Advent Solar: Moving Solar Power Technology into the 21st Century

Advent Solar, Inc. is a relatively young company specializing in making solar cells and solar modules. This company was only founded in 2002, and they are already pushing the technological innovations in the solar energy field.

Advent Solar brags particularly about their "back-contact" solar cell technology. This advance was made possible because of the company's motto of thinking: which is technology meets "lean" manufacturing. In other words they want to be streamlined, not waste anything at all, and to continue to increase the power and quality of the technology while reducing the size of the product.

In this way, Advent Solar's plans to advance solar technology are similar to the way computers evolved. The power and ability continued to increase while the size and bulkiness decreases.

Advent Solar is stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a modern facility that one would expect for a company that is part of the cutting edge of advancing solar technology. The way they've managed to compete is by being more innovative than larger companies.

Aside from the "back-contact" solar cell technology, Advent is also known for designing solar panels that have very unique designs. This design is known as the "Emitter-Wrap-Through" design, an innovation that has done very well for the company. This design allows for a great combination of easier assembly, higher energy results, and lower costs while using less building material.

In fact, this design has done so well that Advent Solar has applied for, and was granted, three U.S. patents to make sure that their specialized technological designs aren't stolen.

As the price of oil continues to rise and the supply continues to fall, the demand for alternative energy technologies like solar are only going to increase. A company like Advent Solar that continues to develop new technologies that make solar power more practical, as well as powerful, will do well.

And unlike oil, the sun is set to be around for another 4-5 billion years or so, meaning solar power has a very bright future.