The Nanosolar Utility PanelTM

An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

September 2009

The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

TM

The Nanosolar Utility PanelTM

An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

The Nanosolar Utility Panel is the industrys first solar electricity panel specifically designed and developed for utility-scale system deployment. A thin-film panel that stretches conventional expectations on power, current, system voltage, and mounting span, it enables solar power plant deployments with an industry-lowest total-system cost. Through its mechanical and electrical design, the panel achieves substantially lower balance-of-system cost than conventional thin-film panels and effectively eliminates the balance-of-system cost penalty that medium efficiency thin panels have traditionally had over the highest-efficiency silicon panels.

Designed for Utility-Scale Performance

The Nanosolar Utility Panel is specifically designed and developed for utility-scale systems where the deployment rages from 1-50MW in size. The scale and the behind-the-fence nature of these types of deployments both afford and require a level of industrial streamlining and optimization that is different from smaller-scale systems. Designed to reduce total-system cost, the Nanosolar Utility Panel is electrically and mechanically optimized for utility-scale solar power systems:

Electrically, the product is the industrys highest-current thin-film panel, by as much as a factor of six (at over 6A). It is also the industrys first photovoltaic panel certified by TV for a system voltage of 1,500V, or 50% higher than the previously highest certified 1,000V. Combined, this enables longer panel arrays, resulting in a host of cost savings during installation. In addition, the panel is the industrys first solar panel with an edge connector, the Nanosolar Edge Connector, simplifying cabling, minimizing resistive losses, and enabling higher system voltage in solar power plants. Mechanically, the dual-tempered glass/glass package used for the panel is distinctly stronger than conventional thin-film-on-glass panels, delivering almost twice the mounting span and correspondingly lower mounting materials requirements, while not adding additional weight.

Extensive reliability testing has been performed on the panel, meeting and exceeding with substantial safety margin all tests required by all applicable IEC and UL standards, including separate certification of the Nanosolar Edge Connector. State-of-the-art robotic automation is used to assemble the Nanosolar Utility Panel in a factory near Berlin, Germany, delivering the highest degree of quality on an ongoing basis.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Product Features and Benefits

Based on an industry-standard glass/glass laminate package engineered for more than 25 years of reliability, the panels unique features and benefits include the following: High-Power Panel for Faster Deployment At power ratings ranging from 160W to 220W, the Nanosolar Utility Panel has approximately three times more power per panel than conventional thin-film panels. More power per panel simplifies industrial-scale deployment of power in large quantities. Tests performed by an independent third party have shown that more power per panel results in a 30% installation labor saving relative to conventional thin panels (see below). Rugged, Hermetically Sealed Package for Maximum Reliability A rugged glass/glass package with proven encapsulation based on a hermetic edge seal is used to ensure maximum durability and to eliminate moisture due to humidity. Specifically, our edge seal technology is engineered to exceed the sealing performance of conventional thin-panel products by a factor of ten, providing an additional safety buffer for long-term reliability. Mechanically Strong Package for Wide-Span Mounting Whereas thin-film-on-glass panel manufacturers deposit the solar-cell stack of thin films directly onto a glass pane, which also functions as the encapsulant towards the outside environment, Nanosolar produces individual foil cells, sorts them into electrically matched circuits, and assembles that circuit into a panel. By utilizing sorted-cell assembly, Nanosolar gains a panel assembly yield advantage and broad flexibility in terms of panel size, form factor and package style. The Nanosolar Utility Panel uses tempered glass on both front and back of its glass/glass package. Note that the use of two tempered glass panes is not possible for producers of thin-film-on-glass panels, because high-temperature cell production process steps lead to de-tempering. The use of dually tempered glass panes, with our foil cells in between, creates a package of distinctly superior mechanical strength. Tempered glass has a strength of 120MPa, or three times stronger than regular glass. The resulting system benefit is that it enables wide-span mounting. Wide-span mounting reduces the cost of mounting materials substantially by 40% relative to conventional thin-film panels (see below). High-Current, High-System-Voltage Design for Utility-Scale Panel Arrays With capacity to generate currents of 6-7 Amps (and up to 25 Amps with larger cells of the same architecture), the Nanosolar Utility Panel is also the industrys highest-current thin-film panel. The current-generating capacity of the Nanosolar Utility Panel surpasses other thin-film panels by as much as a factor of six. (First Solars product supports a current of 1 Amp). Series-interconnected Nanosolar cells have the unique capability of generating and carrying much higher currents without any significant resistive losses. High current cells are desirable for utility-scale system implementations because they simplify DC cabling and save balance-of-system cost. They allow a larger number of panels to be interconnected in series without the expense of additional cabling home runs to the inverter. If the panels current is low (as is the case with many thin-film-on-glass products), then, for the same amount of installed power, the system voltage is reached more quickly through a relatively small number of interconnected panels, and a much higher effort in cable splicing or home runs is required. The Nanosolar Utility Panel is the first photovoltaic panel designed and certified by TV for a system voltage of 1500V, or 50% higher than the Industry-standard 1000V. Careful engineering for insulation as well as the design of the Nanosolar Edge Connector (see below) enables this.

