News

12 October 2010

 

Johns Manville to install Ascent's CIGS modules in comparative thin-film PV test site

After extensive internal product development and testing, thin-film copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) laminated photovoltaic (PV) modules made by Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA are ready for beta-test deployment at the JM Technical Center (JMTC) in Littleton, CO of Denver-based Berkshire Hathaway company Johns Manville (JM), which manufactures products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing, and roof insulation (as well as fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications). Ascent’s IEC 61646 (20 year life expectancy) certified and UL certification (safety test) pending modules will be compared side-by-side against existing thin-film modules currently installed at JMTC.

“The installation at our test site will provide the performance data we need in order to demonstrate the readiness of Ascent’s emerging high-power lightweight CIGS modules in order to make it available to our customers,” says Dr Tim Swales, Johns Manville VP of R&D. “We look forward to further collaboration and assessment of their product.”

The test installation aims to collect performance data, evaluate architecture aesthetics and showcase the potential of Ascent’s CIGS modules against existing thin-film technology. For the pilot, installation modules have been applied to the top surface of the roofing membrane. The long-term objective is to integrate the modules into the roofing material itself as a factory-applied solution that JM markets under the Power Blanket brand. Ascent says that this external deployment will help to set a standard for the integration and installation of lightweight flexible CIGS modules, as this will be the first time a CIGS monolithically integrated module manufactured using a plastic substrate has been integrated onto an existing commercial roofing installation for competitive commercial evaluation.

“Our lightweight, durable and high-power CIGS modules are an ideal match for true integration into the Johns Manville commercial roofing material product line,” believes Ascent’s president & CEO Farhad Moghadam. “Installation onto the test site is a real indication that our product development is progressing and is crucial to our viability for larger system installations down the road,” he adds.

“Now that we have established IEC 61646 certification and have UL certification pending, we are pleased to launch pilot project installations with an industry leader like JM,” says Ascent’s senior VP of sales & marketing Rafael Gutierrez. “Ascent Solar’s entry to the BAPV [building-applied photovoltaic] market with the highest-power-density flexible solutions and highest-power modules will enable a new level of power production for flexible commercial applications,” he believes.

See related items:

Ascent becomes first flexible monolithically integrated CIGS PV module maker with external IEC 61646 certification

Search: Ascent Solar CIGS thin-film PV modules

Visit: www.jm.com

Visit: www.AscentSolar.com

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