Chinese solar-panel manufacturer Suntech Power has developed a better way to make high-grade silicon wafers for solar cells that could cut the cost of solar power by as much as 10-20%. In fact, the idea underlying the process was patented more than 20 years ago, but it was never commercially developed by the patent owners. When the patents expired about three years ago, several companies—JA Solar, LDK Solar, and Renesola, in addition to Suntech—recently announced that they had succeeded in making the process work. Read the full article here
Solar Crystals: A new solar panel from Suntech incorporates cells made using a new silicon-wafer casting process. The cells—the smaller squares inside the panel—are half monocrystalline (the dark areas of the cells) and half multicrystalline (the variegated areas).