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The electrical characteristics of a panel combine with its mechanical length to determine the panel array length, that is, the maximum length of a row of panels in a large-scale system installation that is possible as an electrical panel string without running additional cables back to the inverter. The panel array length is calculated by dividing the panels system voltage by its open-circuit voltage (at low temperature) and then multiplying by the panel length in mounting orientation. The Nanosolar Utility Panel supports a panel array length of 64m, which is more than five times longer than leading thin-film panels presently installed in large-scale fields. The difference is staggering in utilityscale systems where distances are vast; large amounts of expensive DC cabling can be required, and longer panel array length reduces cabling requirements by as much as 73%. (For further detail, please see below.) Nanosolar Edge Connector for Fast, Minimal-Resistive-Loss Interconnection Nanosolar has developed a new form of cabling connection for the Nanosolar Utility Panel. A component separately tested and certified by TV according to the applicable connector standards, the Nanosolar Edge Connector, is designed to reduce cabling labor, save material cost, and minimize resistive losses for the kinds of installations used in utility-scale system deployments.

Figure 1: The Nanosolar Utility Panel mounted in landscape mode. There are two Nanosolar Edge Connectors per panel. A short cable connects each panel from left to right.

The Nanosolar Edge Connector is designed to enable high system voltage and to simplify electrical connection. Field tests performed by an independent third party have shown as much as 85% reduced labor cost relative to conventional thin panels for panel interconnection. In addition, the Nanosolar Edge Connector eliminates any installer connection error possible. High Pallet Density for Minimal Shipping Cost Engineered for multi-MW deployment logistics, the Nanosolar Utility Panel is designed for shipping via ISO-standard 20-foot freight containers as well as common truck load sizes. It affords unusually tight pallet packing and shipment density, allowing for 132kW of panels to be shipped per 20-foot container.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Reducing Balance-of-System Cost

Compared to First Solar thin-film panels, the Nanosolar Utility Panel has the following characteristics and advantages: Nanosolar
Power (W) Mounting Span (m) Current (A) System Voltage (V) Panel Array Length (m) Connectors Ship per 20 ft Container (kW) 160-220 2 6 1500 64 Edge 132

First Solar
75 1.2 1 1000 12 Standard 40

Nanosolar Advantage
3x Power per Layup Step 41% Less Mounting Material Longer Panel Arrays Longer Panel Arrays 73% Less Cabling, Labor 85% Faster Connection 3x Lower Shipping Cost

Table 1: The Nanosolar Utility Panel stretches performance characteristics along several key dimensions relative to conventional thin panels such as First Solars. (*See definition above.)

