The New Look of Solar

Solyndra, a California based solar power company, has developed a revolutionary new solar product that utilizes tubes — resembling fluorescent lights — instead of conventional panels. The cylindrical shape allows Solyndra to cover a larger surface area and capture more light resulting in greater electricity generation. The cylindrical modules can capture sunlight across a 360-degree surface capable of collecting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight.

Solyndra modules are also much easier to install than conventional panels. They don’t have to be positioned on an angle, and can be installed for about half the cost of normal solar panel installation. There are no roof penetrations needed and they can be easily moved for maintenance or relocation.

Despite the dismal state of our economy, solar technology has seen rapid growth in the past few years. This new offering from Solyndra is poised to grow the industry even more and they have just announced over 1.2 billion, yes billion, worth of new contracts. Most of the new modules however will unfortunately be heading overseas, but as solar technologies continue to mature and drop in price, expect to see more and more buildings employing them.

Further Reading

Solyndra Website
Solyndra in The Business Journal
Solyndra interview in Scientific American

Day4 Energy Has Introduced A New Solar Panel Technology

Day4 Energy, A startup company in Burnaby, Canada, has introduced new solar panel technology, which will increase energy efficiency and decrease costs by 25 percent. President of Day4 Energy, George Rubin, has estimated that the cost per watt of solar power would be about $3 compared to the $4 for conventional panels. After months of research and experiments, Day4 has developed a new solar panel that has evolved in design and performance. The company has redesigned the solar-cell structure and has also developed a new electrode that allows these solar panels to absorb more light and operate at a higher voltage. This increases the efficiency from an industry standard of 14 percent to 17 percent, and these solar panels will generate more power than conventional panels do.

In conventional solar panels, the silicon that converts light into electricity is covered with a network of silver lines that feed into thicker wires called bus bars. Day4 replaced these bus bars with rows of fine copper wires coated with an alloy material, creating a new electrode. It covers up less silicon than the bus bars, leaving more area for absorbing light. In addition, less silicon was used in the production of this electrode, which allows more light to pass through to be converted into electricity. Although the new panels won’t be available for another 18 months, they are already in production.

Day4 Energy