Flexible Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

High fuel costs, environmental concerns and issues of national energy security have brought increasing attention to a distributed generation program for electricity based on solar technology. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems provide distributed generation since the power is consumed at the point of production, thus eliminating the need for costly additional transmission lines. However, most current photovoltaic modules are heavy and require a significant amount of labor and accessory hardware such as mounting frames for installation on rooftops. This makes rooftop systems impractical or cost prohibitive in many instances. Under this project, Xunlight has advanced its manufacturing process for the production of lightweight, flexible thin-film silicon based photovoltaic modules, and has enhanced the reliability and performance of Xunlight’s products. These modules are easily unrolled and adhered directly to standard commercial roofs without mounting structures or integrated directly into roofing membrane materials for the lowest possible installation costs on the market. Importantly, Xunlight has now established strategic alliances with roofing material manufacturers and other OEMs for the development of building integrated photovoltaic roofing and other PV-enabled products, and has deployed its products in a number of commercial installations with these business partners.