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New and cheaper Solar Cells
By wdyasq, Section Homebrewed Electricity Posted on Thu Oct 02, 2003 at 06:44:24 PM MST
$0.20 a Watt?

http://www.st.com/stonline/press/news/year2003/t1355h.htm
STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest semiconductor maker, said that, by the end of next year, it expected to have made the first stable prototypes of the new cells, which could then be put into production.
~~~~~~
Following that, ST and others would need to develop production technologies to make solar cells and panels in large quantities to achieve the $0.20 per watt target, he said.
"Our target is fixed at $0.20," said Coffa, who expects no major technological difficulties in going from prototypes to mass-produced commercial products.
~~~~~
Let the fun begin....
Ron

New and cheaper Solar Cells | 8 comments (8 topical)

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#1)
by Tom in NH on Thu Oct 02, 2003 at 11:07:39 PM MST

This will be interesting to follow. I heard, but don't know if it's true, that there is only one manufacturer in the country (AstroPower) that is not owned by oil companies. Thinking about this plus the high price for photovoltaics, it kinda makes you wonder doesn't it. 20 cents a watt, if it comes to pass, will certainly shake things up. --Tom

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#6)
by Bach On on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 05:32:28 PM MST

Remember gas wars? The oil/gas companies hated those. Think what will happen when/IF a manufacturer finally breaks through the price barrier with a low cost panel. We might have watt war. That would do my heart good!

Bach On

- - I'm not superman, but I am very dense! -
[ Parent ]

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#2)
by sean on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 01:42:04 AM MST

Theres been the promise of cheaper solar cells for the past couple of years at least but i havent heard of 20 cents per watt.Im sure its possible to make cheaper pv's now after all there seems to be enough folks researching it, maybe it will happen in the near future its been long awaited.........sean

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#3)
by bob golding on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 03:31:18 AM MST

there was a very good article in new scientist magazine sometime this summer about the technology used to make solar cells. cant find it a the moment but the jist of it was to try and reduce the cost of heating the silicon which is far and away the most expensive part of the process. if anyone is really intersted you can subscibe to thier archive for a week and look it up.

bob

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#8)
by troy on Sat Oct 04, 2003 at 04:16:20 PM MST

Yes, I did some reading on Evergreen (the continuous draw process, not ingots) and tracked down prices. At the time they cost more than the premium Shell solar panel. Maybe someday cheaper, maybe not. If you look back over the literature, there have been many promises of drastic price drops as the technology advances. Unfortunately, there haven't been any dramatic breakthroughs yet. But I am still hopeful, as humans are endelessly inventive.

On the bright side, panels in large quantity have stayed around $4.00 a watt for almost a decade, while modest inflation has made those dollars cheaper, effectively reducing the cost per watt by a third in one decade. So I'll take progress at whatever speed I can get it, incremental or breakthrough.

Best regards,

troy

[ Parent ]

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#4)
by RogerAS on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 09:22:55 AM MST

Hi All,

There was also an article in Homepower magazine about some company using a new techique to continuously draw out the silicone so that production was several orders of magnitude quicker. I don't remember which issue, but I'll look into it and see if I can find it.

RogerAS
Roger AS
9 Years off-grid & counting

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#5)
by yossarian on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 05:04:03 PM MST

I heard, but don't know if it's true, that there is only one manufacturer in the country (AstroPower) that is not owned by oil companies

Evergreen solar is independent (they're the ones with the continuous process), but it seems like they are more interested in licensing their technology than producing panels. Kyocera and Sharp make panels and they aren't controlled by oil interests.

I really don't think that Shell and BP are interested in holding their own prices higher or stifling the industry, anyway. I saw a BP executive on tv a while back. He said the days of oil were limited and BP is transitioning into an energy company. Solar panels, hydrogen, biodiesel, whatever, they'd sell whatever can make a profit.

Re: New and cheaper Solar Cells (none / 0) (#7)
by Demetri on Fri Oct 03, 2003 at 10:06:40 PM MST

I would also wonder, is that $.20 a watt the end product going to consumers, or to manufacture?

Demetri
Uncommon sense required.

New and cheaper Solar Cells | 8 comments (8 topical)

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