*Experimental* Solar Arrays (at U Toledo)

[eppur_se_muova]

http://www.cmse.utoledo.edu/cpeh/array.htm



These are prototypes, not mass-produced, so of course $/installation is high. But I have to say I'm surprised to see anything of the sort in OH at all, given the way the Repukes in OH have been starving higher education for decades. Of course, they couldn't stomach it at all if it weren't part of some academic/industrial collaboration, with the bulk of the profits going to the industrial side -- that's the GOP (Guardians of Plutocracy) way, after all.



The solar house is one I posted earlier -- note that this is not the best area for solar, and the winter gets pretty cold, but he is still able to achieve a nearly "grid-neutral" balance, and charge the car from the house.

One things that creeps me out -- these are cadmium telluride (CdTe). Disposal of cadmium (toxic) could prove a real problem when these things reach the end of their life.

Some of the links are under construction, or broken, but I did see that they're doing what they call "copper indium diselenide", which I think is really copper (indium, gallium) di(sulfide, selenide), from what I've read elsewhere. Maybe the Ga and S content is low, so it's appropriate to think of it as "doped" CIDS. (CIGS is the usual abbrev.)

[JohnWxy]

1. There is a company Energy Conversion Devices which has

developed solar "panels" that are made of amorphous silicon alloy a solid material that looks like roofing shingles. They are flexible AND they generate electricity under cloudy conditions and even rainy days! They also generate electricity in less than full sunlight such as the morning hours and late afternoon hours when traditional solar panels generate very little electricity. As a result, over the course of a day or in less than ideal sunny conditions the amorphous silicon alloy flexible solar panels outperform traditional solar panels.

This product was featured recently on Scientific American Frontiers. you can probably find the transcript on PBS.org.

http://www.ovonic.com/index.htm

Compared to traditional crystalline
PVs, ECD Ovonics' thin-film PV can provide
more overall energy since its triple-bandgap
technology can capture 20% more of the
sun's energy.

Our proprietary photovoltaics are:

• Lighter
• More durable
• More attractive

The unique Ovonic technology enables UNI-SOLAR® PV products to be flexible, substantially lighter and more rugged, and a truly building-integrated product — that is, Ovonic PV actually becomes your roof instead of an unsightly array on top of your roof.

Our PV requires much less energy to produce and can be produced in high volumes at significantly lower cost. Unlike many thin-film technologies for producing solar cells, UNI-SOLAR® products are environmentally friendly and are produced without cadmium.

This company is headquartered 'just up the road' from Toledo in a suburb of Detroit MI.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. 'just up the road' from Toledo...

Fearless Leader visited the Ovonics plant long enough to get his picture in area papers. They must have scheduled the event before the "explanations" were released the day after the SOTU recasting him as the "Energy Independence" pResident.