Moser Baer makes solar breakthrough

Moser Baer PhotoVoltaic, the solar module manufacturing arm of Moser Baer India, has increased its thin film solar module manufacturing capacity by 20% to 50 million watts per year, thanks to a technological breakthrough.

The company, which manufactures low-cost solar modules by spraying a thin film of amorphous or non-crystalline silicon onto glass panels, said it has become the second company in the world to achieve a 7.3% conversion efficiency for its ‘thin film’ modules. The breakthrough came through research conducted at its facility near New Delhi, it said in a release.

Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) thin film panels typically have an energy conversion ratio of around 6%, meaning that they are able to convert about 6% of the sunlight falling on them into electricity. Each square foot of the Earth’s surface typically receives about 100 watt of energy.

With the increase in efficiency, its cost of production has gone down by 20% and each of its 7.5 foot long thin film module will now produce around 400 watts of electricity, up from 340 watts earlier, at more or less the same cost.

“This landmark breakthrough has been achieved by judicious optimisation of multiple layers in the device structure,” the company said in a release, adding that it will help it address “certain sections of the market” in three to six months.

The company is believed to be targeting the opportunities thrown open by the newly announced ‘National Solar Mission’. a-Si thin film manufacturers have their job cut out as other thin film technologies have already reached higher commercial efficiency levels.

First Solar, the world’s largest thin film manufacturer, claims an efficiency level of around 11% for its Cadmium Telluride based modules. Announcing its December quarter results, it also said its manufacturing costs had fallen to 85 cents per watt of peak installed capacity, 21% lower than a year ago.

While thin films are estimated to be comparable to conventional technologies on an capex per peak-watt model, they are about twice as expensive as coal when measured on the basis of each unit of power produced as they work only for 8-12 hours a day.

To be commercially attractive, solar power has to be priced at around 20 cents (Rs 9) per unit, compared to coal (around 10 cents).

Besides thin films, Moser Baer PV also has an annual capacity to manufacture around 70 to 80 million watts (mw) of crystalline silicon modules.

However, with 40-50% higher prices, the company is positioning crystalline modules primarily for export and area-constrained applications, such as rooftops.