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Boeing Wins Contract to Build Solar Cells for Renewable Energy
St. Louis MO (SPX) Aug 29, 2006 Boeing has signed a contract to provide 600,000 solar concentrator cells to SolFocus, a California-based renewable energy company that is developing renewable terrestrial energy alternatives. "Companies on the cutting edge of the renewable energy revolution come to us because we are the world's leading manufacturer of solar cells," said Charles Toups, vice president of engineering for Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "Our Spectrolab subsidiary has leveraged its expertise in space photovoltaic products to create solar cells with record-breaking efficiencies for Earth-based applications." Under the 12-month contract from SolFocus, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., Spectrolab will build and deliver 600,000 solar concentrator cells that will be used to convert the sun's rays into affordable electricity for homes and businesses. The cells produced for SolFocus will be capable of generating more than 10 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 4,000 U.S. homes. With the average solar cell efficiency above 35 percent at concentration, Spectrolab's concentrator photovoltaic cells generate electricity at a rate that can be more economical than electricity generated from conventional, flat panel photovoltaic systems. "Our mission is to deliver reliable solar-generated electricity at wholesale energy prices, and Spectrolab's multi-junction concentrator solar cells are key to making that possible," said Gary D. Conley, CEO of SolFocus. "Spectrolab's cells will be integrated into our upcoming solar concentrator field test program and then into the first phase of active deployments." A significant advantage of concentrator systems is that fewer solar cells are required to achieve a specific power output, thus replacing large areas of semiconductor materials with relatively inexpensive optics that provide optical concentration. The slightly higher cost of multi-junction cells is offset by the use of fewer cells. Due to the higher efficiency of multi-junction cells used in the concentrator modules, only a small fraction of the cell area is required to generate the same power output compared to crystalline silicon or thin-film, flat-plate modules. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Boeing All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
Massive Lockheed Martin Solar Arrays To Be Launched To International Space Station
Sunnyvale CA (SPX) Aug 23, 2006The second of four pairs of massive solar arrays and a Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), built by Lockheed Martin at its Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, will be launched aboard the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as August 27, 2006. Atlantis' launch window extends through September 13, 2006. |
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