CLEANTECH 1: All Renewable Solar

A California company dedicated to making key plastic components for rooftop photovoltaic modules from renewable plants instead of greenhouse gas emitting petroleum has entered a manufacturing arrangement and revealed its secret plant materials. Santa Clarita-based BioSolar is using nylon 11 made from castor bean oil and recycled cotton to make solar panel backsheet, the substrate upon which power generating silicon is layered, according to David Lee, BioSolar president and chief executive officer. “We are able to make it with 100 percent renewable materials and make it cheaper,” said Lee. The company projects the product will cost 25 percent less than conventional petroleum-based backsheet. BioSolar is teaming up with Connecticut-based Rowland Technologies to manufacture the plant-based backsheet material, Lee said. Rowland Technologies is a plastic extruder. Originally, Lee hoped to open his own manufacturing plant, but decided to use Rowland Technologies on a contract basis to minimize risk given recent economic conditions. An initial run of full-sized backsheets is being tested by solar module manufacturers, according to Lee. If the tests prove successful, BioSolar plans to begin to manufacture and market the product early next year. Solar panel makers are examining the backsheet to make sure it can withstand the intense temperature cycle and high humidity of the rooftop environment and solar energy production cycle. They also are testing the material to make sure it can handle exposure to voltages characteristic of photovoltaic systems and moisture. When companies change the materials they use in solar panels, such tests are needed to obtain Underwriters Laboratory certification for the modules. Company chief technology officer Stan Levy said tests have shown that the renewable backsheet materials exceed test standards. SBM Solar is a technology partner with BioSolar. Arizona State University, an affiliate of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has been testing the BioSolar backsheet. In a September report, Beacon Equity Research analyst Victor Sula noted that previous attempts to make solar backsheet with bioplastics failed due to the material’s “low melting temperature and fragile molecular structure.” BioSolar’s material has overcome these constraints, he concluded. It “has durability characteristics similar to conventional petroleum-based plastics,” according to Sula, which currently “are used in the production of virtually all solar cells and modules.”

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CLEANTECH 1: All Renewable Solar

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