PPG Industries' flat-glass business will expand production capability at its Fresno, Calif., plant in order to accommodate the manufacture of Solarphire glass, an ultra-low-iron glass used to make components for the solar power industry.
According to Richard A. Beuke, PPG's vice president of flat glass, the production of Solarphire PV glass at the Fresno plant will make PPG the first and only manufacturer of low-iron glass on the West Coast. The production is also expected to enhance the company's ability to serve the region's solar power market.
Solarphire PV glass is an ultra-low-iron glass that features high transmittance across the entire solar spectrum and a proprietary glass chemistry that increases solar transmittance in the near-infrared band, the company says. In thicknesses of up to 3.2 mm, Solarphire PV glass transmits up to 91% of total solar energy.
The glass also is available with anti-reflective and corrosion-retardant coatings to satisfy component manufacturers' performance requirements.
