/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/03/04/thin-film-solar-may-see-manufacturing-costs-fall-thanks-new-superabsorbing-design/#comments Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:00:30 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=63447 Thin-film solar cells may soon possess the ability to absorb a notably larger portion of the light that strikes them, thanks to the recent development of a “superabsorbing” design by researchers at North Carolina State University. As well as improving the light absorption efficiency of thin-film solar cells, the new design could help to bring

Thin-Film Solar May See Manufacturing Costs Fall Thanks To New Superabsorbing Design was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/03/04/thin-film-solar-may-see-manufacturing-costs-fall-thanks-new-superabsorbing-design/feed/ 1 CIGS Solar Cell Efficiency Gets A Tweak From Swiss Research Team http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/09/swiss-team-tweaks-cigs-solar-cell-efficiency/ http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/09/swiss-team-tweaks-cigs-solar-cell-efficiency/#comments Sat, 09 Nov 2013 12:37:54 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=58768 The solar cell efficiency horse race is in full swing and it seems like every other week a new record-breaking announcement comes out, but let’s take a step back and consider how efficiency is just one element in the installed cost of solar power. Another key factor is the cost of manufacturing, as demonstrated by

CIGS Solar Cell Efficiency Gets A Tweak From Swiss Research Team was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/11/09/swiss-team-tweaks-cigs-solar-cell-efficiency/feed/ 4 Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set By Centre For Solar Energy & Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/31/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-centre-solar-energy-hydrogen-research-baden-wurttemberg/ http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/31/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-centre-solar-energy-hydrogen-research-baden-wurttemberg/#comments Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:30:01 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=58414 Originally published on Solar Love. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) has announced that it has set a new copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell efficiency record. The 20.8% record beats ZSW’s own previous record of 20.3% as well as the 20.4% multicrystalline PV cell record — the first time that thin-film

Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set By Centre For Solar Energy & Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/10/31/thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-centre-solar-energy-hydrogen-research-baden-wurttemberg/feed/ 0 Low-Cost Solar Energy — New Process Utilizing Antifreeze & Inexpensive Materials Aims For Cheap Solar http://cleantechnica.com/2013/07/09/low-cost-solar-energy-new-process-utilizing-antifreeze-and-inexpensive-materials-promises-cheap-solar/ http://cleantechnica.com/2013/07/09/low-cost-solar-energy-new-process-utilizing-antifreeze-and-inexpensive-materials-promises-cheap-solar/#comments Tue, 09 Jul 2013 07:54:26 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=53751 Solar cells that are cheaper to produce and contain fewer toxic compounds may be a reality in the near future, thanks to new research from Oregon State University. By utilizing a commonly used antifreeze — ethylene glycol — and some other comparatively cheap materials to produce solar cells in a “continuous flow reactor,” the costs

Low-Cost Solar Energy — New Process Utilizing Antifreeze & Inexpensive Materials Aims For Cheap Solar was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/07/09/low-cost-solar-energy-new-process-utilizing-antifreeze-and-inexpensive-materials-promises-cheap-solar/feed/ 3 Solar R&D Heavyweights Join In Effort To Drive Down Thin-Film CIGS Costs http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/15/solar-rd-heavyweights-join-in-effort-to-drive-down-thin-film-cigs-costs/ http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/15/solar-rd-heavyweights-join-in-effort-to-drive-down-thin-film-cigs-costs/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:05:29 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=49602 Solar industry manufacturing consortium PVMC and NREL aim to help reduce the installed cost of thin-film CIGS solar PV by 75%, an effort that falls right in line with targets set out in PVMC's thin-film PV industry roadmap and President Obama's SunShot Initiative

Solar R&D Heavyweights Join In Effort To Drive Down Thin-Film CIGS Costs was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/15/solar-rd-heavyweights-join-in-effort-to-drive-down-thin-film-cigs-costs/feed/ 4 New Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set, 20.4% http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/22/new-thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-20-4/ http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/22/new-thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-20-4/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:05:18 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=47338 A new conversion efficiency record of 20.4% has been set for thin-film solar cells by researchers at Empa and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. The new record of 20.4% is a big improvement over the previous record achieved by this team (18.7%) in May 2011. The new flexible solar cells are

New Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set, 20.4% was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/22/new-thin-film-solar-cell-efficiency-record-set-20-4/feed/ 13 Peel & Stick Solar Panels: Game Over For Disposable Batteries… Eventually http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/21/stanford-university-develops-peel-and-stick-solar-panels/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/21/stanford-university-develops-peel-and-stick-solar-panels/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:53:12 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=46413   A solar panel so small, light, thin, and flexible that you can stick it onto just about anything has been developed by engineers at Stanford University. The new peel and stick solar panels actually work more like those temporary tattoos that you apply with water, and there’s a bit of heating involved, so in terms of

Peel & Stick Solar Panels: Game Over For Disposable Batteries… Eventually was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/21/stanford-university-develops-peel-and-stick-solar-panels/feed/ 1 Grid Parity In Sight For New Low-Cost Solar Cell http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/08/grid-parity-in-sight-for-cheap-new-solar-cell/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/08/grid-parity-in-sight-for-cheap-new-solar-cell/#comments Sat, 08 Dec 2012 16:29:58 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=45933   That light barreling down upon us from the end of the tunnel is solar power as cheap as fossil fuels. The latest breakthrough is a low-cost solar cell manufactured with the help of Gallium Arsenide, a compound of the “poor metal” gallium and arsenic. It definitely does not sound like something you’d want to eat, but

Grid Parity In Sight For New Low-Cost Solar Cell was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/12/08/grid-parity-in-sight-for-cheap-new-solar-cell/feed/ 17 Solar Cell Degradation Research Can Improve Thin Film Solar Panels http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/13/solar-cell-degradation-research-can-improve-thin-film-solar-panels/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/13/solar-cell-degradation-research-can-improve-thin-film-solar-panels/#comments Sat, 13 Oct 2012 06:53:21 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=43951   The Laboratory for Photovoltaics at the University of Luxembourg has recently devised a new method to observe the causes of and prevent solar cell degradation before solar cell production is even finished. This will have huge effects on the solar cell manufacturing industry because of how fast chemical damage to solar cells can happen,

Solar Cell Degradation Research Can Improve Thin Film Solar Panels was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/13/solar-cell-degradation-research-can-improve-thin-film-solar-panels/feed/ 0 New Efficiency Record for Photovoltaic Cells Set, Jump in Efficiency Thanks to Heterojunction Technology http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/30/new-efficiency-record-for-photovoltaic-cells-set-jump-in-efficiency-thanks-to-heterojunction-technology/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/30/new-efficiency-record-for-photovoltaic-cells-set-jump-in-efficiency-thanks-to-heterojunction-technology/#comments Sun, 30 Sep 2012 10:28:33 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=43347   A new solar photovoltaic conversion efficiency record for solar cells made of amorphous and monocrystalline silicon of 21.4% was recently set, thanks to the innovations of researchers at EPFL’s Institute of Microengineering in Neuchatel. The research team, led by professor Christophe Ballif, director of the Photovoltaics Laboratory (PVlab), recently presented their work at the

New Efficiency Record for Photovoltaic Cells Set, Jump in Efficiency Thanks to Heterojunction Technology was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/30/new-efficiency-record-for-photovoltaic-cells-set-jump-in-efficiency-thanks-to-heterojunction-technology/feed/ 3 Microwave Heating Lowering Solar Cell Production Costs http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/28/microwave-heating-lowering-solar-cell-production-costs/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/28/microwave-heating-lowering-solar-cell-production-costs/#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:40:44 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=41762   You might use a microwave oven to warm up that cup of tea you left stewing just a little too long, or tonight’s dinner (because work ran late again), but engineers at Oregon State University have discovered that the same technology you used to bring that lasagna back to life is also great for

Microwave Heating Lowering Solar Cell Production Costs was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/28/microwave-heating-lowering-solar-cell-production-costs/feed/ 0 A Brief History of Everything Solar http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/21/history-of-solar/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/21/history-of-solar/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:05:32 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=36285   The following is an excellent short history of solar panels and solar power from guest contributor Dane Cross. I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy it — I did! What do Archimedes, Einstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger all have in common? Answer: They’ve all contributed to the development of solar power.   From the 3rd Century BC when Archimedes fought off Roman ships by concentrating

