One technology, showcased at the European PV Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition in Spain, is a fully integrated solar-module assembly line. The assembly system, developed by Massachusetts-based Spire Corp., can reduce solar startups' capital expenditures by 30 percent, Spire claims.
The company's assembly line, Spire CEO Roger G. Little said, ensures "high-throughput, high-yield module production at the lowest cost of capital."
Another New England firm, New Hampshire-based GT Solar, introduced this week a polysilicon production process that it says will produce more silicon - an essential component of many solar panels - with reduced energy consumption.
The new SDR400 polysilicon reactor, GT Solar vice president Dave Keck said, "can produce 33 percent more polysilicon annually in the same footprint using approximately 20 percent less electricity for every kilogram of polysilicon produced."
Cutting the cost of solar equipment is essential to fomenting the widespread adoption of solar power. Innovations like those rolled out by Spire and GT Solar can help cut the cost of going solar even further.
