PVfacts from 10.2012 - ISC Konstanz

PVfacts no. 01.2012 | »research, development & expansion«
PV
facts
10.2012
to improve cell efficiency and reduce production costs. Semprius, which opened a 5
MW pilot CPV module plant in North Carolina last month, has also received funding
from the DOE to help it improve its CPV technology.
Source: Solar Junction
NREL produces black silicon solar cell with 18.2% efficiency
15.10.2012: Using nanotechnology techniques, scientists at the US Department of
Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have produced black silicon
solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 18.2%. The cells rely on an anti-reflective
nanostructured surface that eliminates the need for additional anti-reflection layers –
this could bring down cell manufacturers’ production costs significantly. The
nanostructured surface is created using “nano-islands” of silver on a silicon wafer: The
wafer is briefly immersed in a chemical composition to make billions of nano-sized
holes in each square-inch of the silicon wafer surface. The holes and silicon walls are
smaller than the light wavelengths hitting them, so the light doesn’t recognize any
sudden change in density at the surface and therefore does not reflect back into the
atmosphere as wasted energy. The researchers will now investigate how the nanotech
techniques could be integrated into commercial-scale production processes. The
scientists will also attempt to increase the black silicon solar cells’ efficiency to over
20% and will work toward using the techniques on much thinner cells to save on the
amount of semiconductor material used.
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Market News:
US Department of the Interior finalizes roadmap for solar energy development on
public lands
15.10.2012: US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has finalized a program that will
spur solar development on public lands in the US Southwest. The Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), developed by the Department of the Interior
(DOI) in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE), will, among other things,
ensure faster permitting of utility-scale solar energy projects on public lands in
Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The PEIS establishes
17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs) on 285,000 acres of public lands in these six states.
These zones have access to existing or planned transmission lines and were
designed to have minimal impact on biological, cultural and historic resources in the
region. Developers siting projects within these zones will receive a number of
incentives, including financial incentives and faster and easier permitting. The PEIS
identifies an additional 19 million acres outside the zones that could potentially be