New technique speeds cell production

Netherlands, Delft — TU Delft has demonstrated that the speed at which relatively inefficient but inexpensive amorphous solar cells are produced can be increased by a factor of ten. This means more solar panels can be produced per day from a given capital investment. Whilst the basic production technique used was developed by Eindhoven University of Technology; Michael Wank’s project, which was subsidised by Agentschap NL, used a special method to overcome the disadvantages of heat introduced in the original Eindhoven project. The...

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Chinchilla solar project to cut coal consumption

The largest solar thermal project in Australia is coming to Queensland’s rural town of Chinchilla. Many residents in nearby areas already use solar thermal technology in their rooftop solar hot water systems. The Federal government in partnership with the state government have approved one of the biggest solar thermal projects in the world and confirmed funding to build a solar energy system on the site of an exisiting coal-fired power station near Chinchilla in Queensland. This type of arrangement is known as a complementary or hybrid...

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Spark Solar announces new patent applications

New Spark patents pending Spark now has a total of three patents pending that relate specifically to module design. The new work targets three different areas: form, function and safety. ‘Form’ relates to a more aesthetic module design, ‘safety’ to the safety, particularly of roof-top PV systems and ‘function’ is about a higher power output over the life of the system.  

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