News

7 September 2010

 

Ascent Solar’s larger building blocks yield new 320W 5m-long BIPV/BAPV modules

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc of Thornton, CO, USA, which manufactures flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), has launched its new WaveSol series of 5m-long modules to complement its existing portfolio of building-integrated (BIPV) and building-applied (BAPV) photovoltaic products.

WaveSol WSLB 3200-190 is claimed to be the highest-power 5m flexible and lightweight CIGS module available and another example of Ascent’s flexible lightweight CIGS modules with large format (5.0m x 0.6m), high power (320W), high voltage (up to 190V) and high specific power (50W/kg).

The new series of products is enabled by recent advances in Ascent's CIGS monolithic integration process, resulting in new 30cm x 60cm building blocks that are four times the size of the existing building block sub-modules. The module family hence consists of fewer parts that reduce overall internal power losses and significantly reduces manufacturing and testing operations, the firm says.

The new product is specifically designed to meet the needs of large commercial-scale rooftop installations by providing unique attributes that reduce balance-of-system (BOS) costs and ease integration into roofing components, it is claimed. Ascent will showcase the new product at October’s Solar Power International conference in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

“We intend to maintain our leading position as the pre-eminent manufacturer of flexible, light-weight CIGS modules for BIPV/BAPV solutions by translating advances in production into world-leading modules that will enable the proliferation of solar while making it a cost-effective solution,” says Ascent’s president & CEO Farhad Moghadam. The firm plans several beta-site installations with existing customers, he adds.

See related items:

Founder to retire as chairman as Ascent enters manufacturing and commercialization

Emerging building-integrated photovoltaics market accelerates

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