Performance and Productivity Improvements in Very Large Area Amorphous Silicon Modules

Enhanced efficiency and cost reduction, both in module manufacturing and in installation, are the main driving forces in the photovoltaic industry. T-Solar has specialized in the fabrication of thin film amorphous silicon modules with sizes up to 5.7 m. When compared to smaller (Quarter size, 1.43 m) modules produced with the same technology, the Full size (5.7 m) modules result in higher stabilized efficiency (production average  = 6.6%) due to better exploitation of the module area (3% higher active area ratio) without suffering from any non-homogeneity effects that could be associated to the very large area. The very large area modules are also advantageous in terms of manufacturing costs (savings in material costs) and installation (enhanced balance of system). Cost savings for Full size modules summing up efficiency and material use benefits are of about 15% compared to Quarter size ones.