News Article
MiaSole Announces Volume Production of 13% Efficiency CIGS Module
MiaSole, a manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, today announced its latest efficiency breakthrough at 13% is now in volume production at its facility in the Silicon Valley, California.
This efficiency gain represents a 30 percent improvement since the beginning of the year, while over the same timeframe decreasing costs per watt by a similar amount.
"The 13 percent production milestone is indicative of the ingenuity and diligence of our engineers as well as the enormous potential for CIGS thin-film solar as we continue to raise the bar," said Robert DeLine, Vice President of marketing for MiaSole. "Finding the sweet spot between performance and cost will be the critical factor in driving widespread adoption."
While c-Si manufacturers have traditionally sought to reduce costs through their manufacturing process alone, MiaSole continues to move aggressively towards a cost structure competitive with top-tier solar manufacturers through the combination of a proprietary low cost PVD process, low capital expenditure and the use of abundant and less expensive raw materials. Researcher Martin Green cited MiaSole's unique process and its potential in the recently published annual paper, 'Progress in Photovoltaics.'
MiaSole panels are being used for projects all over the world with over 55MW shipped to date. The panels have been selected for a range of segments from utility scale fields to rooftops, and unique applications like electric vehicle recharging stations.
"We're making steady progress on a roadmap that delivers value to our customers," said DeLine. "We're producing 13 percent efficiency modules today, and the advantages associated with the improved efficiency of our glass-on-glass products will extend to future flex products, opening a host of new applications and markets.