THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for the ‘renewable energy’ Category

GE Sees More Casualties in Wind and Solar

(Reuters) – General Electric Co. expects increased competition and a reduction in subsidies by cash-strapped governments to lead to more companies exiting the wind and solar power businesses, but the industrial behemoth still sees growing long-term demand.

“There’s going to be a lot of casualties in the wind and solar businesses, there already are in solar,” John Krenicki, who leads GE’s energy division, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

The U.S. may see an uptick in orders in 2012, prompted by the expiry of government incentives at the end of the year. However, the outlook for government support in the U.S. and Europe, in part do to economic woes, was not positive.

“I don’t expect a 100 percent withdrawal of credits but I expect change, so maybe less,” he added.

Nonetheless, GE expects the long-term demand for wind equipment to continue growing, especially as technological improvements made even the most economically challenging parts of the industry less reliant on legislated support.

GE Energy manufactures thin film solar panels and systems and is one of the biggest players in the wind turbine manufacturing business.

Golf Cart Solar Introduces Thin Film Solar Golf Cart Kit

Golf Cart Solar, a Sarasota, Florida based solar technology company announced today a new “Zero Cost” golf cart solar panel program that provides solar panels for golf carts at no cost to the end user customer. Golf Cart Solar will be unveiling the new program at the PGA Show, Orlando, FL January 26-28, 2012, booth 2228.

“In addition to the obvious demand by golf courses and golfers to go green, technological advances, government incentives and increased competition has driven down the cost of solar cells, resulting in this new breakthrough pricing program,” said Doug Fyvolent, partner in Golf Cart Solar.

Golf courses could save up to 20% or more on electrical costs associated with charging golf cart batteries. This savings reduces one of the major expenses incurred by golf courses. Golf Cart Solar’s program includes both new and used aftermarket kits, as well as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) program so the leading golf cart manufacturers can install the system inline during the manufacturing process.

The Program is available to golf courses that either buy or lease. “We have had extensive conversations with the leading cart leasing companies and they understand what we are doing and if they qualify can include this kit in their leasing programs,” said Fyvolent.

The kit includes a new technology, thin film solar panels, controller and wiring harness. Golf Cart Solar can also do the installation for the end users.

Warren Buffett Buys into Thin Film Solar Panels

Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings unit agreed to buy the $2 billion Topaz project in California, branching into solar power after the industry was clobbered in stock markets around the world.

The Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County will be one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in the world and is being developed by the seller, First Solar Inc. (FSLR) of Tempe, Arizona, according to a joint statement today from the companies. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Buffett’s Iowa-based natural gas and power supplier struck the deal after First Solar failed to get a U.S. government loan guarantee for the project that will use First Solar’s thin-film solar panels. The manufacturer’s shares have fallen 65 percent this year, matching the 65 percent drop in the Bloomberg Industry Global Leaders Large Solar Energy index.

Thin Film Solar Panels Set to Boom

A new study on the global thin-film solar power market has found the technology is set to explode from current levels of around $2.9 billion annually, to $44 billion by 2017.

According to the study from the USA’s Wintergreen Research, a recognition on the part of many governments around the world that solar power is a realistic alternative to fossil fuels in the fight against anthropogenic climate change is driving an interest in solar energy that will elevate global thin-film solar to a $1 trillion market by the middle of 2021.

Susan Eustis, lead author of the “Thin Film Solar Panel and System Market Shares and Forecasts 2011 – 2017″ study, says “grid parity has been reached by thin film solar energy products for many areas of the world. When thin film solar systems are looked at over the 25 year useful life of the systems they provide very attractive payback.”

An advantage of thin-film solar panels is the relative ease and low cost of manufacturing the technology, such as advanced screen-printing and roll-to-roll methods.

Although a glut in world supply of standard crystalline silicon solar panels currently offers all-time low prices – making them an attractive alternative to solar thermal technology in large-scale projects – thin-film solar panels use a fraction of the silicon needed in a convention solar cell, making them even less expensive to produce. However, there is some controversy over the potential risks of thin film modules containing cadmium.

First Solar Cuts Costs to Beat China PV Makers

First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the biggest U.S. solar company, is cutting costs out of its production process and boosting efficiency as it seeks to extend its price advantage over a rival technology promoted by China.

First Solar has developed a cell that converts 17.3 percent of the energy in sunlight into electricity, a record for the technology, and those techniques may yield conversion rates of 15.3 percent in mass production, said Chief Technology Officer David Eaglesham. That compares with 11.7 percent the company achieved on average in the second quarter.

“There were about a dozen changes that we’ll be phasing into production,” starting in the fourth quarter, Eaglesham said in an interview at the company’s factory in Perrysburg, Ohio, on Sept. 2. He didn’t give details of the changes.

The reductions may make First Solar the first company in the industry to compete on price with fossil fuels without subsidies, said Mark Bachman, an analyst at Avian Securities LLC. That would be a victory for President Barack Obama, who is under fire for supporting Solyndra LLC, a competing company that received $535 million in U.S. loan guarantees before filing for bankruptcy on Sept. 6. First Solar has $5.35 billion in federal loan guarantees.

Industry Slump

First Solar shares have fallen 34 percent this year, outperforming the 50 percent slump in the Bloomberg Industries Large Solar index. Solar companies tumbled as demand slowed and subsidies were pared in Germany and Italy, two of the biggest markets, and prices for panels dropped.

Already, First Solar has the lowest costs in the industry, producing so-called thin-film solar panels for 73 cents a watt. The higher efficiency levels will drive those costs down further, making the panels more attractive than traditional photovoltaics.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has mostly avoided funding polysilicon, betting on thin-film to drive down the installed cost of solar power to $1 a watt by 2020, a 75 percent reduction from the current industry average. That would make solar cheaper than buying power from utilities that mostly consume coal and natural gas.