Author Archives: Frank Andorka

Could Perovskites Be Right Around the Corner? Solar-Tectic Earns Patents For Thin-Film Perovskite Technology

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Perovskites have been the hot solar technology for several years now without, frankly, a lot to show for it. But one company – Solar-Tectic – has reached the patent stage for its thin-film perovskite technology.

Could perovskite modules be close behind? The answer is a definite maybe.

According to the company’s release, the breakthrough is the width of the bottom layer in the tandem cell. The release says:

Wafer sized bottom poly- and monocrystalline silicon layers in PERC, PERL, HIT, HJ, or perovskite/silicon tandem cells are typically 200-280 microns thick, whereas ST’s thin-film crystalline inorganic bottom layers can be as thin as 20-30 microns with the same or similar efficiency; moreover, they can be processed at much lower temperatures thereby lowering costs of production significantly.

Most solar observers believe perovskites would be a valuable addition to the solar space because their photovoltaic properties are much more sensitive than silicon, meaning their conversion efficiencies – how well they convert sunlight to electricity – is much higher. The theoretical conversion efficiency for perovskites is nearly 45%, almost twice the highest silicon cell efficiency (though in reality, thin-film modules such as First Solar’s have nearly reached a 30% efficiency).

The breakthrough patents correspond to a “Tandem Series” of solar cell technologies which has been launched by ST, and that includes a variety of different proven semiconductor photovoltaic materials (i.e. III-V, CZTS, a-Si, etc) for the top layer on silicon (or germanium) bottom layer, on various substrates such as cheap soda-lime glass. Last year, ST announced the first patent ever granted for this perovskite/silicon thin-film tandem approach.

Interestingly, the entire ST process is environmentally friendly since non-toxic Sn (tin) or Au (gold) is used to deposit the crystalline silicon thin-film material for the bottom layer in the tandem/heterojunction configuration as well as in the top, perovskite, layer.

Solar FlexRack Completes Shipments to 71 MW Solar Project in North Carolina

Solar FlexRack™, a division of Northern States Metals and an innovative leader in photovoltaic mounting and solar tracker solutions, has completed shipments of its G3-X fixed tilt racking system to Brantley solar farm, a large-scale solar project in North Carolina. The 71 MWdc project, which is about 30 miles east of Raleigh, was developed and is currently being built by Cypress Creek Renewables, a leading national solar developer, builder and operator.

Brantley Solar Project in North Carolina is being installed with high-quality Solar FlexRack G3-X racking. The solar plant will generate enough electricity to power over 8,000 homes.

Steve Daniel, Executive Vice President of Solar FlexRack said, “We are extremely pleased to have been selected to supply this project. Cypress Creek Renewables has been instrumental in supporting the growth of the solar industry in North Carolina, generating jobs for communities, and providing passive income opportunities for landowners. As long-term solar project owners and operators, they care about the quality of the systems they install which resonates with our values as a quality-driven organization.”

Solar FlexRack’s solar tracking and racking facilities located in Youngstown, Ohio employ hundreds of people. More than 5,200 tons of North American sourced steel went into the racking technology manufactured for Cypress Creek’s Brantley solar farm.

“The Solar FlexRack team brings a deep level of solar expertise, ensuring projects are constructed without issues,” said Matthew McGovern, CEO of Cypress Creek Renewables. “We are pleased to be working with Solar FlexRack to supply our Brantley project with American-made components widely recognized across the industry for their quality.”

U.S. Solar Continues To Grow Despite Significant Headwinds

U.S. solar

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

First the good news: The overall U.S. solar industry grew year over year by 13%, adding 2.5 GW-DC in the first quarter of 2018.

Now the bad news: That’s a 37% quarter-over-quarter decrease.

So the latest quarterly U.S. Solar Market Insights Report, put out by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research, is a bit of a mixed bag. But the fact that the U.S. solar market has shown any growth at all, in light of heavy tariffs on module imports, flat residential growth and a significant decrease in “non-residential” installations, is a good sign that the industry may well weather the storms.

“The solar industry had a strong showing in the first quarter,” said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “This data shows that solar has become a common-sense option for much of the U.S. and is too strong to be set back for long, even in light of the tariffs. States from California to Florida have stepped up with smart policies that will drive investment for years to come.”

“This is a promising indicator that constraints to residential PV growth like segment-wide customer acquisition challenges and national installer pullback are abating,” GTM Senior Analyst Austin Perea said. “However, these problems are not entirely solved, as we’re seeing slowdowns in states with a relatively high penetration of PV installations.”

The report notes that the three most active markets – New York, New Jersey and Maryland – will continue to contract, but Perea said he expects those declines to be offset by increases in emerging markets. In particular, Perea cited Florida – a market SolarWakeup has reported on extensively as it has taken off this quarter – as one of the significant bright spots as solar development skyrocketed in the state. In part, solar’s growth in the Sunshine State is being fueled by increasingly active third-party solar options, like Sunrun’s lease and Sunnova’s loan programs.

So far this year, Florida has added more solar than it did in all of 2016, which was the high-water mark for solar development in the United States so far.

GTM says it expects growth in the overall U.S. market will be flat, although the analysis couldn’t have foreseen the recent Chinese decision to decimate its own solar market which, if the module oversupply spills into the United States, could spark unanticipated growth in the U.S. solar market as markets that the tariffs had closed suddenly open again.

What The Heck Is It With This Obsession On Solar Roads?

solar roads Tokyo, one of my favorite cities in the world, is about to do something REALLY dumb: build a solar road.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

If you’ve followed my writings over time, you know how I feel about solar roads. I find them to be one of the greatest boondoggles of all time, a brilliant grift that does nothing to advance the future of solar power but does get a lot of publicity for the people building it.

The last time I visited the solar roads issue in 2017, the combiner box on the “test road” – more like a patch that a sidwalk, really – had caught on fire in Standpoint, Idaho, where this “demonstration” road has been in the works for what seems like forever (I guess if I really thought about it, I’d say I first saw the words “solar roadways” flash across my Facebook feed back in 2014). You’d think they would have been embarrassed. They were defiantly NOT embarrassed, any more than they were when a laminating machine foiled its big launch party in 2016.

Why am I bringing this up again, other than to point and laugh AGAIN at people who for some reason think solar roadways are a useful use of solar technology, all evidence to the screaming contrary?

Because according to the U.K. Independent newspaper, Tokyo – a city I once lovingly wandered looking for rodent traps (long story) – is trying to build a solar road in anticipation of its 2020 Olympics hosting.

The Inependent writes:

The new technologies are expected to be introduced on a trial basis at facilities owned by the Tokyo government and other locations as early as the next fiscal year.

My advice would be to keep them away from any flammable buildings, is all I’m saying.

The newspaper also reports that the solar roadways would be part of a widespread effort to brand Tokyo as an eco-friendly city, something I can attest it already is. I’d argue they don’t need to put together some flashy tourist-trappy, Disney-esque attraction to prove it. Just take what you’ve already done and do a better job of marketing it to the world.

Please. Seriously, you don’t want any part of this travesty wrapped in a tragicomedy wrapped in solar panels. Take it from a longtime solar roadways observer: They do not work.

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Tokyo to build eco-friendly ‘solar roads’ ahead of 2020 Olympics