The flat glass business of PPG Industries has reported that the company is upgrading a coater at its Oregon glass facility in order to facilitate the production of 2XAR two-sided, anti-reflective and SOLARPHIRE AR anti-reflective glasses.
According to Richard A. Beuke, the VP of PPG for flat glass, the investment in the Salem glass plant together with manufacturing of light-transmissive ultra-high glass at the company’s California plant is a part of the long-term commitment of PPG, in helping the solar power industry of West Coast.
Beuke stated that the company can manufacture Solarphire photovoltaic (PV) glass at California and delivers to Oregon in order to add an anti-reflective coating. This has enabled the company to speed up the internal production and to respond with a wide product range to solar industry customers all over the western USA. It has facilitated the solar customers to lower the carbon footprint of solar cell production, he added.
PPG Solar Performance Group’s Global Director, Scott Follett stated that shifting the solar glass manufacturing of PPG from the East Coast to the West will be easy for customers in handling their inventory and production demands. The company has aimed at meeting the standard and in-stock contracts for Solarphire AR and Solarphire PV glasses in Arizona, California and Nevada.
Solarphire 2XAR and Solarphire AR glasses will be manufactured at the Oregon facility. A highly durable anti-reflective coating applied upon a Solarphire PV glass substrate forms Solarphire AR glass, which produces 93.6% of solar transmittance having a width of 3.2 mm. Crystalline-silicon module manufacturers, replacing the cover plates of the units using Solarphire AR glass, announced about the increasing output power of up to 7 W.
The anti-reflective coating from PPG applied upon both sides of a Solarphire PV glass forms the Solarphire 2XAR glass, which generates 96.3% of solar transmittance. Solarphire 2XAR glass may be used to manufacture more efficient concentrated solar photovoltaic (CSP) modules, when compared to the Solarphire AR glass.
Source: http://www.ppg.com/