MiaSolé of Santa Clara, CA, USA, which was founded in 2001 to make copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic panels, says that the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confirmed an aperture-area efficiency of 15.5% for its commercial-size flexible PV module (with a total area 1.68m2). This represents an improvement of more than 2 percentage points over the previous record for flexible PV of 13.4%, set earlier this year by CIGS PV panel maker.
The cells for the record device were made using MiaSolé’s existing production lines. The large-area flexible PV module was submitted for evaluation by NREL as part of MiaSolé’s ongoing process for third-party verification.
“Achieving 15.5% efficiency is a clear validation of MiaSolé’s unique and innovative approach to delivering high-efficiency CIGS flexible cell technology,” claims CEO John Carrington. “MiaSolé’s world-leading efficiency and low-cost flexible PV technology demonstrates the potential of CIGS compared to silicon-based and other thin-film technologies,” he adds.
MiaSolé’s says that its proprietary cell technology is creating opportunities by bringing high efficiencies to flexible applications. Companies in the building, vehicle and fabric-integrated PV markets that were previously unable to realize the potential of solar can now explore new applications for high-efficiency, flexible solar panels, the firm adds.
“Along with our current capacity to deliver 14.5% glass modules, the NREL verification of our flexible modules highlights the progress we are continuously making against our efficiency roadmap and goal of delivering the lowest levelized cost of electricity to our customers,” says Carrington.
