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Sunpower Claims New Solar Cell Efficiency Record of 24.2 Percent

SunPower has set a new world record for solar cell efficiency at 24.2%, as confirmed by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab. This high efficiency was achieved using SunPower's patented solar cell technology on a full-scale prototype produced at their manufacturing plant in the Philippines. Higher solar cell efficiency allows equivalent or greater power to be captured using the same cell area, improving the cost effectiveness of solar energy.

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Abubakr Shahdad
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19 views

Sunpower Claims New Solar Cell Efficiency Record of 24.2 Percent

SunPower has set a new world record for solar cell efficiency at 24.2%, as confirmed by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab. This high efficiency was achieved using SunPower's patented solar cell technology on a full-scale prototype produced at their manufacturing plant in the Philippines. Higher solar cell efficiency allows equivalent or greater power to be captured using the same cell area, improving the cost effectiveness of solar energy.

Uploaded by

Abubakr Shahdad
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SunPower claims new solar cell efficiency record of 24.

2 percent
By Darren Quick June 24, 2010

SunPower Corp. has achieved a world record solar cell efficiency of 24.2 percent Although weve seen sunlight to electricity conversion efficiencies of over 40 percent with multi-junction solar cells in lab environments, most mass-produced cells can only boast a conversion rate of around 15 percent. Now SunPower Corp., a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar power systems, has claimed a new world record solar cell efficiency of 24.2 percent. Solar cell efficiency is the rate at which the cells capture and convert sunlight into energy. The 24.2 percent efficiency record for large-scale silicon wafers was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) on a full-scale prototype produced at the SunPower Corp.s manufacturing plant in the Philippines. "This new world record demonstrates SunPower's ability to extend our lead in manufacturing the world's highest efficiency solar cells," said Bill Mulligan, vice president of technology and development for SunPower. "Our patented and proprietary, high-efficiency solar cell technology drives down the cost of solar energy by increasing the energy production from each solar panel." Improved cell efficiency is a much sought after goal of researchers and manufacturers of solar cells as it increases the cost effectiveness of solar cells by allowing the equivalent or greater amount of power to be captured using the same area of solar cells.

Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continued through a number of university courses and crappy jobs until 2008, when his interests found a home at Gizmag. All articles by Darren Quick

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