The Dow Chemical Co. recently announced that it has begun commercial-scale manufacturing of ENLIGHT™ polyolefin encapsulant films for use in photovoltaic solar panel modules at its production line in Findlay, Ohio.

“Response to the introduction of ENLIGHT technology earlier this year has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Brij Sinha, global strategic marketing manager for photovoltaics for Dow’s Packaging and Converting business. “Our encapsulant films improve the ability of module manufacturers to lower their overall costs.” Sinha said that the films allow faster processing speeds, which lead to lower conversion costs. “Just as important, ENLIGHT technology has demonstrated that it can help increase the reliability of the finished module, leading to a longer service life.”

Dow offers two developmental grades of the ENLIGHT films and also is developing customer-specific formulations. These films reportedly provide greater module stability and improved electrical performance vs. traditional encapsulants, such as EVA-based products. The new encapsulant films are suitable for C-Si and thin-film modules.

The company plans to phase in production capacity around the world as needed to meet growing demand. For additional details, visit www.dow.com.