NEWS I REVIEW
World’s first all white solar module released by CSEM
CSEM has announced the world’s first white solar module. This technology is particularly attractive to the building industry where solar elements can blend into a building’s skin and become virtually hidden energy sources. Applications in the consumer goods sector are also expected.
Currently, the market lacks photovoltaic (PV) products specifically designed to be integrated into buildings. Most PV modules, built to maximize sunlight absorption, appear blue-black.
This appearance, caused by the presence of cells and connections, is visually unaesthetic and this complicates the acceptance of PV by professionals.
For decades architects have been asking for a way to customize the colour of solar elements to make them blend into a building’s skin. White is a particularly interesting color as it is widely used for its elegance, versatility, and fresh look.
Despite of this demand, no one was ever able to realize a truly white solar module; naturally believing that it was impossible as most of the light is reflected, contrary to the requirements of all solar panels. CSEM has developed a new technology to make white solar modules, with no visible cells and connections, a reality in today’s market.
It combines a solar cell technology able to convert infrared solar light into electricity and a selective scattering filter, which scatters the whole visible spectrum while transmitting infrared light. Any solar technology based on crystalline silicon can now be used to manufacture white, and coloured, modules.
The technology can be applied on top of an existing module or integrated into a new module during assembly, on flat or curved surfaces. Besides its main application in BIPV, other fields such as consumer electronics (laptops), and the car industry are expected to show significant interest.
Global utility scale PV surpasses 30GW
FIGURES released by utility solar authority
Wiki-Solar.org show that global capacity of utility-scale PV generating capacity is now 30.3GW. This means that 2014, which opened with a capacity of 21.5GW, will be the fifth consecutive record year for the sector. South Africa has now joined the elite top ten countries for large-scale solar, following the commissioning of the 75MW De Aar 3 project in August. The installed capacity of utility-scale power plants in the leading countries at the end of September was:
“Grid-feeding solar generation continues to dazzle, with records being broken all over the place”, says Wiki-Solar’s Philip Wolfe. “Our figures show the USA has become the first country to achieve 7GW of utility-scale PV capacity. Meanwhile the UK will probably top 2GW, when the completed projects are all entered onto the register.”
“Japan and Chile continue to climb the table and, with substantial capacity still under development, will be vying for top-ten places before long.”
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www.solar-international.net I Issue V 2014
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