Back-contact monocrystalline silicon array, fixed ground-mount
SunPower back-contact monocrystalline panels incorporate design improvements that lead to high efficiency performance. Because they convert sunlight with a greater efficiency, fewer panels are needed for a given output.
High efficiency cells are often used where space is limited, or where there are high costs associated with installing large arrays.
One feature that increases the efficiency of these panels is their reverse junction design. Metal contacts have been moved to the back of the silicon layer, leaving more of the photovoltaic material exposed to sunlight.
Other developments that have led to high efficiencies in a generalist panel are shaping the cells so they can be tiled closely, increasing the number of cells in a panel so that an array will have less frames, and using anti-reflective glass over the cells.
SunPower is a global corporation that designs and manufactures high-efficiency solar panels for general applications, and implements large and small scale installations.
| Electricity produced (annual): | 9.42 MWh* |
|---|---|
| System size: | 5.805 kW |
| Array area: | 33.6 m² |
| Number of panels: | 27 |
| Panel efficiency: | 17.28 % |
| Panel type: | SunPower SPR-215-WHT-I |
| Panel rated output: | 215 W |
| Inverter size, type: | 6 kW, SMA SMC 6000A |
| Array orientation: | True north, at 20º tilt |
| Installation completed: | 26 September 2008 |
*This figure is based on an assumption of 1.622 MWh annually, per kWp of installed solar panels. This may prove to be a conservative estimate for Alice Springs.