Solar modules with glass-enameled steel backs

• U.S.-based Toledo Solar has secured a give from the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct research on lighter, steel-backed solar modules.

Toledo Solar, the very first thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panel manufacturer in the United States, has actually been offered a $200,000 government Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) for R&D on lighter solar panels.

Particularly, the firm will create modules with glass-enameled steel backs, instead of using a glass sheet to encapsulate the panel. Toledo Solar already had plans in the jobs to research study glass-enameled, steel-backed modules, but the SBIR give just quickened the process.

The study is additionally not being done to establish whether glass-enameled, steel-backed module innovation is an opportunity-- much more so to test that innovation against traditional modules to see how they compare in power production and also degradation/failure prices when revealed to the elements.

The idea is that glass-enameled, steel-backed modules are lighter than their traditional equivalents, making them simpler to install. However the steel support likewise opens various racking possibilities, beyond individual mounting clips. Toughness, nonetheless, is the main worry of these potential modules, as steel has different heat-expansion buildings than glass and also might also have difficulty taking on even more severe climate condition, including extended snow coverage.

If the advancement of these panels succeeds, Toledo Solar can then obtain a second-phase SBIR grant from the DoE. This 2nd give would certainly supply much more operating resources, being available in at $1.6 million over a two-year period. This second grant could assist Toledo Solar obtain closer to commercial-scale production of glass-enameled, steel-backed modules.

Residential solar

Up until now, Toledo Solar's entire manufacturing philosophy has actually been to zig where various other suppliers zag. Aaron Bates-- chairman of the Atlas Venture Group, which possesses Toledo Solar-- said as much when the business began business operations.

" We acknowledge the void in the non-utility solar markets that have actually been underserved by silicon solar panels. Cad-Tel is plainly a much better alternative," Bates stated. "We are thrilled to lead this financial investment in Toledo as well as remain to push Cad-Tel solar innovation onward."

Toledo Solar is looking to develop the company as the premier (and only) domestic CdTe panel supplier. It's also seeming the first business to advertise a glass-enameled, steel-backed solar module.