The solar energy industry is on a mission, a mission that began when the first photovoltaic cells were installed on a rooftop and began converting sunlight into electricity: to make solar power as cheap as traditional energy sources. In other words, to achieve "grid parity."
That goal has come one step closer to being realised with a company in America claiming to have developed the world’s most efficient solar cell.
The USA’s Spire Corporation, with cooperation from the US Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), say their new 0.97cm(2) concentrator solar photovoltaic (CPV) cell has a peak efficiency of 42.3 percent.
According to Edward D. Gagnon, General Manager of Spire Semiconductor, LLC, in 2009 NREL awarded Spire Corp. a contract to develop a high efficiency triple junction, gallium arsenide (GaAs) cell.
“In less than 18 months, we were able to validate and incorporate our new concept into a production-ready cell design with world-record efficiency. This is a remarkable achievement by our technical team,” Mr Gagnon said. “This higher efficiency, next generation GaAs CPV cell platform is now available commercially to the concentrator systems providers.”
CPV photovoltaic solar systems use sunlight concentrated onto photovoltaic surfaces for the purpose of electrical power production. Solar concentrators of all varieties may be used – such as mirrors – and these are often mounted on a solar tracker in order to keep the focal point upon the cell as the sun moves across the sky.
Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation, said, “We are pleased to reach the record high CPV cell efficiency. The availability of this new high-efficiency cell will advance next-generation CPV system performance and reduce system cost for manufacturers, helping to move solar energy ever closer to the goal of grid parity.”
The market reacted positively to Spire’s announcement, with the company’s shares closing USD$5.10 up at the close of trading.
