This week, SoloPower's new CIGS-based, thin-film, lightweight and flexible SFX1-i solar photovoltaic modules will be on display at InterSolar 2010 in San Francisco, California. The unique modules combine the cutting-edge copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) technology with a proprietary roll-to-roll electro-deposition manufacturing process that cuts costs.
Each 80-watt module weighs just 5 lbs. and measures 30 centimeters by 290 centimeters. With their flexible design, SoloPower's panels can be installed on a variety of surfaces and roofs where a conventional solar installation might not fit or function properly.
One benefit of SoloPower's flexible solar modules is their relative quickness and ease of installation. The panels can be laminated onto rooftops, and mounted onto mobile racks to tilt the panels for optimum solar exposure.
Like many solar thin-film solar technologies, the trade-off for lightness and cheapness is lower efficiency - the SFX1-i converts about 10 percent of sunlight's energy into electricity. It makes up for this, however, with a relatively low manufacturing cost of under $1 per watt, although the company will not give precise figures.
The company has already delivered samples of the modules to some of its existing customers, and the modules are expected to be generally available by the second half of 2010.
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This week, SoloPower's new CIGS-based, thin-film, lightweight and flexible SFX1-i solar photovoltaic modules will be on display at InterSolar 2010 in San Francisco, California. The unique modules combine the cutting-edge copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) technology with a proprietary roll-to-roll electro-deposition manufacturing process that cuts costs. 
