Photovoltaic apparatus and method

A printed solar film comprising:

• a carrier substrate,
• a plurality of units, each unit comprising a plurality of printed photovoltaic modules produced on the carrier substrate via a roll-to-roll process, each module having a predetermined layout, wherein each module comprises
• first and second module terminals, and
• a predetermined number of printed photovoltaic cells between the first and second module terminals of a photovoltaic module such that each photovoltaic cell is electrically connected in series with an adjacent photovoltaic cell;
• a first printed bus bar extending along one side of the plurality of units, wherein the first bus bar is adapted to electrically connect to the first terminal of a leading photovoltaic module in a unit;
• a second printed bus bar extending along an other side of the plurality of units, wherein the second bus bar is adapted to electrically connect to the second terminal of a trailing photovoltaic module in a unit;
• and
• plurality of inter-module rails, each inter-module rail being produced on the carrier substrate via the roll-to-roll process,
• connected to at least one of the first and second module terminals of one or more of the plurality of printed photovoltaic modules, and
• printed with a linkable gap such that the photovoltaic modules are initially disconnected from one another;
• and
• a conductive paste, a conductive ink or a conductive tape dispensed over the respective linkable gap of one or more of the inter-module rails after the one or more of the inter-module rails are produced via the roll-to-roll process;
• wherein the plurality of inter-module rails isare at least partly located between adjacent photovoltaic modules in the longitudinal direction, one photovoltaic module being selectively connectable to an adjacent photovoltaic module in series by application of the conductive paste, the conductive ink or the conductive tape over the respective linkable gap, at least when an electrical connection to the first or second bus bar is established through the first or second terminal,
• wherein the plurality of inter-module rails and gaps or connections between the first and second module terminals and the first and second printed bus bars define a plurality of selectively configurable junctions at predetermined locations on the carrier substrate.