Via EE Times Asia:
7 October 2008
Amid uncertain markets and policies, solar panel makers are gearing up factories with an objective of pulling down costs to a competitive level.One market watcher said she will review her forecasts for solar panels according to the financial crisis in the U.S., along with uncertainty about renewal of federal tax credits and a pullback of major solar plans in Spain.
"Without incentives, we don't have a market," said Paula Mints, principal analyst, Navigant Consulting, speaking at a solar event sponsored by the IEEE.
Other speakers also gave their insights about a lack of federal funds for research in solar energy. Tim Anderson, associate dean of research at the University of Florida, said he hopes this scenario will change soon.
"The impact in the academic community is that no one goes to do research in photovoltaics because there's no funding available," he added. "But the promise of more money to come is out there, and people are adjusting to take advantage of this," he noted.
Expansion toward better cost
On the commercial level, a group of companies is expanding production of solar cells toward driving mainstream costs. "We're building the equivalent of a large scale nuclear power plant per year," said Richard Swanson, president of SunPower Corp., one of the top 10 solar panel makers.
SunPower has recently completed a second plant capable of employing 400,000 wafers a day and has plans for plants in Malaysia that will use as many as a million wafers a day. "We know how to produce panels that cost $1.50 per watt by 2012, and we have detailed quarterly plans to achieve it," said Swanson.
Startup Signet Solar shipped its first solar panels in October from a new factory in Germany that will be able to develop by early 2009 sufficient panels each year to generate up to 130MW. The company plans to set up another plant in India soon.
"I think you will see a trend toward large 10MW to 20MW solar installations which will be very efficient," said Rajeeva Lahri, chief executive, Signet.
Applied Materials is supplying equipment to Signet and a handful of other panel makers now ramping up large scale operations, said Mark Pinto, chief technology officer and manager, energy group, Applied.
Waiting for a good cause
"It took 20 years to get to the point where a solar factory could produce 10MW of capacity a year, but by 2010 we will see gigawatt factories," Pinto said. "We are no longer a factor of 10 away from competing energy sources, we are within a factor of two or less today," he added.
Pinto discussed the outlook for Applied and the solar business in a video interview with EE Times.
"Although production has been rising rapidly, panel prices have actually increased in the last six years from historic lows from 2001 to 2002," said Mints.
"This is a market that was unprofitable until 2004," she said. "You can't blame them to hope for profits. The industry was willing to sell at a loss to keep share," she added.
New trends
Meanwhile, new and promising technologies are emerging. Russ Jones, business development manager, Boeing's Spectrolab, described his company's solar concentrators. They use 500 times optics to create solar cells as small as 1sqcm. "Lab versions of the gallium arsenide cells have hit record efficiency levels up to 40.7 percent, nearly twice the level of most commercial cells shipping today," he said.
"We believe 50 percent efficiency of the solar cells can be met in the coming decade," he added. "We think we have an interesting new vector to help solar cells succeed," he noted.
James Gee, founder and chief scientists, Advent Solar shared insights about a new design for cells and modules his company will create starting next year according to a research he conducted while at Sandia National Labs. The Ventura modules employ a pre-patterned electrical circuit sheet on the back of the module rather that a wire grid on its front to reduce manufacturing time and raise cell efficiency.
"Free power has been thrown away due to non-optimal designs," said Gee. "It's time for a completely new process that gets around the current fundamental limitations," he added.
- Rick Merritt
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Previously, business owners Lorraine and John Alban worked with REC Solar to install three solar electric systems at one of their other businesses, Alban Vineyards. Alban Vineyards installed a 36 kW system for the winery production facility, an 11.6 kW system for the agricultural water pump, and one for the Alban’s home.
According to Lorraine Alban, President of J&L Wines, “My husband, John Alban, and I believe solar is a wonderful energy source for countless reasons. Our experience using REC for the installations on our home, winery, and water well have all been very positive. When you factor in that we really like working with local businesses, REC is just about perfect for us.”
J&L Wines is quite unique as a wine distributor. They independently operate their own warehouse and all deliveries are made from their fleet of refrigerated trucks. Thus they are able to ensure the wines they sell are in their hands from when they leave the winery to when they reach the restaurant or retailer. The warehouse that is home to both J&L Wines and Wine Country Pack & Ship is conveniently located on Ramada Drive, at the Highway 101 and Highway 46 West intersection in Paso Robles. For more information please visit www.recsolar.com www.jandlwines.com or www.winecountrypackandship.com
About REC Solar, Inc.
REC Solar is an industry-leading solar power provider specializing in grid-tied residential and commercial installations. With a local presence in all major solar markets in the USA and millions of watts installed, REC Solar is committed to lowering the cost of solar power through efficient processes, innovative products, and outstanding customer service. REC Solar is among the nation’s largest solar integrators and currently has over a dozen offices throughout 6 states (AZ, CA, CO, HI, OR and NJ). For additional information on REC Solar visit www.recsolar.com or call 1-888-OK-SOLAR (888-657-6527).
About J&L Wines, Inc.
J&L Wines Inc. of Paso Robles started in 1981 as J. Eberle Wines. The company’s name and mission evolved with the emergence of the wines from the central coast. Under the ownership and guidance of Lorraine Alban, its mission has been to select wineries representing the best of their region. Employing eight regional sales people, J & L Wines is proud of its excellent reputation for professionalism and prompt, dependable, personal service. The company endeavors to work closely with suppliers to develop sales programs that produce results. This has helped many of the J&L Wines’ brands become very well established in the region. The sales personnel focus on making appropriate placements which serve to enhance and build the wineries they represent. For more information please visit www.jandlwines.com or call 805 239-1377.
About Wine Country Pack & Ship
Wine Country Pack & Ship (WCP&S) excels in delivering premium fulfillment services to wineries with consumer-direct shipping needs. The company is a joint venture between Lorraine Alban and Maureen Herrera. Services encompass wine clubs, release shipments, tasting room orders, e-commerce orders and more. WCP&S simplifies the fulfillment process for our customers and helps build their brand in the consumer-direct market. For more information please visit www.winecountrypackandship.com or call (805) 227-7117.
Contact:
Isabelle Christensen
REC Solar, Inc.
(650) 815-6778
ichristensen@recsolar.com
Lorraine Alban
J&L Wines, Inc.
(805) 239-1377
Lorraine@jandlwines.com
Maureen Herrera
Wine Country Pack & Ship
(805) 227-7117
Maureen@winecountrypackandship.com
For Further Information