There was a significant increase in the number of new products announced throughout the PV supply chain in 2010, compared to previous years. A key trend has been products focused on the utility-scale market, such as central inverters and technologies designed to cut the balance of system (BOS) costs for installations. In our review of the Top 10 most viewed products on the PV-Tech website, the diversity in the list is refreshing and covers a wide-range of subjects from solar cell metallization pastes to modules and inverters.
Evonik has introduced a highly transparent and also weathering-resistant barrier film based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) that can replace glass plates as a front cover.
Alan King of Canadian Solar notes that while the extension of the U.S. Treasury's 1603 cash grant program has positive implications for the solar industry in 2011 and beyond, there's much work still to be done to increase PV's percentage of the country's overall energy portfolio.
Rehm Thermal Systems has introduced an advanced new series of drying systems, the Solardryer RDS 2100 and RDS 3000 for solar cell metallization processes.
Polycrystalline Silicon Technology Corporation (P.S.T.) and its alliance partner, Dynamic Engineering have introduced an advanced silicon tetrachloride hydrochlorination technology
Siemens has introduced a new Gas Chromatograph (GC) that can be used in the very demanding polysilicon production process. The MAXUM II PGC will help to maximize the polysilicon output to ensure stable and high quality material, minimizing off-spec products. This results in significant cost reductions with a typical return of investment of less than one year for a typical plant, according to the company.
GE has introduced a one-megawatt (MW) solar inverter that is available in both 50- and 60-hertz versions, making it suitable for applications worldwide.
