CompositesWorld

JAN 2018

CompositesWorld

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JANUARY 2018 44 CompositesWorld FOCUS ON DESIGN Simplifying the solar panel with composites Replacing glass and aluminum with a polymer/cored polymer composite laminate raises panel durability at reduced weight. » Solar power's history is notable for peaks and valleys. As early as 1839, certain materials were found to be conductive when exposed to sunlight. Albert Einstein weighed in, in 1905, about photoelectric effects, and the first US patent for a "solar cell" was granted in 1913. Bell Labs (now Nokia Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ, US) unveiled working solar cells in the early 1950s that ultimately powered US space missions. Since then, the technology has matured and solar cell energy efficiency increased, despite a string of spectacular bankruptcies of solar startups due to a combination of overcapacity, price pressure, changing tax subsidies and credits, bad timing and/or bad luck. e past two years have seen a surge in industry growth and, impor- tantly, solar installations. A March 7, 2017 story in e Guardian by Adam Vaughan says solar power grew 50% in 2016, reaching a global capacity of 305 GW. In the US, the Solar Energy Indus- tries Assn.'s (Washington, DC, US) Solar Market Insight Report 2016 Year In Review reported that 2016 US solar energy installations nearly doubled compared to 2015. Further, total installed US solar capacity is expected to nearly triple over the next 5 years. By 2022, more than 18 GW of solar PV capacity will be installed annually. "In the last decade, solar has become the cheapest source of energy," explains Mark Goldman, CEO of Armageddon Energy (Menlo Park, CA, US). He says the cost per watt — the total solar system cost divided by the watts or power produced — has dropped from US$7 to ~US$3. "It's true that industry has suffered," he comments on the fates of previous players, but notes that interest in solar is still strong. "Volume continues to grow spectacularly." Given the demand, Goldman's company recently intro- duced a new, composites-intensive version of its rooftop solar panel system that is significantly lighter in weight and considerably more robust than typical solar panels. Plug-and-play solar "Solar panels had traditionally been produced with float glass, which provides rigidity, serves as a good moisture barrier and has good light transmission proper- ties," explains Goldman. Such glass, usually coated to reduce reflectivity and repel dirt, is more expensive than window glass and, in some cases, is tempered (tough- ened), adding more cost. Although these glass grades are less prone to breakage, they add weight, a challenge in roof-top installations, and can become cloudy over time, reducing energy efficiency. And, they must be rectangular. Goldman continues, "Our initial strategy was to offer consumers an easy-to- install system with nicer aesthetics and a smaller overall system size, to focus less on zeroing out all of a customer's electricity usage and more on offsetting expensive peak usage, with an average system providing 2-3 kW instead of a typical 5-6 kW." at goal was realized by replacing glass with a thin, clear polymer film of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), trademarked Tefzel, from DuPont Performance Mate- rials (Wilmington, DE, US), resulting in Armageddon's version 1.0 panel design, SolarClover, the industry's first film-covered solar panel to meet the solar industry UL1703 standard (Standard for Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels). Lighter more durable solar collectors via composites Solar energy innovator Armageddon Energy (Menlo Park, CA, US) worked with the US Air Force and the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI, Dayton, OH, US) on this pilot project to show the value of rugged, composites-intensive solar panels for military operations in off-grid areas. The portable panel racks shown are also composite, made by Sollega (San Francisco, CA, US). Source (all photos) | Armageddon Energy By Sara Black / Senior Editor

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