Green Options

A season has passed since we covered the installation of Magco Inc.’s new thin film solar panel installation. The previous article generated a lot of interest and questions, so it’s time to get back on the roof and report on some real-world figures.

If you need a refresher on thin film solar technology, check out two of our previous posts. The important thing to remember here is that thin film solar is lighter than silicon panels, and uses different wavelengths of light.

In May of 2008, Magco Inc. installed 27kW of Unisolar’s triple-junction laminate panels. That’s 4,900 sq ft of thin film goodness. The building contains a warehouse and offices, and it has a metal roof. The solar panels were literally glued to the roof.

Total installation cost: US$215,000 (including inverter and hiring a master electrician)

Energy produced each month provides about 1/3 of Magco’s total needs. That may not seem like a lot, but recall that this includes a warehouse with associated heating/cooling, machinery and equipment. Magco anticipates producing about US$9,000 each year from the panels. So let’s do the math:

Many people envision solar power as rigid silicon panels mounted on a roof. With thin film solar cells, you’re more likely to not see them, or even know they’re there. This article is about a real-life thin film solar project.

Not many bloggers are able to witness the technologies we research and write about. It’s one thing to be able to buy afford a cool “green” gadget (usually not very green), but another to see the many forms of solar, wind, geothermal, etc., which are always changing and developing around the world. So when my employer decided to go solar, you might imagine my excitement.

At the moment I work for Magco Inc., a Tecta America company. Tecta is a national commercial roofing corporation that can install green roofs, solar lighting, and solar panels alongside a variety of traditional roofing systems. This solar project is pretty straight forward: our building has a big, flat roof on top of a hill without any shade. You’d have trouble finding a sunnier spot for solar panels.

I was double delighted when I heard that they ordered thin-film solar! Naturally inquiring minds wanted to know: why and what kind?