Lithuanian solar technology company SoliTek has introduced a new solar panel calling it M40 with a power output of 235W, specifically targeting greenhouses, even those that are less sunny.
The 40-cell monocrystalline frameless panel comes with a module efficiency of 12.65%, 9 busbar arrangement and weighs 30 kg. SoliTek claims 40% of its surface is transparent in other words offers a 40% light transmittance, hence the panel transmits more natural light than its previous versions.
The company is offering 87% power guarantee and a product warranty of 30 years for the new module. Datasheet of M40 solar panel is available on SoliTek's website.
"With this module we are just beginning to discover solar agro-power plants, which really belong to the future," said SoliTek's Head Julius Sakalauskas. Calling solar agro-plants as non-invasive, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective, Sakalauskas said it allows for additional income from growing land production and generating electricity.
SoliTek initially implemented a 1.5 MW rooftop solar agrivoltaic plant in 2015 in Malaysia and learnt that growing peppers in drier and hotter areas can achieve much higher yields and significantly reduce the need to use water for irrigation.
It believes that a properly equipped agrisolar greenhouse can lower the cost of electricity by about 80% or even 100%.
SoliTek is working in the SUPER PV project funded under the Horizon 2020 project of European Union (EU) and presented at TaiyangNews 3-day virtual conference in June 2021 titled What's Hot in European Solar R&D (see Day 2: TaiyangNews What's Hot In European Solar R&D).
In April 2021, Australia's ClearVue opened what it termed as the world's '1st' clear solar research greenhouse in Perth to be used to develop new plant breeding technologies (see ClearVue Launches World-First Solar Greenhouse in Perth).
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