Global Solar
Encyclopedia
Global Solar Energy is a manufacturer of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells, with manufacturing operations in Tucson, Arizona
, USA, and Berlin, Germany.
in laboratory samples, and production cells of about 10.5 to 11 percent average efficiency.
The solar cells are ideal for portable power (including solar jackets) and is 1.5 to 2X greater in performance than comparable thin film
flexible
solar materials.
The company expects to produce 20 megawatts of the films at the plant in 2008 before ramping up to 40 megawatts of capacity in 2009 and 140 megawatts by 2010. This makes Global Solar the largest full-scale manufacturer of CIGS thin-film photovoltaics.
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, USA, and Berlin, Germany.
Technology
The company uses copper indium gallium diselenide, which achieves up to 19.9% efficiencyEnergy conversion efficiency
Energy conversion efficiency is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The useful output may be electric power, mechanical work, or heat.-Overview:...
in laboratory samples, and production cells of about 10.5 to 11 percent average efficiency.
The solar cells are ideal for portable power (including solar jackets) and is 1.5 to 2X greater in performance than comparable thin film
Thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
flexible
Flexible electronics
Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits, is a technology for assembling electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent conductive polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screen printed silver circuits on...
solar materials.
Mass production
Global Solar Energy opened in 1996, and in 2008 finished another phase of development as it expanded its CIGS production to a new 40 MW facility in Tucson, Arizona and a second 35 MW facility in Berlin, Germany.The company expects to produce 20 megawatts of the films at the plant in 2008 before ramping up to 40 megawatts of capacity in 2009 and 140 megawatts by 2010. This makes Global Solar the largest full-scale manufacturer of CIGS thin-film photovoltaics.
Installations
Global Solar Energy operates the largest CIGS solar electric array in the world, a 750 kW system located at the company's manufacturing facility in Tucson. Part of the energy harnessed by this array is being purchased by the factory itself.Competitors
- HelioVoltHelioVoltHelioVolt Corporation is a privately held U.S. energy company in the solar energy sector. It manufactures photovoltaic solar modules using a thin film semiconductor process based on Copper Indium Gallium Selenide to produce photovoltaic modules...
Corp. said it had produced CIGS cells with efficiency as high as 12.2 percent on a pilot line. - NanosolarNanosolarNanosolar is a developer of solar power technology. Based in San Jose, CA, Nanosolar has developed and commercialized a low-cost printable solar cell manufacturing process. The company started selling panels mid-December 2007, and plans to sell them at around $1 per watt...
said it has created tools that can produce CIGS cells with a 14.5 percent efficiency, but would not say whether the figure applied to cells actually being produced. - GroupSat Solar has noted that it can produce CIGS cells with a 12.5 percent and an average efficiency of 10 percent in full production efficiency.
- IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
has reported 12% efficiency for its CIS solar cells. - SolyndraSolyndraSolyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of CIGS thin-film solar cells based in Fremont, California. Although the company was once touted for its unusual technology, plummeting silicon prices led to the company being unable to compete with more conventional solar panels...