Solar ♦ news digest
To achieve this latest increase in conversion efficiency, Sharp capitalised on the ability of this cell to efficiently convert sunlight collected via three photo-absorption layers into electricity. The firm also optimised the spacing between electrodes on the surface of the concentrator cell and minimised the cell’s electrical resistance. This latest Sharp breakthrough came about through research and development efforts that are part of the “R&D on Innovative Solar Cells” project promoted by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). NEDO is one of Japan’s largest public management organisations for promoting research and development as well as for disseminating industrial, energy, and environmental technologies. ISE also participates on this project. Their superior conversion efficiency make compound solar cells ideal for use in space satellites, which is their primary application. Sharp’s aim for the future is to apply this latest development success into concentrator photovoltaic power systems that can efficiently generate electricity using small-surface-area solar cells and make them practical for terrestrial use.
Ascent Solar’s Joe Armstrong Joins Bye Aerospace Strategic Advisory Council
Joe Armstrong, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Ascent Solar Technologies, has joined the Strategic Advisory Council of Bye Aerospace.
Ascent Solar is a developer of flexible CIGS solar panels and Bye Aerospace is applying clean energy solutions to innovative aircraft designs for the business aviation and defense markets.
Armstrong has spent the majority of his 30+ year career in photovoltaics (PV), including with Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) and
July 2012
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ITN Energy Systems before becoming a founding member of the ASTI team in 2005. Dr. Armstrong has been on the forefront in the development of lightweight, flexible photovoltaics for terrestrial, aeronautics, near-space, and space applications. He is a named inventor on five U.S. patents in areas including shape memory alloys, fuel cells, electronic circuit assembly, and thin-film PV technology, and on numerous pending patent applications. Armstrong has a bachelor’s degree from Lewis University in Illinois and received his masters and doctorate degrees in Physics from the University of Denver, Colorado. Dr. Armstrong previously served as a member of the Advisory Board for the State of Colorado Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion and was the Chair of the Steering Committee, as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Advanced Materials Institute.
“I am honored to be invited to join the Strategic Advisory Council at Bye,” said Dr. Armstrong. “As business aviation and defense markets envision solar energy as a compliment to traditional power sources, with purposeful integration into systems and structures, numerous performance advantages can be realized. I believe that Ascent Solar and Bye Aerospace are uniquely positioned in these markets.”
“It is an absolute honor to welcome Dr. Armstrong to our impressive group of strategic advisors,” said George Bye, Chairman and CEO of Bye Aerospace. “Clean energy provided by thin-film PV technology is critical to the performance of several of Bye Aerospace’s internal programs, including the solar- electric hybrid Silent Guardian unmanned aerial vehicle and the StarLight™ solar-electric powered airship.
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