A 10 MWp a-Si:H module processing line

Author

Macnell, J. ; Delahoy, A.E. ; Kampas, F. ; Eser, E. ; Varvar, A. ; Ellis, F., Jr.

Author_Institution

Chronar Corp., Princeton, NJ, USA

fYear

1990

fDate

21-25 May 1990

Firstpage

1501

Abstract

A semiautomatic amorphous-silicon-based photovoltaic module production line that can process 10 MWp of 50 Wp (stabilized) modules per year is described. The Eureka manufacturing process offers the opportunity to manufacture monolithic a-Si:H-based photovoltaic modules with direct costs of under $1/W, even with relatively low stabilized module efficiencies of 4-5%. Recent accomplishments, including a 74.4 Wp monolithic amorphous silicon module, are presented. The significance of this development in the context of low-cost photovoltaic modules for utility-scale applications is discussed, and a 400 kW AC power station consisting of 9600 modules for the PVUSA (Photovoltaics for Utility Scale Applications) project is described. The array field consists of the following: ten modules wired in series to make a panel, 240 panels connected in parallel to one of the units of the inverter, and four power units total in the array

Keywords

amorphous semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; hydrogen; silicon; solar cell arrays; 10 MW; 400 kW; 74.4 W; AC power station; Eureka manufacturing process; amorphous Si:H solar cells; photovoltaic module production line; Amorphous silicon; Chemical lasers; Costs; Glass; Manufacturing; Photovoltaic systems; Production; Research and development; Semiconductor lasers; Solar power generation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1990., Conference Record of the Twenty First IEEE

Conference_Location

Kissimmee, FL

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1990.111858

Filename

111858