These days it’s becoming hard to keep pace with breakthroughs in solar technology, with companies investing more money into research and development than ever before.
In April we reported GE Energy had posted a world record 13 percent light-to-energy conversion efficiency with their market-ready cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film solar panel. But the team at GE had better not rest on their laurels, because that record has been squashed after results of tests conducted on a new CdTe photovoltaic (PV) cell from First Solar Inc., which show a conversion efficiency rating of 17.3 percent.
“This is a significant milestone that demonstrates the ongoing potential of our advanced thin-film technology,” said Dave Eaglesham, Chief Technology Officer at First Solar. “This leap forward in R&D supports our efficiency roadmap for our production modules and will recalibrate industry expectations for the long-term efficiency potential of CdTe technology.”
Even more significant is the fact that the company manufactured the record-breaking solar cell using everyday commercial-scale equipment and materials. Many companies experimenting with cell efficiency produce record results in the lab, but cannot reproduce them on the factory floor. The results were confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
It should be noted individual PV cells are incorporated into a solar panel, some efficiency is lost. First Solar says it has recorded full-solar module efficiencies of over 13.5 percent, with a 13.4 percent module confirmed by the NREL. First Solar’s module efficiency roadmap sets a goal for production-line efficiencies of 13.5-14.5 percent by the end of 2014.
In the first quarter of this year the First Solar’s average panel efficiency was just 11.7 percent, so the company’s progress in 2011 is certainly impressive.
While CdTe technology is rapidly evolving, questions still hang over the issue of safety of cadmium-telluride based solar panels.
