Information is information I can't always pick and choose what I find and when I find it. This is from NREL a government department.
World-Class R&D
Manufacturing and Deployment
Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT): Participants
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
(Fact Sheet, PDF Format 160KB)
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) directed its work toward
developing the continuous roll-to-roll amorphous silicon PV manufacturing
technology. ECD's overall goals under this subcontract are to (1) support
the production of 0.3x1.2-m (1x4-ft), triple-junction a-Si:Ge alloy modules
with a 10.2% stable efficiency; (2) enhance the effective production
throughput by developing advanced serpentine deposition techniques; and
(3) reduce material and labor costs. Successfully implementing this project
will allow ECD to work toward an ultimate goal of building a 100 MW/yr,
roll-to-roll, automated, a-Si module manufacturing facility. At this
anticipated production capacity, ECD expects to reduce the cost of PV
modules to less than $1/Wp.
At the completion of the last phase, ECD had accomplished the following:
(1) demonstrated a 2500-ft production run of dual-junction solar cells with
a yield of 99.7% on material having an initial subcell conversion efficiency
of 10.2%; (2) fabricated the world s first roll-to-roll, 1.2-m2 (4-ft2),
triple-junction, two-band-gap a-Si module (with an initial efficiency of
9.5%); (3) demonstrated a triple-junction a-Si solar cell (with the top cell
deposited in the serpentine deposition chamber) with an initial efficiency of
9.5%; and (4) completed the conceptual design for an automated
high-volume (100-MW/yr) PV manufacturing plant for producing PV
modules with an expected material cost reduction of 71%.
1998 U.S. Department of Energy National Center for Photovoltaics
NCPV MASTER INDEX |