These technology attributes drive balance-of-system and deployment cost efficiency in several key ways. The design of the Nanosolar Utility Panel enables balance-of-system (BoS) cost savings on mounting materials (A), mounting labor (B), cabling materials length and cabling labor (C), and shipping cost (D), as further described below. We believe the net effect of these advantages (as of Summer 2009) is to reduce the BoS penalty associated with the use of medium-efficient solar panels versus the highest-efficiency silicon panels from 15-20 Eurocents/Watt (in the case of First Solar) to parity.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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3A.

Reduced BoS Cost: Mounting Materials

The wide-span mounting capability of the Nanosolar Utility Panel drives balance-of-system cost savings on mounting materials usage as illustrated in the following figure.

Figure 2: Wide-span mounting drives balance-of-system cost savings on mounting materials. The arrow above indicates the free-span distance that a panel must sustain mechanically (with snow loads up to 5400Pa) when installed in a typical rail-mount configuration. The larger this length, the fewer rails are necessary.

By virtue of having a 1.7 times larger spanning distance, 41% fewer Aluminum (or steel) rails are needed. With these rails constituting around 70% of the entire mounting materials cost, a substantial fraction of materials cost is saved.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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3B.

Reduced BoS Cost: Mounting Labor

An independent third party performed time-clocked tests in a field in Germany, where trained teams of installers mounted a full table of First Solar and a full table of Nanosolar panels. The Nanosolar Utility Panel required 30%less mounting labor time and up to 85% less cabling time.

Figure 3: Panel size drives balance-of-system cost savings on mounting labor and panel-to-panel cabling.

The detailed results of this comparative test by a third party are the following: Mounting was 30% faster with the Nanosolar Utility Panel than with First Solar panels, and panel-to-panel cabling took six times longer with First Solars panels than with the Nanosolar Utility Panel.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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3C.

Reduced BoS Cost: Cabling Length and Labor

The Nanosolar Utility Panel is designed to simplify cabling and save system integrators money on labor and cabling material. The following figure illustrates how the five times larger panel array length of the Nanosolar Utility Panel saves system integrators a significant amount of expense in the form of DC cabling length alone. The figure shows the best-practice layout of a 2.66MW reference plant and the associated DC cabling necessary for this.

Figure 4: DC Cabling required in a 2.66MW Reference System. By employing the Nanosolar Utility Panel, system integrators save up to 73% on cabling length and labor. DC Cabling is represented in both diagrams by the orange lines with field dimensions at 300m by 230m.

3D.

Reduced BoS Cost: Shipping

Due to its design for higher pallet and container packing density, the cost of shipping the Nanosolar Utility Panel on international routes is three times less expensive. Furthermore, by virtue of Nanosolars strategy and commitment to assemble panels regionally and local to where they are being deployed, shipping costs for Nanosolar panels should be lower with less of the companys working capital tied up while the product is in transit.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Performance

A solar panels nominal power rating is typically measured under laboratory conditions, such as at Standard Test Condition (STC) with an artificial light source referred to as a flasher. STC represents an approximation of the natural conditions typically encountered by solar panels. Consequently, this laboratory-based approach requires a host of correction calculations to be applied on the raw measurement datacorrecting for spectral effects, temperature differences, temporal length of the flashed light pulse, and others. Nanosolar takes great care to continuously verify its flasher setup, calibration and methodology, and collaborates with leading third parties in doing so. The Fraunhofer Institut fr Solare Energiesysteme successfully validated Nanosolars factory flasher ratings through a series of flash tests on the Nanosolar Utility Panel at Fraunhofers Freiburg-based facility; the separate flash measurements were within a 1.5% deviation of Nanosolars flash results. While flasher ratings depict the capacity of a panel to produce electricity, most meaningful panel performance data is collected through outdoor measurements of actual pre-inverter / DC and postinverter / AC electricity generated by installations of panels. Outdoor test installations with the Nanosolar Utility Panel have been maintained since 2007 in a variety of geographic and climatic locations, including Nanosolar-operated and customer-operated installations in California, France, Germany, Arizona and the Antarctic.

