Tag:

solar cell efficiency records

Panasonic HIT Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record

by Zach April 19, 2014

written by Zach

Panasonic has a long history of breaking solar efficiency records. The company recently announced that it has broken an efficiency record again.

Its HIT solar cell has achieved a conversion efficiency of 25.6%, a new world record and “a major increase over the previous world record for crystalline silicon-based solar cells,” as Panasonic notes.

Notably, that previous record was also set by Panasonic. Back in February 2013, we announced that the company’s HIT solar cell had hit an efficiency of 24.7%.

April 19, 2014 0 comment

PV Solar Modules Solar PV Manufacturing Solar Records

Record Conversion Efficiency For China Sunergy Solar Cells

by Zach September 26, 2013

written by Zach

China Sunergy has reportedly set a record for monocrystalline solar cell efficiency. The new record, 20.26%, has been verified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE).

I’ll admit that I’m a little confused, since EPFL set an amorphous and monocrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record of 21.4% in September 2012. I guess the difference with the China Sunergy record is that these are non-amorphous monocrystalline solar cells (though, that wasn’t specified)? Or perhaps it is that China Sunergy is actually going to produce these solar cells for the commercial market? Or, there’s a chance that it’s simply the highest solar cell conversion efficiency amongst Chinese PV companies. The press release notes: “The new conversion efficiency record of 20.26% was confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE as the leading level among all photovoltaic enterprises in China and has surpassed the benchmark of 20% mono-crystalline cells conversion efficiency set by the eight development guidelines issued by the State Council for China’s photovoltaic industry inJuly 2013.”

Reportedly, mass production of these solar cells is to start by the end of 2014 at a 70 MW capacity solar cell production line. Furthermore, it has a module production line with a capacity of 15 MW.

September 26, 2013 0 comment

CPV Science Solar Records Solar Research

Dog Bites Man As Amonix Sets Yet Another Solar Cell Efficiency Record

by Zach August 22, 2013

written by Zach

Dog Bites Man As Amonix Sets Yet Another Solar Cell Efficiency Record (via Clean Technica)

You know we’re getting somewhere when record-shattering solar power efficiency marks are popping up faster than zombies at your local Comic Con, so let’s hear it for the California-based innovator Amonix, which has been setting records practically…

August 22, 2013 0 comment

PV Science Solar PV Manufacturing Solar Records Solar Research

Multicrystalline Solar Cell Efficiency Record Set By JA Solar

by Nicholas Brown August 6, 2013

written by Nicholas Brown

JA Solar multicrystalline solar cell achieves record efficiency of 18.3%.

JA Solar has reported that it has achieved a record 18.3% efficiency for a standard 156×156 mm2 multicrystalline solar cell. This was verified by Yangzhou Opto-Electrical Products Testing Institute. This is twice as efficient as my solar panel.

Solar cell and solar panel efficiency isn’t as big an issue as some have made it out to be. However, efficiency improvements open new windows of opportunity, such as the ability to extend the battery life of portable electronics such as cellphones, tablet PCs, and laptops.

There is also the issue of cars and planes. Highly efficient solar panels could make solar-powered planes and solar-powered long-range electric cars much more feasible.

Solar-powered cars would charge in almost every parking lot during the day, and reduce the current required from the grid to charge as well, reducing the cost of charging and emissions, if the grid power in their area comes from fossil-fueled power plants.

In other words, the more efficient the solar panels that can be integrated into these devices, the more power they can generate.

August 6, 2013 0 comment

CPV CSP Going Solar How Solar PV Works Market Research Policy Research PV Rooftop Solar Science Solar $Solar Modules Solar Policy Solar Projects Solar PV Manufacturing Solar Records Solar Research Solar Thermal Thin Film Solar

Solar Energy & Solar Power Facts

by Zach June 29, 2013

written by Zach

Need some solar energy facts or solar power facts? This page is aimed at becoming the best go-to source on the web for solar facts… if it isn’t already. The solar facts below are succinct and organized by categories and subcategories. To help improve the page, please feel free to add any solar facts you are aware of in the comments below… or correct ours if we’ve got any wrong. If you do either of those things, just be sure to include a link to a reliable source — we want to be very careful here to check the facts before publishing them. Cool? Cool.

Solar farm in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Photo Credit: Marika Krakowiak / Solar Love

Solar Energy Facts / Solar Power Facts Table Of Contents

The main categories below are:

— Solar Records

Solar Cell Efficiency Records
Solar Module Efficiency Records
Largest Solar Power Plants
Solar Market Leaders
Solar Vehicles

— Solar Policies

Feed-in Tariffs
Net Metering
Value of Solar Tariffs
Renewable Energy Standards (RES) / Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) / Renewable Obligation
PACE Financing
Solar Mandates
Rebates, Tax Credits, Grants, & Loans
Interconnection
Permitting
More Info, More Policies?

— How Solar PV Works

— Chime In!

Now, on to the solar energy and solar power facts!!

