SOLARAWARDS2011 SHORTLISTED


Thin Film Innovation Award 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film


Product Challenge For years, solar companies have searched for ways to produce lightweight, flexible modules that are cheaper to ship and easier to install. These efforts have been hindered by a lack of affordable, quality glass substitutes.


Problem Solved


3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film efficiently replaces glass layers to enable lower manufacturing, shipping and balance of systems (BOS) costs.


Noteworthy 24


The product is the result of more than a decade of development in transparent barrier technology. Typical solar modules are created by sandwiching cells between two pieces of glass. This method leads to bulky, rigid modules that can be expensive to ship and install.


Abound Solar


AB1-series modules and manufacturing process


Abound Solar manufactures solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in the U.S. using proprietary, high-quality, low-cost solar manufacturing technology. Its modules are backed by a robust 25-year power output warranty and are UL, CE and CEC listed. Abound modules are each 26lb (12kg), ~24 x 48 (60cm x 120cm) and can be installed by a single person. Each module has a tempered back glass and heat-strengthened front glass, both of which provide superior physical strength. Its frameless design prevents moisture and soil pooling at low angles and facilitates snow clearing, and it’s the proprietary TruLock edge-seal makes it highly robust and resistant to moisture ingress. Abound modules are compatible with racking from Schletter, Sunlink, FlexRack, APAlternatives, Unirac, DPW and more.


Designed to address the needs of flexible thin film solar manufacturers, 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film acts as a replacement for glass. The result is a product with high light transmission, superb moisture barrier performance, and unparalleled durability. 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film has proven to provide moisture vapour transmission rates (MVTR) below 5 * 10-4 g/m2/day.


Innovation


Compared with glass-glass modules, the large-area, lightweight, flexible PV modules manufactured with 3M Ultra


The semiconductor, cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film, is the fastest growing, most successful semiconductor on the market. Proven stable and reliable in the long run, it allows for ~10% module efficiency with line-of-sight to the teens and is compatible with inverters from most leading manufacturers. Abounds facility is fully-automated, converting glass and semiconductor materials into complete modules beneath its roof. This enables tighter quality control and reduces waste. A glass panel enters the


Barrier Solar Film can achieve lower balance of systems (BOS) costs by requiring less installation time, removing the need for metal racking and reducing logistics expenses.


Customer Benefits


3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film facilitates lower module manufacturing costs by allowing manufacturers to produce large area modules, effectively reducing costs associated with module production by assembling them in a continuous, roll-to- roll process.


factory every 10 seconds and emerges as a completed module two hours later.


Product Challenge Abounds CdTe thin-film PV modules address a number of solar industry and market challenges, including perhaps the greatest obstacle of all: the conventionally high cost of solar technology. Abound Solars modules offer the lowest-cost solar technology. Abound also addresses the other common challenge of maximizing module and system efficiency. Although crystalline silicon PV make up 80% of the solar market, its performance wanes in high temperature and low-light conditions. Abounds modules perform better than crystalline silicon in such conditions.


Problem Solved Cost: CdTe thin-film modules offer the lowest-cost solar technology, allowing systems using Abounds modules to deliver the lowest levelized cost of electricity. Abound manufacturing process also provides a cost advantage over competitors because it can produce millions of modules per year at an industry-leading low cost.


Performance: Abounds modules produce more energy than crystalline silicon in hot, cloudy environments, resulting in greater electricity output per watt of installed capacity.


Environment: Abounds industry-leading module recycling program is pre-funded by Abound for full cradle-to-cradle stewardship. Abounds modules also offer the fastest energy payback and lowest carbon footprint in the industry.


Noteworthy Various thin-film module manufacturers have struggled in their efforts to commercialize complex and expensive production technologies as production ramps take longer than expected and venture capital and other sources of funding run dry. Abounds module production process, a closed-space


www.solar-pv-management.com Issue VII 2011


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