Solar business from Korea

With its CdTe thin film module capacity now above 1GW with the full ramp of its new production lines in Malaysia, First Solar says it has become the first PV manufacturer to reach a gigawatt of production in a single year. The company estimated that 1GW of production is equivalent to enough electricity to serve the needs of approximately 145,000 average U.S. homes and saves roughly 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. "This proof that the solar industry can achieve the manufacturing scale necessary to fight climate change is especially timely in light of the Copenhagen conference that began last week," said Bruce Sohn, First Solar's president. "Our efforts in scaling our technology are critical to creating a more sustainable energy infrastructure and reducing greenhouse gas emissions." With its thin film production techniques and manufacturing scale, First Solar also has the lowest cost of manufacturing within the industry, reaching a cost...

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,...

Applied Materials has received International Electrotechnical Commission certification for both the single- and tandem-junction versions of the 5.7 m2 solar photovoltaic modules produced by its SunFab thin film line. Tests run by TÜV InterCert confirmed that the large-area amorphous-silicon panels meet IEC standards 61646 and 61730."Applied’s 5.7 m2 modules are four times bigger than anything we've ever tested," said Feridoon Sergizzarea, president/CEO of TÜV InterCert. "We made modifications to the laboratory and added equipment to enable us to test modules this large. Creating a PV product of this size that can pass all of the IEC tests while maintaining mechanical and electrical integrity is an impressive feat of engineering. "The quarter-sized 1.4 m2 modules produced on the SunFab TFPV line received IEC certification earlier this year. However, a full-size 5.7 m2 panel designed to maintain high power output while subjected to years of exposure to sunlight, ...