Thin film PV is a fast-growing technology for solar that uses only about 1/100th of the amount of silicon per watt of electricity produced compared with crystalline silicon, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs and lower cost-per-watt. Thin film technologies are ideally suited for large-scale applications such as utility scale solar farms and commercial rooftops, where space is not a constraint.
Applied’s SunFab Thin Film Line is an automated, glass-in/panel-out manufacturing line for amorphous and microcrystalline silicon based thin film PV manufacturing. Used by solar utilities since the early 1990s, amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film PV has a field-proven record of long-term reliability. For example, California’s Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has used a-Si panels in its solar farms since 1994, where they have demonstrated consistent power output and low failure rates comparable to the utility’s crystalline panels.
SunFab is the world’s first and only production line capable of manufacturing 5.7m2 thin film panels. The large size of these panels drives installation efficiencies to significantly reduce system cost. Both single and tandem junction panels produced on the SunFab line are IEC certified; this certification enables SunFab customers to accelerate their own IEC testing process.
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