SunPower boosts solar panel output
Better efficiency and larger panels result in a 43 percent jump in output, says solar energy equipment maker.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company on Monday announced its second-generation, higher-power product at the Solar Power 2006 conference, and the panels are expected to be in mass production next year.
SunPower says it has managed to increase efficiency of the
Overall, these changes result in a 43 percent increase in power, said Julie Blunden, vice president of external affairs at SunPower. Each panel can generate 315 watts of electricity and will have roughly the same cost per watt as the existing line, she said.
The theoretical limit of monocrystalline silicon cell efficiency is about 25 percent, Blunden said.
Other companies are developing solar photovoltaic manufacturing techniques around other materials, notably CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide).
But SunPower, which is owned by Cypress Semiconductor, intends to continue investing in higher solar efficiency and ways to lower the cost of installation, Blunden said.