#SolarMOOC Lecture: Custom Solar PV Modules and Operation with Charles Liu

SolPowerPeople will welcome Charles Liu, Owner of Everbright Solar, to the #SolarMOOC stage this Thursday, January 3rd, 2013. Charles will offer a behind the curtain look at the possibilites created through the flexibility of custom designed PV modules. Thursday, January 3, 2012 @ 4PM Pacific, 6PM Central, and 7PM Eastern

Silicon crystalline based solar PV modules currently take up 80% to 90% of the market share and will continue to dominate the solar market in the near future, due to dramatically lower cost, high efficiency, mature technology, and proven long term reliability. The general impression people get when walking trade shows on the PV module part of the floor is that all the panels are pretty much the same.  The reality is quite contrary to this impression.

Crystalline solar cells have been made into PV modules in many ways, in the grid tied market segment, and particularly in the off grid solar market segment. In this #SolarMOOC lecture, Charles Liu of Everbright Solar will examine how main stream and custom solar panels are made, the materials used, and future challenges in development.

Major topics will include:

• Custom PV Modules VS Standard / Regular PV 
• Seven Crystalline Cell Types for PV Module Design and Manufacturing
• Cell / Module Circuit Design and Operational Impact
• Case Studies of Custom PV Module Design and Operation

During this discussion, special emphasis will be placed on the problems and special requirements presented in different usage scenarios, and the proposed solutions. Some customers desire simplicity and aesthetic appeal in the solar products they use. Some mobile solar power device makers need portability, high power, and low profile solar panels. Still others place a premium on extreme lightweight but sturdy construction, with a particular need to deal with shading that is unavoidable.

  Panel level shading can be managed with specific wiring designs, and demanding architectural designs can be met with flexible solar modules.  Sturdy solar generators can be delivered to operate hospitals in rural villages, and extremely lightweight modules can be made to offer a realm of high-tech solutions for spacecraft and electric car racing teams. 

There is a solution to each problem- it must only be approached with a creative mind and the creative use of available and developing technology.

Charles Haiyun Liu founded Fremont, CA based Everbright Solar, Inc. nearly six years ago as a silicon materials, wafer and solar cells supply chain company.  At the beginning of 2008, he started to build a silicon ingot slicing factory with a couple of partners in Wuxi, China, and was able to advance from a simple factory floor to a fully operational ingot slicing facility in three months. For the past few years he has focused on custom solar panel research, development and manufacturing in Everbright's facility in Fremont, California. His company has sold solar products to over 25,000 customers worldwide since 2007. Through his direct involvement in the company operations, he has visited multiple factories and become familiarized with all levels of the crystalline solar manufacturing value chain, ranging from silicon production, ingot growth, wafer slicing, solar cell production, and PV module production. Last year his company also started to install grid tied PV systems, and are building a nation wide solar installer network.

 Charles has been invited to be the visiting faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology for Spring 2013, in Georgia Tech Research Corporation's PV Systems group. Prior to founding of his solar company, Charles Haiyun Liu held database, business intelligence, and IT management positions at Silicon Valley technology companies such as Informatica and Stratify. His successful transition into a solar entrepreneur was mainly due to a lucky call from someone who was looking for silicon in 2007. He went to Deep Springs College in the California desert for two years, and completed his BS degree in Computer Information Systems at San Francisco State University. 

This lecture will be presented this Thursday January 3, 2012 at 6PM Central ( 4PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern).

To join the #SolarMOOC, SolPowerPeople's FREE Solar Massive Open Online Couse and receive an invitation to the weekly lectures, Sign up HERE.

To attend this lecture only, register HERE, and remember- the password to join is 9999!