Figure 5: Nanosolar maintains a series of outdoor test installations in a geographically diverse range of locations and climates, including California, France, Germany, Arizona, and the Antarctic.

kWh energy delivery performance and normalized kWh/Wp energy harvests have been tracked on an ongoing basis under identical conditions for a First Solar array and a Nanosolar Utility Panel array. The gathered data shows that the performance of the Nanosolar Utility Panel is competitive with the performance of the First Solar panels. Based on flash test results and outdoor field performance measurements, Nanosolar Technical Notes on Performance Estimating are available to Nanosolar customers and summarize all necessary input parameters for solar energy simulation programs such as PVSYST and PV*SOL.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Reliability

The Nanosolar Utility Panel architecture safeguards the embedded solar cells from any negative environmental impact. Extensive internal and third-party reliability testing proves the Nanosolar Utility Panel to be highly reliable and extremely robust. The Nanosolar Utility Panel received successful certification upon its first submission to TV. Nanosolar Utility Panel Meets All Requirements According to IEC The Nanosolar Utility Panel is certified by TV Rheinland PTL, LLC Photovoltaic Testing Services according to IEC 61646 & 61730 and UL 1703 for Electrical Safety and Class A Fire Resistance. The panel also received a separate TV certification for its Nanosolar Edge Connector.

Figure 7: A rigorous sequence of tests is applied to solar panels according to IEC. The Nanosolar Utility Panel was certified by TUV Rheinland PTL, LLC Photovoltaic Testing Services according to IEC 61646 & 61730 and UL 1703.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Nanosolar Utility Panel Engineered to Meet Testing In Excess of IEC Extending the scope and intensity of gold plate TV reliability testing to gain even more confidence in >25-year panel durability, Nanosolar continuously performs internal panel and component stress tests significantly in excess of the IEC 61646 standard. Our internal reliability testing emphasizes test-to-fail methodology, as this provides a quantitative characterization of the panels safety margins under extreme conditions. As of the summer of 2009, the Nanosolar Utility Panel exceeds the IEC time and cycle testing limits safely by as much as more than a factor of two. The following two figures show examples of such test-to-fail scenarios (however, it is noteworthy that no Nanosolar Utility Panel has failed so far). Figure 8 depicts the number of temperature cycles that a Nanosolar Utility Panel has been subjected to and correlates the cycles to the panels power rating. After exceeding the IEC test cycles by as much as a factor of two, the panel still fulfills the IEC pass criteria. Figure 9 shows the safety factor established by component-level testing to date. The edge-box safety test has proven that even an increase of test voltage from IEC-conforming 1,500V to 5,000V, the resistance is at a safety factor of 10 above permissible levels.

Figure 8: Temperature cycle test results in excess of IEC test limit, showing the change in power of a Nanosolar Utility Panel after exposure to a series of 450 temperature cycles (TC). Test setup as specified by IEC 61646. It is noteworthy that the panel continues to fulfill IEC pass criteria after 450 cycles.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Figure 9: Edge-box safety test in excess of IEC requirements. A voltage between the module circuit and a water solution is applied while the module is being soaked. The resistance between the module and the water is measured with different voltages applied. Even when applying three times the IEC defined voltage, the resistance is still a factor of 10 above the permissible level. In the graph, DH denotes damp heat tests, HF denotes humidity freeze, and TC denotes temperature cycles.

Rigorous Component Testing We continually perform a series of additional reliability tests, with a focus on component and material endurance, including: Exposure of the Nanosolar Utility Panel to intense amounts of salt fog; Accelerated exposure of the panel edge seal, encapsulant, edge box and ribbon connectors to UV light (UV-A and UV-B) in an amount directly equivalent to 25 years worth of UV light; Accelerated testing of edge box seal performance directly equivalent to 25 years of moisture and thermal cycling; Vibrational fatigue tests, bullet and sheer-force tests.

