On February 1st, 2012, Corning Inc. (Corning, New York, U.S.) announced that it has received its first commercial order for photovoltaic (PV) glass substrates. The PV glass is being produced at its Harrodsburg, Kentucky plant. The company did not disclose buyer name and financial details.

The PV glass substrates, which will be shipped immediately, due to the producer enable higher efficiency and lighter weight thin-film PV modules.

“We understand the current market challenges for photovoltaics and the focus on delivering cost-effective solar energy solutions. Clearly, energy conversion efficiency is integral to addressing these challenges," stated Gary Calabrese, senior vice president, Corning New Business Development.

"Therefore, we are very excited about this initial deployment of Corning’s PV glass substrates and their ability to deliver on such an important need in the advancement of thin-film PV solutions."


High transmission increases efficiency

The company notes that its PV glass substrates can increase current thin-film module efficiency by 20% to 30%. The glass allows for high transmission, allowing more sunlight into the semiconductor layer. The substrates are also high-temperature tolerant.

Due to Corning the PV glass substrates are also 50% stronger with less than half the thickness of the glass commonly used today in thin-film PV modules.

2012-02-05| Courtesy: Corning Inc. | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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