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solopower

Money shines on thin-film solar maker SoloPower

If you need more proof that thin-film solar cells is where the action is going, take a look at the money flow.

SoloPower is raising almost $200 million to ramp up manufacturing of its thin-film solar cells, according to a report in VentureWire picked up by other media outlets.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company makes cells from CIGS, a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenide which a number of solar companies are betting can undercut traditional crystalline silicon.

Thin-film solar cells, from CIGS or other materials, are less efficient at converting sunlight to electricity but use far less … Read more

Solar-energy record-holder joins SoloPower

Rommel Noufi, one of the primary experts in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, is joining SoloPower as vice president of research.

Noufi has been a fixture in CIGS for several years as a scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He also holds the record for efficiency for CIGS cells: one of his cells can convert 19.9 percent of the sun's energy into electricity while another can convert 16.5 percent. When reporters or analysts have CIGS questions, the path in the past several years has often led to Noufi.

Efficiency has been a major headache … Read more