Solar Records

Solar Cell Efficiency Records

Overall world solar cell efficiency record (also the concentrator triple-junction solar cell efficiency record) — 44.7% (Fraunhofer ISE)
Triple-junction, non-concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 37.9% (Sharp)
Two-junction, concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 32.6% (IES–UPM)
Two-junction solar cell conversion efficiency record under one sun of illumination — 31.1% (NREL)
Single-junction, concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 29.1% (FhG–ISE)
Single-junction, GaAs, thin-film crystal solar cell efficiency record — 28.8% (Alta Devices)
Crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 25.6% (Panasonic)
Amorphous and monocrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 21.4% (EPFL Institute of Microengineering)
P-type mono-crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 21.4% (Trina Solar)
Thin-film solar cell efficiency record (CdTe) — 21% (First Solar)
CIS thin-film solar cell efficiency record — 20.9% (Solar Frontier)
CIGS thin-film solar cell efficiency record — 20.8% (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg — ZSW)
P-type multi-crystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 20.5% (Trina Solar)
Black silicon solar cell efficiency record — 18.7% (Fraunhofer ISE & Aalto University)
CZTS solar cell efficiency record — 12.6% (Solar Frontier, IBM, & TOK)
Single-junction microcrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency record — 10.7% (EPFL Institute of Microengineering)
Plasmonic polymer solar cell efficiency record — 8.92% (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
Graphene solar cell efficiency record — 8.6% (University of Florida)

Solar Module Efficiency Records

Overall solar PV module efficiency record (also the CPV module efficiency record) — 36.7% (Fraunhofer ISE)
Outdoor solar PV (and CPV) module efficiency record — 34.9% (Amonix)
Commercial CPV module efficiency record — 31.8% (Soitec)
Commercial solar module efficiency record — 21.5% (SunPower)
Leading solar modules in solar module yield field tests — SunPower SPR-327NE-WHT-D modules
Thin-film solar module aperture efficiency record — 17.4% (Q-Cells)
Cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) module conversion efficiency record — 16.1% (First Solar)
CIGS thin-film solar module efficiency record — 15.7% (Samsung)
Flexible PV solar module efficiency record — 15.5% (MiaSolé )
Monolithically integrated, commercially available CIGS module efficiency record — 13.4% (Stion) (also holds the 14.8% aperture efficiency record for such modules) and 13.4% (SoloPower)

Largest Solar Power Plants

Largest “collection” of solar power plants: 600 MW — Gujarat Solar Park
Largest solar power plant under construction: 579 MW — Antelope Valley Solar Project
Largest solar PV power plant completed: 550 MW — Topaz Solar Farm

CSP

Largest concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant under construction: 392 MW — Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System
Largest single-unit CSP plant completed: 100 MW — Shams 1

CPV

Largest concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar power plant: 37 MW — Alamosa Solar Generating Project

Solar Market Leaders

Global

Solar Power (MW) Per Million People (End of 2012): 398.63 — Germany
New Solar Power (MW) Per Million People In 2012: 108.98 — Bulgaria
Solar Power (MW) Per $1 Billion GDP (End of 2012): 17.8 — Bulgaria
New Solar Power (MW) Per $1 Billion GDP In 2012: 15.03 — Bulgaria
Solar Peak Power Output Record: 22.68 GW — Germany
Single-Year Solar Power Installation Record: 7.6 GW — Germany

Solar Power (W) Per Capita (End of 2012): 166.9 — Arizona
New Solar Power (W) Per Capita In 2012: 108.39 — Arizona

Module Manufacturers & Developers

#1 solar module manufacturer (2012) — Yingli Green Energy
#1 utility-scale solar developer in world — First Solar
#1 EPC solar contractor in the world — First Solar

Solar Vehicles

1st solar-powered airplane to cross the US: Solar Impulse
1st solar-powered airplane to fly for 24 hours nonstop: Solar Impulse
1st solar-powered airplane to fly for 48 hours nonstop: Solar Impulse
Solar-powered aviation world distance record on a single flight: 832 NM/ 1’541 km — Solar Impulse

June 29, 2013 17 comments

How Solar PV Works PV Science Solar Records Solar Research

Sharp Regains Solar Cell Efficiency Record

by Zach May 4, 2013

written by Zach

Sharp has a long string of solar cell efficiency records. And it has just extended that string a little further.

In 2009, Sharp landed a 35.8% triple-junction, non-concentrator solar cell efficiency record. It then went on to break that record a couple more times — with others breaking it as well. Up until recently, that record sat at 37.8%, and Boeing-Spectrolab was the record holder. But Sharp now reports that it has increased its cell efficiency from 37.7% (the record before Boeing-Spectrolab came along) to 37.9%. The efficiency record has been verified by National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

So, Sharp is in the lead again.

If you don’t follow such technology closely, let me quickly explain what a couple of these key terms mean. Conventional solar cells are “single-junction” solar cells, so they are just tuned to one wavelength of light. That greatly limits the efficiency of the solar cells. “Multi-junction” solar cells (in this case, triple-junction solar cells) add junctions using different materials in order to capture more wavelengths of light.

Of course, this has drawbacks — it’s more expensive and more difficult, for example — but it can considerably increase solar cell efficiency. As you can see in this NREL graph on solar cell efficiencies, multi-junction solar cells rule the roost when it comes to efficiency (note: the graph doesn’t yet include Sharp’s new record):

Click to enlarge this beast.

May 4, 2013 1 comment