NREL Verifies Energy Conversion Efficiency of 14.3% on 1 Square
Meter Area CIGS Modules, Further Advancing the Significant Potential of
Thin-Film Solar Panels to Be a Competitive Energy Source
MiaSolé, the leading manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide
(CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, today announced that the
U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
independently confirmed the 14.3% efficiency of its large area
production modules (1 square meter in size).
14.3% module efficiency is the highest independently confirmed
efficiency for any commercial scale CIGS module technology.
“We are pleased that we continue to make progress in the execution of
our technology, cost reduction and manufacturing roadmaps,” said Dr.
Joseph Laia, CEO of MiaSolé.
MiaSolé now offers bank financeable solar modules with efficiency
comparable to polysilicon combined with lower manufacturing costs of
thin-film modules.
MiaSolé's unique manufacturing process deposits CIGS on a flexible
stainless steel substrate and produces all of the layers required for
its highly efficient solar cell in a single continuous process. MiaSolé
is the only thin-film solar company that uses sputtering processes every
step of the way for coating the solar modules, thereby reducing
manufacturing time and cost of production.
MiaSolé shipped 6.5MW in the first half of this year, and will ship 22MW
in 2010. The company's products are designed for utilities and
independent power producers to use in industrial scale deployments such
as large-scale rooftop and ground mount installations.
About NREL
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for
renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is
operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
About MiaSolé (www.MiaSolé.com)
MiaSolé is a pioneer and leading developer of copper indium gallium
selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, one of the
lowest-cost, highest efficiency solar panels in the world. MiaSolé's
primary mission is to advance the extraordinary potential for harnessing
solar power as a competitive, sustainable energy source and enable grid
parity by 2012. Based in California,MiaSolé currently operates
two manufacturing facilities with plans to open a third facility in 2010.