SunPower Corp. says it has produced a full-scale solar cell with a sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 24.2% at its manufacturing plant in the Philippines. This is a new world record, confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), for large-area silicon wafers, according to SunPower.
Improved cell efficiency reduces the levelized cost of energy by increasing the energy production from each wafer manufactured into a SunPower solar cell. For the same reason, increased efficiency reduces the cost per watt and cost per kilowatt-hour for feedstock and materials, depreciation and other manufacturing expenses, installation time, land and system operations, and related maintenance.
SOURCE: SunPower Corp.
