Hi All;
As far as I can tell the efficiency ranges from
about 4.5% to 6%.
This seem very low compared to poly or mono crystalline
silicon at 15% to 18%.
I suppose they are nice if you have a large area to
place them.
However I would not recommend them for a solar tracking
system as they would require a needlessly large
tracking mount.
If I would use my location, Minnesota, they are more
expensive than good mono crystalline panels in a
tracking system.
Let's compare Tracked crystalline vs fixed Kaneka:
Mono Crystalline = 150W/m^2
Kaneka = 60W/m^2
Tracking factor for me = 170%
Mono Crystalline cost = $3/W
Kaneka cost = $1.20/W
(150W/m^2)/ (60W/m^2) * 170% = 425% greater energy/year
($3/W / 425%) / ($1.20/W / 100%) = 59% energy/cost advantage
of crystalline over
Kaneka.
This shows that tracked mono crystalline panels have a good
advantage over Kaneka panels even at this low of a cost.
Not to mention the added cost of mounting hardware for
panels that are 4.5 times more area for the same
energy per year.
In the big picture these seem quite expensive to me.
Duane
Red Rock Energy
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