- Swiss researchers develop transparent solar panel.
- Solar panel can let in up to 78 per cent of sunlight.
- Solar cells can horizontally track sunlight.
Swiss research institute Agroscope and energy company Romande Energie are building an agrivoltaic project with the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) at a site owned by Agroscope in Conthey, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.
The organisations are utilising a special transparent concentrator PV panels produced by Swiss startup Insolight. The Theia (Translucency and High Efficiency In Agrivoltaics) modules have an efficiency rating of 30 per cent and can let in up to 78 per cent of sunlight.
The solar cells only cover 0.5 per cent of the panel surface and are protected by a glass and optical lenses layer which help to concentrate and direct sunlight onto them at around 100 times the intensity of standard solar glass. The cells are also able to track the sun through horizontal movement.
The developers of the panel in a statement noted that “combining two usage modes based on Insolight’s optical micro-tracking technology, these modules focus light on high-efficiency solar cells,” Insolight said in a press release. “When aligned, the optical system can generate energy (E-MODE), but it is also possible to unalign it to ‘leak’ the light (MLT-MODE). The solar modules therefore act like a ‘smart’ shade adjusting the amount of light they let through.”