AGC Glass Europe

Crystalline PV. This is probably the most well-known PV (photovoltaic) technology. A set of solar cells is laminated between a glass front sheet and a polymer back sheet. Tempered extra clear (usually patterned) glass is considered as the reference solution for the front sheet. The composition and surface texture of these types of glass are specially designed to maximise the energy transmission and to ensure optimal lamination. In addition, these types of glass can be supplied with an anti-reflective coating (Solite Plus® and Solatex Plus®), thereby further increasing their energy transmission by several percent more.

For more information see : http://www.agc-solar.com/solar-technologies/solar-photovoltaics/crystalline.html

Thin film PV.In this case, the solar cell is formed as a thin layer directly deposited onto glass covered with a conductive coating which serves as the front (thin film silicon and thin film CdTe) or back (thin film CIGS) electrode. As the flatness of the glass is paramount for achieving high performance of the cell deposition process, specification requirements can only be met by float glass (clear and extra clear). AGC has built on its strong know-how in coating technologies (both Chemical Vapour Deposition and Physical Vapour Deposition) to market a range of coatings suitable for glass for solar applications.

For more information see : http://www.agc-solar.com/solar-technologies/solar-photovoltaics/thin-film-silicon.html

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is used to generate clean electricity from the sun, normally at utility scale. It is particularly suitable for areas with high Direct Normal Solar Irradiance (such as Spain, California and the Middle East). In Concentrating Solar Power, a set of mirrors is used to concentrate the sun’s rays on a central receiver. This heats up a liquid which is then used to generate electricity in a conventional thermodynamic cycle. There are currently four types of CSP technology, namely Parabolic Trough, Tower, Fresnel and Dish. For all of these, AGC Solar provides extra clear glass (thick and thin) to leading manufacturers of solar mirrors, designed to maximise the amount of energy reflected onto the receiver. For technologies that use such mirrors, AGC builds on its experience as a glass processor to also provide flat mirrors (Sun Mirox Flat) and thin mirrors (Sun Mirox Thin). For more information see : http://www.agc-solar.com/solar-technologies/concentrating-solar-power.html

Thermal collectors are used to generate hot water both for domestic and for industrial applications. The energy from the sun is used to heat up water flowing through heat exchanging pipes. In flat plate collectors, clear and extra clear glass is used to hermetically seal the system while maximising the energy input. As with crystalline PV, the glass can be supplied with an anti-reflective coating.

For more information see : http://www.agc-solar.com/solar-technologies/solar-thermal.html

The main environmental benefit of the solar technologies is their contribution to the development of renewable energy sources that drastically reduce CO₂ emissions. By way of example, each kWh of electricity generated by means of photovoltaic panels reduces the amount of greenhouse gases generated by conventional techniques by a factor of at least 10, including the CO₂ generated during the production of the solar modules (see Fig. 1). As a result, it has been demonstrated that the energy pay-back time of solar modules varies from less than one year to less than four years, depending on the technology and on the location where the modules are installed (see Fig. 2).

For more information, see http://www.agc-solar.com