PPG Industries flat glass business unit has said that it can now manufacture heat-strengthened glass in thicknesses of less than 3mm, which makes it among the first major glass manufacturers in North America to offer this capability. PPG offers the SOLARPHIRE glass in heat-strengthened configuration with thicknesses of 2, 2.5 and 2.7mm.
The Dow Chemical Company has developed a diamond wire ingot squaring coolant that improves PV wafer manufacturing efficiency while also improving the sustainability of the production process. ENLIGHT DC-8300 is water-based and provides better cutting precision and efficiency.
Mondragon Assembly has launched the new Tabber & Stringer TS 1200 Plus, with a net capacity of 1,300 solar cells soldered per hour. Mondragon believes the new system is one of the fastest and most versatile combined tabber and stringers, available on the market.
With the SamBa series of low-light cameras, Sensovation is able to offer sensitivity in the near-IR range at high speed that enables industrial testing applications such as electroluminescence imaging of solar sells and modules. SamBa Ci is a 2 MPixel, high sensitivity camera optimised for high-throughput EL-based inspection.
Vesuvius, which provides an extended range of refractory products used in the manufacturing of thin film and polycrystalline solar panels has introduced the ‘SOLAR Crucible MLC,’ a crucible used for the fusion and the crystallization of polysilicon in the manufacturing of mono-like silicon ingots. The system has been specially engineered to match mono-like special requirements.
The CISARIS oven from Singulus Technologies is an in-line rapid thermal processing equipment, designed for the CIGSSe absorber formation on large area glass substrates. The main features of the CISARIS include a high uptime and mechanical yield, as well as a fast cycle time, which, in combination with the robust selenisation process, lead to a production capacity of over 25 MWp per year.
A thermoplastic encapsulant from Wacker, ‘TECTOSIL’ has proved to offer protection against potential-induced degradation (PID), according to tests carried-out by Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin. The testers confirmed that such modules do not display leakage currents due to PID when using the thermoplastic silicone elastomer sheet in the encapsulation of PV modules.
Growatt North America has unveiled a new ‘High Frequency Series’ of residential solar PV string inverters, and their light commercial ‘TL3 Series’ string inverters during SPI 2012. The HF Series inverters are initially offered in 2.0kW, 2.5kW, and 3.0kW power classes, while the TL3 Series inverters are initially offered in 10kW, 12kW, 18kW, and 20kW power classes.
Centrosolar Glas has developed a particularly thin solar glass for photovoltaic modules. The ‘CENTROSOL’ thin glass is only 2.3mm or 2.6mm thick, enabling a reduction in the minimum thickness by almost 30 % at the same mechanical resistance thanks to process optimization. The thin glass currently offered exclusively by Centrosolar Glas reduces the total weight of modules, which is claimed to simplify the assembly and transportation and mounting costs.
Start-up, QBotix, has revealed the ‘QBotix Tracking System’ (QTS), a dual-axis tracking system that employs rugged, intelligent and mobile robots to dynamically operate solar power plants and maximize energy output. QTS is claimed to costs as much as existing single axis systems but generates up to 15% more energy. QTS will generate up to 40% more energy than fixed mount systems.
