Solar business from Korea

iSuppli's latest projection states that thin-film technology will significantly take over from the established crystalline technology, more than doubling in market share by 2013. The value chain research and advisory services company claims that by this time, thin-film will account for 31% of the market, up from 14% in 2008. "The market viability of thin-film has been solidly established by First Solar as it rockets to become the world's top solar panel maker this year, with more than a gigawatt of production," said Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for iSuppli. "At the same time, the company has driven its cost of production to less than 90 cents per watt, keeping its costs at approximately half the level of crystalline module producers." For years now, the battle for market share has been driven by efficiency, as although crystalline cells are more expensive, they are far more efficient than thin-film. This meant that for the same amount of efficiency,...