Researchers at a startup company called Solyndra have designed a new way of deploying solar panels which is cheaper and more efficient than regular solar panels. The new technique consists of cylindrical solar cells which are made of thin-film semiconductor material that is deposited on a glass tube.

The thin-film semiconductor material is made of copper, gallium, indian, and selenium, and this new cylindrical solar panels absorb more light which means more power. Also, they are easier to maintain as the cylinder-shape leads to less wind resistance on the roof of the buildings.

According to Chris Gronet, CEO of Solyndra, the startup company has orders of $1.2 billion of cylinder solar panels. Solyndra has already started to install the solar panels for commercial rooftops earlier this year, and for the moment the company can produce solar panels that generate about 110 megawatts of electricity, however, they are going to build a new factory that will produce enough solar panels to generate 420 megawatts of electricity.

“There’s a lot more flexibility with thin films than there is with wafer technologies,” said Miguel Contreras, senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. This technique helped Solyndra to raise $600 million in venture in order to develop and manufacture. these thin-film cylindrical solar cells.

Besides generating more electricity, the cylindrical solar panels offer less wind resistance therefore they don’t need to be bolted or reinforced like conventional solar panels. As the solar panels are based on cylindrical solar cells, there is some space between the tubes which means that the wind passes through. According to Solyndra, the cylindrical solar panels can withstand winds up to 130 mph without weighing down the panels.

Cylindrical solar panels can absorb more sunlight than conventional solar panels as at any point in the day the sun rays will hit a part of the solar cells. Regular rooftop solar panels need tracking systems that will move the photovoltaic cells around the sun, but they are expensive, hard to maintain, they don’t withstand heavy winds, and they occupy a lot of space where you could put some more solar panels.

Still, the cylindrical solar panels are not perfect as there is a curved part where the light doesn’t reach so the company found a solution in reflective white roofs. As the sunlight passes through the spaces between the solar cells, it is reflected by the roof and then absorbed by the cylindrical PV cells.

In conclusion Gronet said that they are hoping to achieve a $.10 per kilowatt-hour cost overthe next years. Although their technology seems perfect for residential applications and for other large-scale project, for the moment, Solyndra will stick to manufacturing cylindrical solar panels for commercial rooftops, but you never know what will happen in the future.