IMPACT RESISTANT LIGHTWEIGHT PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES

1 . A photovoltaic module structure, comprising:

a transparent front encapsulant and a back encapsulant encapsulating a solar cell, said transparent front encapsulant having an elastic modulus lower than or equal to 30 megapascals, said back encapsulant having an elastic modulus greater than or equal to 100 megapascals; and,

a module backplane attached to said back encapsulant, said module backplane having a flexural rigidity of a plate greater than or equal to 6 Newton meters.

2 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 1 , wherein said transparent front encapsulant has a thickness greater than or equal to approximately 500 μm.

3 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 1 , wherein said back encapsulant has a thickness less than or equal to approximately 500 μm.

4 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 1 , wherein said module backplane is a fiber-reinforced backplane.

5 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 1 , further comprising a transparent protective film attached to said front encapsulant, said transparent protective film having a thickness less than approximately 150 μm.

6 . A photovoltaic module structure, comprising:

a transparent front encapsulant and a back encapsulant encapsulating a solar cell, said transparent front encapsulant having an elastic modulus lower than or equal to 30 megapascals and a thickness greater than or equal to approximately 500 μm, said back encapsulant having an elastic modulus greater than or equal to 100 megapascals and a thickness less than or equal to approximately 500 μm; and,

a module backplane attached to said back encapsulant, said module backplane having a flexural rigidity of a plate greater than or equal to 6 Newton meters.

7 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 6 , further comprising a transparent protective film attached to said front encapsulant, said transparent protective film having a thickness less than approximately 150 μm.

8 . A photovoltaic module structure, comprising

a transparent front encapsulant and a back encapsulant encapsulating a solar cell, said transparent front encapsulant having an elastic modulus between about 25 megapascals and about 30 megapascals, said back encapsulant having an elastic modulus between about 100 megapascals and about 160 megapascals; and,

a module backplane attached to said back encapsulant, said module backplane having a flexural rigidity of a plate greater than or equal to 6 Newton meters.

9 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 8 , wherein the transparent front encapsulant is one of a cross-linking polyolefin or ethylene-vinyl acetate.

10 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 9 , wherein the back encapsulant is a polyolefin having an elastic modulus of approximately 160 MPa.

11 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 10 , further comprising a top transparent film layer, on the transparent front encapsulant, having a thickness in the range of 50 to 150 μm.

12 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 11 , wherein the transparent front encapsulant has a thickness of in the range of approximately 500 to 1500 μm.

13 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 12 , wherein the back encapsulant has a thickness in the range of approximately 200 to 500 μm.

14 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 8 , wherein the back encapsulant is a polyolefin having an elastic modulus of approximately 160 MPa.

15 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 8 , further comprising a top transparent film layer, on the transparent front encapsulant, having a thickness in the range of 50 to 150 μm.

16 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 8 , wherein the transparent front encapsulant has a thickness of in the range of approximately 500 to 1500 μm.

17 . The photovoltaic module structure of claim 8 , wherein the back encapsulant has a thickness in the range of approximately 200 to 500 μm.