First Solar hits 21% efficiency with CdTe PV cell

Aug 6, 2014 - US company First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) said on Tuesday it had achieved a record efficiency of 21% for a cadmium-telluride (CdTe) research photovoltaic (PV) cell.

The cell was made at the company’s research and development plant in Ohio with processes and materials for commercial-scale production.

The efficiency result, which beats the company’s 20.4% CdTe record from February 2014, was certified at the Newport Corporation's Technology and Applications Center (TAC) PV Lab. In addition, it was recorded in the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) "Best Research Cell Efficiencies" reference chart.

The new conversion efficiency is also higher than the 20.9% result for copper indium gallium diselenide-based (CIGS) solar cells and 20.4% for multicrystalline silicon (multi-Si) cells. Markus Gloeckler, First Solar’s vice president for advanced research, noted that the solar equipment maker will “aggressively” pursue the commercialisation of the CdTE thin-film technology.

As announced in March 2013, First Solar expects to reach a 22% research cell efficiency in 2015 as part of its production module conversion efficiency roadmap.

In a separate press release on Tuesday, First Solar said its second-quarter net profit had declined to USD 4.5 million (EUR 3.4m) from USD 33.6 million a year back, hit by project delays. Revenues improved to USD 544.4 million from USD 519.8 million.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.748)

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