Additional Extreme Tests Defined by Nanosolar Panel reliability tests as defined by IEC are typically homogeneous tests, meaning the panel is subjected to an environmental regime where each part of the panel experiences similar external conditions. However, it is additionally insightful to subject solar panels to non-homogeneous environments, such as rapid thermal shocks with a temperature gradient throughout the panel. As one example, Nanosolar devised additional protocols to test for a panels response to sunrise on extremely cold days. This environmental stress scenario is not covered by any IEC requirement, yet can plausibly occur in real-world installations. An icy panel is subjected to intense light, almost instantaneously heating the active solar cell layers to the Normal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT), while the panel package is still very cold. The panel can experience a temperature gradient of 40 60K within seconds, creating up to 120 MPa of momentary mechanical stress within a solar panels multiple layers and exerting extreme stress on the weakest links of the panel architecture. The Nanosolar thermal freeze stress test exposes a panel to -40C, and then light soaks it at an intensity of 1.5 full suns while applying an electrically variable load in order to keep the panel at its Maximum Power Point. The panel is then continuously light-soaked until its homogeneous temperature is close to NOCT. Panels are subjected to repeat cycles of this extreme test.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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This test led Nanosolars design team to eliminate weak links by optimizing the coefficients of thermal expansion across all layers of the panel through careful material selection. Due to our internal and external panel design, panels subjected to up to 40 cycles of Nanosolars thermal freeze stress test have led to no failures.

Figure 10: The graph illustrates the effect of two different panels subjected to 40 cycles each of Nanosolars freeze stress test. Deviations are within normal tolerance.

Quality

The Nanosolar quality system controls our entire production process from supplied raw materials to customer service and support. To start, incoming materials are qualified through extensive testing for performance and reliability before being released into production. All critical component attributes are clearly defined and regularly tested by our suppliers, and confirmed in Nanosolar labs or independent labs. Process parameters on Nanosolar manufacturing equipment are the result of numerous tests and trials, and are controlled with hundreds of sensors and lines of data, with the most critical aspects under statistical process control. Regular sampling and lab testing ensure that processes remain in control, and form the basis for continual improvements. Final testing of Nanosolar cells and panels confirm that the panels meet our performance specifications, and also feeds data back to the processes where it is analyzed for potential process improvements. FIFO is built into the production system. Nanosolar data systems can track a panel and its components all the way back to a cells raw materials and processing parameters. Tied together with our ongoing reliability testing, Nanosolar can identify potential product issues well before a customer experiences them in a field installation. Cross functional teams solve manufacturing and quality issues using Toyotas 6 step problem solving methodology, entering them into our quality management system that provides a library of solutions and countermeasures for quick problem resolution. The Nanosolar quality system helps manage daily development and production, and is also building a vast library of data, tools and best practices for continuous improvements in the future. The manufacturing of the Nanosolar Utility Panel is based on fully-automated assembly in a robotic factory with state-of-the-art in-line quality measurement controls. Automated for a throughput of one panel every 10 seconds, the full capacity of Nanosolars Luckenwalde factory is approximately 640MW. Working with a leading provider of lamination equipment, Nanosolar pioneered the use of stack lamination in order to accelerate this rate-limiting process step.

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The Nanosolar Utility Panel An Overview of the Technology and its Advantages

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Figure 11: The assembly of the Nanosolar Utility Panel is completely automated in order to meet the highest quality standards.

Summary

The Nanosolar Utility Panel is designed and developed specifically for utility-scale performance. By introducing a series of improvements to an industry-proven package with established reliability performance, the panel allows system integrators to significantly reduce balance-of-system cost, essentially achieving balance-of-system cost parity with high-efficiency silicon panels.

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