Solar equipment manufacturer Opel International has signed a five-year solar cell supply contract with Spectrolab, a Boeing company, under which Opel will be placing individual incremental orders for solar cells every calendar year.
To cover its initial high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) production requirements, Opel has placed an initial firm purchase order for 10MW of high efficiency triple junction solar cells for delivery in 2008. Spectrolab has already started shipping the product to Opel to fulfill this order.
Used in conjunction with Opel’s HCPV technology, Spectrolab’s triple junction cells are each reportedly capable of producing 15W to 17W, representing 37% efficiency.
Robert Pico, CEO of Opel International, said: This contract represents both a great opportunity and a minimization of risk for Opel. With secure access to an adequate supply of Boeing-Spectrolab’s superior solar cells, we have the necessary raw material to ensure we can deliver HCPV panels to customers for the foreseeable future.