$3.00/watt, Lowest Price PV Modules

Aten Solar Promises Lowest Cost Per Watt for PV Modules
Press Release from Aten Solar, Bradley Beach, NJ, February 23, 2007

In January 2007, Aten Solar Corp, ... announced the commercial sale of their 42 watt a-si [amorphous silicon] modules for $3.00/watt. According to the March pricing survey's conducting by solarbuzz.com and ecobusinesslinks.com, these are the lowest PV modules on the market today. Despite the low initial power yields, thin-film photovoltaic products are becoming highly regarded for their better temperature coefficients resulting in a greater percentage of rated power production at higher ambient temperatures, produce more power on cloudy days in low light conditions, and do not experience broken connections due to inter-cell contact failure. ...

From their website:

Aten Solar ATPV-42 Solar Modules Description: 42 Watt Amorphous Silicon Solar Module

In lots of 1,Your Price: $120.00 [42 watts, equals $2.86 per watt]
In lots of 32, Your price: $4032 [1344 watts, equals $3.00 per watt]

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Their descrioption of Amorphous Silicon solar cells

"Thin-film amorphous Silicon (a-Si) solar cells are gaining momentum in the market place. Amorphous Silicon cells use layers of a-Si only a few micrometers thick, attached to an inexpensive backing such as glass, flexible plastic, or stainless steel. This means that they use less than 1% of the raw material (silicon) compared standard crystalline Silicon (c-Si) cells, leading to a significant cost saving. Production of these cells is therefore less subject to the high prices of silicon caused by recent shortages. The flexible backing allows them to be formed to fit applications, allows for the bending inherent when used in building materials, such as roofing, and prevents breakage during shipping and handling at the installation site."

"Amorphous solar cells absorbs light more efficiently than c-Si, but they do not convert sunlight quite as efficiently, they require considerably less energy to produce, and are superior to crystalline cells in terms of the time required to recover the energy cost of manufacture. Amorphous materials, by definition, lack a crystalline structure and can be created by melting and then rapid cooling a crystalline substance as is done with a plasma vapor deposition process."

"Amorphous silicon is gradually degraded, by exposure to light, by a phenomena called the Staebler-Wronski Effect (SWE). SWE effects the power output of a-Si modules by as much as 10%. This light induced degradation is reduced by depositing the layers of the cell using high hydrogen dilution and by making combinations (alloys) of different types of cells. Because of SWE, a-Si cells are rated in the stabilized condition, which occurs after about 100 hours exposure to light."

Who are they?

"Aten Solar is a leading value added marketer of complete environmental and sustainable products. Engineers from the solar thermal heating, conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning industries have come together to create a company called Aten Solar to meet the demand for solar energy solutions globally. The company's purpose is to provide a unique product mix of renewable products that was compelling for buyers amidst increasing energy prices. We carry other leading name brands like GE Solar, Kaneka Solar, Xantrex, Magnetek, Fronius, Techno-Solis, SolCol & Thermo Shield isolative in door and outdoor paints."

"Our global organization has over 20 years experience with solar thermal heating projects in the United States and overseas. The objective of Aten Solar is to be a significant facilitator of the growing solar energy industry within the United States, Canada, Europe and abroad. Aten Solar maintains a distribution warehouse in Bradley Beach, NJ and Northern California which provides a close proximity to New York/Philadelphia, San Francisco/Portland air and sea ports, respectively. We currently retain an office in Spain to support our European operations."