Renewable Energy Co. (REC) has recently developed new solar technology that allows its solar PV panels to achieve energy payback time in one year.
So-called energy payback time is the amount of time it takes for a photovoltaic (PV) solar module to produce as much energy as was used to manufacture it. Efficient solar cells are just part of the equation. REC’s solar technology uses a new method of producing silicon that requires much less energy and reduces the energy payback time to just one year.
What does this mean for solar PV panels? Well, to start with, other solar manufacturers have only been able to produce cells with energy payback times of five years, or more. REC, on the other hand, uses the Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) process that it developed to create granular silicon – a substance that uses much less energy to produce crystalline silicon. The energy-saving manufacturing process requires only 10% of the energy required for traditional silicon processing. This is because the FBR process does not use heating and cooling processes.
The FBR process was awarded the 2011 Solar Industry Award by Solar Industry Magazine on September 6, 2011.