PIVOTRY RADIOMETER:  May 2011

Pivotry Radiometer is a free monthly newsletter about new developments in the solar renewable energy industry and based upon the "game changers" from the Pivotry Perspectives Workshops conducted by Wayne Chang, Ph.D.  You are welcomed to share this newsletter with others.

Pivotry Radiometer is in four sections this month:

1.       New Materials

A new woven polymer electrode material for flexible thin-film solar cells was announced last month in ScienceDaily (ref-1.1).  This fabric material was developed by Swiss companies and is being considered as a replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO) which is one of the electrode materials currently used in these types of solar cells.  Advantages of the polymer fabric include less costs and mechanical stability.  A roll to roll process is used and fine metal wires are woven into the material to provide electrical conductivity.  The material is then embedded in a plastic layer, and the solar cell can be made with this plastic substrate.  Initial cell efficiency results claim to be comparable with ITO-based cells.  Flexible (plastic) solar cell technologies open up future possibilities for many new applications of solar PV well beyond the traditional (rigid) solar glass panels.

2.       Hybrid Systems and Integration

SolarEdge Technologies offers a power optimizer solution (PowerBox™) that is integrated into each PV panel (ref-2.1).  This Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) unit reportedly provides increased energy yield per panel by as much as 25%.  A greater degree of integration with the module or panel is achieved in embedding the unit at the panel manufacturer.  This also replaces the traditional junction box.  The PowerBox also communicates panel performance and provides panel-level monitoring for remote maintenance capabilities.  The company was recently recognized globally for its innovations and technologies (ref-2.2).

3.       Photovoltaic Technology Roadmaps and Standards

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has been developing sector roadmaps for the electronics manufacturing industry for many years (ref-3.1).  It is a virtual organization and is an industry-led consortium for the electronics manufacturing supply chain.  One of the technology and business practice areas of the roadmap is Photovoltaics.  A gap analysis has been recently completed, and the roadmap explores solar industry issues over the next 15 years including solar cell technologies, balance of systems/inverters, materials and policies.  As electronics become more prominent and integrated into PV systems, many opportunities exist for such a roadmap to add value to the growth of the PV industry.

4.       CULTURE Perspectives

The Town of Tecumseh (Ontario, Canada), with a population of just 24,000 has one of the largest rooftop solar PV systems for a municipality in Canada (ref-4.1). Essex Power Corporation is the venture partner (ref-4.2), and the Tecumseh Sports Arena is now home to the 500kW solar system.  This system is under the province's lucrative feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  Over 2,000 Canadian Solar (ref-4.3) panels were installed on the arena rooftop.  When towns and cities today successfully lead renewable energy opportunities such as solar PV at this large scale, this shows a real culture shift.

REFERENCES & LINKS

1.1 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419082659.htm

2.1 http://www.solaredge.com/groups/powerbox-power-optimizer

2.2 http://www.solaredge.com/articles/solaredge-red-herring-global-100

3.1 http://www.inemi.org/cms/roadmapping/

4.1 http://www.thetribune.ca/trib/tribune_middle.php?story=4338&PHPSESSID=341cdc9416a84648162aaa7348993a7e

4.2 http://www.essexenergy.ca/downloads/tecumseh.project.pdf

4.3 http://www.canadian-solar.ca/

This newsletter is based upon information that we consider reliable, but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied upon as such.