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December 07, 2005
Ultrathin Solar Panels Seeks Popularity
Most solar panels are bulky, pricey, and difficult to install. However, XsunX, a startup in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has invented a way to stick semitransparent solar cells on plastic film, which manufacturers can use to transform ordinary windows into PowerGlass.
XsunX’s amorphous silicon solar cells aren’t more efficient -- they convert just 6 percent of light energy that hits them into electricity, compared with 15 percent for traditional silicon cells. They are, however, more versatile: A 20-story building has about 10 times more space for PowerGlass than it does for roof panels. That puts XsunX on the cutting edge of a trend in the $7 billion solar industry called building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPV.
Posted by admin at December 7, 2005 04:00 AM