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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2017-10-7 at 09:07. 1.6 meters long and 1.2 meters wide – in just 55 seconds, the end of the production line produced the world’s largest single-piece cadmium telluride \"solar glass\". On September 30, reporters at Chengdu Sinocement Optoelectronic Materials Co., Ltd. saw that the company’s world’s first large-scale cadmium telluride thin-film solar glass production line, which possesses complete independent intellectual property rights, has entered the equipment calibration phase. Although it has not yet been put into official operation, the orders received for this \"power-generating glass\" are sufficient for the company to produce for a year; the production line has an annual capacity to generate 100 megawatts of power. “We have finally reached the forefront of the world. ”Pan Jingong, the company’s leader and an expert under Sichuan’s “Thousand Talents Program,” could not hide his excitement. He said that a 1.92-square-meter piece of \"power-generating glass\" can generate 260 to 270 kWh of electricity per year; the amount of electricity produced by three to four thousand such pieces of glass is equivalent to the electricity that can be generated from the oil output of an ordinary oil well in one year. Previously, the largest area of monolithic cadmium telluride thin-film solar glass in the world was 0.72 square meters, and no breakthrough had been achieved. It is extremely difficult to apply a cadmium telluride film that is 4 microns thick, equivalent to one percent of the thickness of a human hair, evenly and continuously onto glass. The project once faced difficulties in transitioning from a laboratory product to a production-ready product. Later, the company’s adoption of a mixed-ownership structure created opportunities: China National Building Materials held 55% of the shares, Pan Jinguang’s team held 35%, and the local state-owned enterprises in Shuangliu held 10%. Currently, the project has received special funding of 159 million yuan from the National Development and Reform Commission under the \"Major Project Package for Strengthening the Core Competitiveness of the Manufacturing Sector\". As products continue to leave the production line during the debugging process, the company is using \"power-generating glass\" to \"arm\" the factory buildings. It is estimated that by installing \"power-generating glass\" on three sides of the factory building, it is possible to generate over 2 million kWh of electricity per year. “This means that half of the electricity consumption during the daytime shift on the production line can be met internally. ”Within the company’s premises, applications such as new energy vehicle charging stations made from \"power-generating glass\" can be seen everywhere. Gu Zhenan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, commented that coating ordinary glass with cadmium telluride photovoltaic materials transforms it from an insulator into a conductive, power-generating semiconductor material. This approach has overturned the traditional technical framework of the glass industry, and it has laid the technical and material foundations for China to evolve from a major producer of construction glass into a leading country in the field of electronic glass and semiconductor materials. “China currently has 40 billion square meters of buildings; if 10% of them were upgraded with ‘power-generating glass’, it would be equivalent to building three Three Gorges Dams, while also solving the problem of light pollution caused by traditional glass facades. ”Pan Jingong said.
I’ve never heard of this technology; what’s its feasibility?
1.92 square meters can generate 260-270 units of power; thus, if the walls of a household are all utilized for this purpose, it will be sufficient to meet the family’s electricity needs
Office buildings in big cities seem to be more suitable for this project. For use in small households, a high-performance battery is required as support.
Cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells represent cutting-edge technology in the solar energy industry, and they were also the main area of research for Pan Jinggong, the general manager of Chengdu China National Building Materials Optoelectronic Materials Co., Ltd., before he returned to China. Just last year, the construction of Chengdu Sinoma Optoelectronic Materials Co., Ltd.’s production line for cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells with an annual output of 80 megawatts began. The first phase of this project covers an area of 67 mu and involves an investment of 500 million yuan. Pan Jinggong said he is looking forward to seeing the first batch of (large-area) cadmium telluride solar glass produced in China by the end of this year. Full of enthusiasm for this project are also a group of young scientists from Pan Jinguang’s team; they come from various places and, with great dedication, work hard in Chengdu, this central city in the west. They tie their future to the industry of new energy and new materials, hoping to use their knowledge and skills to create a better tomorrow.
By the way, how were those iron oxide-coated solar cells developed in Japan earlier? Is there any progress? It is said to be able to be applied in the form of a spray onto any material or any surface.