A Brief History of Everything Solar was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/21/history-of-solar/feed/ 6 Flexible CIGS Solar Panel Efficiency Record Set by SoloPower http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/14/flexible-cigs-solar-panel-efficiency-record-set-by-solopower/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/14/flexible-cigs-solar-panel-efficiency-record-set-by-solopower/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:45:02 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=36056   Another week, another solar power efficiency record set! A California-based manufacturer of flexible thin-film solar cells and solar panels, SoloPower, yesterday announced a record aperture area efficiency for flexible copper, indium, gallium and (di)selenide (“CIGS”) modules — 13.4%. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) independently certified the record efficiency. “Importantly, the cells were made in SoloPower’s San

Flexible CIGS Solar Panel Efficiency Record Set by SoloPower was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/14/flexible-cigs-solar-panel-efficiency-record-set-by-solopower/feed/ 2 Stanford Engineers Weld Nanowires with Light http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/11/stanford-engineers-weld-nanowires-with-light/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/11/stanford-engineers-weld-nanowires-with-light/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:00:06 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=34826   By Andrew Myers One area of intensive research at the nanoscale is the creation of electrically conductive meshes made of metal nanowires. Promising exceptional electrical throughput, low cost and easy processing, engineers foresee a day when such meshes are common in new generations of touch-screens, video displays, light-emitting diodes, and thin-film solar cells. Standing

Stanford Engineers Weld Nanowires with Light was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/11/stanford-engineers-weld-nanowires-with-light/feed/ 1 Startup Invents Peel-Off Solar Cell http://cleantechnica.com/2012/01/28/startup-invents-peel-off-solar-cell/ http://cleantechnica.com/2012/01/28/startup-invents-peel-off-solar-cell/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:49:32 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=34356 Astrowatt developed a new manufacturing technique for solar cells that would enable them to attain the comparably high efficiency of traditional silicon wafer solar panels, but while using the silicon raw material much more efficiently

Startup Invents Peel-Off Solar Cell was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2012/01/28/startup-invents-peel-off-solar-cell/feed/ 2 New Record: Thin-Film Manufacturer Soltecture Produces Its First 100-Watt Solar Modules at 13.4% Efficiency http://cleantechnica.com/2011/12/08/new-record-thin-film-manufacturer-soltecture-produces-first-100-watt-solar-modules-at-13-4-efficiency/ http://cleantechnica.com/2011/12/08/new-record-thin-film-manufacturer-soltecture-produces-first-100-watt-solar-modules-at-13-4-efficiency/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:00:51 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=32765 Soltecture, a German manufacturer, announced that they attained a new CIGSe solar efficiency record of 13.4% (not a worldwide record), and they are producing their first 100 watt solar panels

New Record: Thin-Film Manufacturer Soltecture Produces Its First 100-Watt Solar Modules at 13.4% Efficiency was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2011/12/08/new-record-thin-film-manufacturer-soltecture-produces-first-100-watt-solar-modules-at-13-4-efficiency/feed/ 1 First Solar Sets Thin Film CdTe Solar Cell Efficiency World Record http://cleantechnica.com/2011/07/27/first-solar-sets-thin-film-cd-te-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/ http://cleantechnica.com/2011/07/27/first-solar-sets-thin-film-cd-te-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:05:14 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=29220 First Solar has set a new world record for converting the energy from sunlight into electricity. One of its latest cadmium-telluride photovoltaic cells, which are used in its thin film solar PV panels, achieved a 17.3% conversion efficiency in testing at the NREL in Colorado, blowing away the previous record of 16.7%, which was set back in 2001.

First Solar Sets Thin Film CdTe Solar Cell Efficiency World Record was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2011/07/27/first-solar-sets-thin-film-cd-te-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/feed/ 5 GE Invests $600 Million into Manufacturing New Solar Technology (“Most Efficient Thin Film Solar Cell on Market”) http://cleantechnica.com/2011/04/11/ge-invests-600-million-into-manufacturing-solar-pv-breakthrough-technology-most-efficient-solar-cell-on-market/ http://cleantechnica.com/2011/04/11/ge-invests-600-million-into-manufacturing-solar-pv-breakthrough-technology-most-efficient-solar-cell-on-market/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:59:15 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=25554 GE just made a number of huge solar power announcements

GE Invests $600 Million into Manufacturing New Solar Technology (“Most Efficient Thin Film Solar Cell on Market”) was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2011/04/11/ge-invests-600-million-into-manufacturing-solar-pv-breakthrough-technology-most-efficient-solar-cell-on-market/feed/ 9