SunPower offers solar modules boasting 19% efficiency

May 3, 2010

Californian solar panel manufacturer SunPower has unveiled its latest product, a solar module offering a 19% efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity.

The company is making available modules with a 318-watt, 96-cell configuration or a 238W, 72-cell configuration in its new E19 Series solar panels.

The 318W module would have a 19.5% efficiency, while the 238W module would have a 19.1% efficiency, SunPower said.

The product will begin shipping in the third quarter of 2010.

SunPower, which is based in San Jose, California, is currently shipping its E18 Series, which offers an 18% conversion efficiency.

Milestone

Tom Werner, SunPower CEO, said: “We are pleased to deliver a solar panel with an unprecedented efficiency of 19.5 percent. SunPower, now celebrating our 25th anniversary, has the expertise and experience to deliver the technology needed to reach this milestone.

“I’m very proud that we continue to exceed industry standards with this new E19 Series product line.”

The new E19 modules feature larger, more powerful solar cells delivering 3% more surface area per cell, SunPower said.

The panels also have an anti-reflective coating that the manufacturer said would allow more diffuse, off-angle light to be captured.

SunPower suggested the panels would be more aesthetically pleasing with their darker appearance, and would be particularly effective for customers with constrained roof space.

The company will continue to offer its 18% efficiency E18 series in 96-cell and 72-cell configurations, which offer respectively 305W or 225W output per module.

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http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/forum/climate-change-forum/26077-can-we-achieve-sustainable-economony-12.html#post332466 Can we achieve a sustainable economony ? – Page 12 – TheEnvironmentSite.org Discussion and Information Forums
[...] they got hotter anyway. In 2010, solar panels available for customers can have a yield of up to 19%[4], while commercially available panels can go as far as 27%[5]. The 1% isn't a theorertical problem [...]
http://www.overclock.net/technology-science-news/818798-ef-belgian-research-lab-creates-solar.html#post10616234 [EF] Belgian Research lab Creates Solar Cells With An Efficiency Of Over 19 Percent . – Overclock.net – Overclocking.net
[...] im pretty sure that sunpower already achieved an efficiency over 19% earlier this year. source [...]
solar student
how much energy can solar panel produced per metre at the equator?
http://None Smith Reese
I am consulting with a firm that currently has solar cells that have 24W per square foot output in natural sunlight. I would imagine at the Equator it would be significantly more due to its design.
http://www.westseattlenaturalenergy.com ryan hughes
The concept of 1000w/m2 is the industry flash test accepted across the board. Power at the equator would be, with 100% efficient modules, would be this. However the biggest reason for the degradation of power production is directly related to the distance to the sun from the equator vs the distance from your location. That is main reason for the loss in production between 0deg lat and say 45deg lat.