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GE pulls away from the solar table
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GE pulls away from the solar table
IQE wafers produce 44.1% cell efficiency
image courtesy of First Solar
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ENERAL ELECTRIC Co. is abandoning plans to manufacture solar panels, and has sold its thin film (CdTe) technology to First Solar Inc. The world of solar technology is turbulent and China’s influence on producing cheaper solar panels isn’t making matters easier for those that are in the market. Amongst other things like the scale back of some incentives, cheap panels coming from China cause problems for manufacturers in the EU and the U.S., and despite recent agreements with the EU (see page 6), this continues to put pressure on solar product margins. But what else was behind GE’s decision? In 2011, GE planned on creating one of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturing sites in Colorado bringing 355 jobs to the state. Instead, GE plans to continue investing in its wind turbine strategy, and will purchase First Solar panels for its customers. Stocks for First Solar dropped to a five year low towards the end of 2011 but have seen some growth, as 2012 brought a great deal of innovative developments for solar arrays. This could also be motive for GE to put investments elsewhere and benefit
4
September/October 2013 | Renewable Energy Focus
from the almost two per cent holding it now has in First Solar from the sale of its technologies. In some ways it is curious that the electronics developer would not invest in the opportunity of solar, given some of the current market drivers (by 2020 for example, California plans to have a large portion of power generated by solar panels). However, it doesn’t matter that solar is a cleaner and more cost effective method of power generation over a 10-year timespan. It’s about how companies can profit from it now. Another aspect that could be pushing GE to pull out of the solar panel business is market saturation. Eventually, the price could drop so low that it no longer becomes practical to make the item. But although GE would rather not manufacture technology, it doesn’t mean that the company is no longer vested in renewable energy products. The trade-off for First Solar is beneficial, for now it can incorporate all of the developments and research that GE has made in solar technologies, which may help First Solar overpower its own competition. Liz Nelson, full version on renewable energy focus.com - http://tinyurl.com/ ofgbxg6
ALES-BASED IQE plc says that its wafers have been independently certified as achieving 44.1% cell efficiency by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), potentially setting a new world record for production scale concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology. The wafers, produced using IQE’s high-volume MBE tools, were processed by IQE’s strategic partner Solar Junction Corporation, a developer of high efficiency multi-junction solar energy cells for the CPV market. The standard three-junction solar cells are believed to set the new record and demonstrate improved efficiency over Solar Junction’s previous world record - reported in October 2012: “...Improving on our most recent record using high-volume production equipment produced in conjunction with our manufacturing partner IQE, and Solar Junction’s fabrication line is...significant,” said Vijit Sabnis, ceo of Solar Junction. “Following our recent announcement of full qualification of our high volume 4 in and 6 in CPV technology, surpassing Solar Junction’s previous cell efficiency record is a massive achievement,” said Dr Drew Nelson, IQE ceo. “Improvements in CPV cell efficiencies translate to cost reduction in terms of installation and energy generation in utility scale solar farms. The fact that this has been achieved on production qualified platforms is a major milestone. Furthermore, the transfer of wafer production to IQE’s manufacturing tools enables the Solar Junction team to focus on further improving efficiencies on latticematched, multi-junction CPV solar cells using a combination of their unique dilute nitride technology, combined with pre-existing IQE IP. This will facilitate technology transfer into high volume manufacture of ultraefficient CPV cells as the conversion efficiency improves further.”
GE pulls away from the solar table
IQE wafers produce 44.1% cell efficiency
image courtesy of First Solar
W
G
ENERAL ELECTRIC Co. is abandoning plans to manufacture solar panels, and has sold its thin film (CdTe) technology to First Solar Inc. The world of solar technology is turbulent and China’s influence on producing cheaper solar panels isn’t making matters easier for those that are in the market. Amongst other things like the scale back of some incentives, cheap panels coming from China cause problems for manufacturers in the EU and the U.S., and despite recent agreements with the EU (see page 6), this continues to put pressure on solar product margins. But what else was behind GE’s decision? In 2011, GE planned on creating one of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturing sites in Colorado bringing 355 jobs to the state. Instead, GE plans to continue investing in its wind turbine strategy, and will purchase First Solar panels for its customers. Stocks for First Solar dropped to a five year low towards the end of 2011 but have seen some growth, as 2012 brought a great deal of innovative developments for solar arrays. This could also be motive for GE to put investments elsewhere and benefit
4
September/October 2013 | Renewable Energy Focus
from the almost two per cent holding it now has in First Solar from the sale of its technologies. In some ways it is curious that the electronics developer would not invest in the opportunity of solar, given some of the current market drivers (by 2020 for example, California plans to have a large portion of power generated by solar panels). However, it doesn’t matter that solar is a cleaner and more cost effective method of power generation over a 10-year timespan. It’s about how companies can profit from it now. Another aspect that could be pushing GE to pull out of the solar panel business is market saturation. Eventually, the price could drop so low that it no longer becomes practical to make the item. But although GE would rather not manufacture technology, it doesn’t mean that the company is no longer vested in renewable energy products. The trade-off for First Solar is beneficial, for now it can incorporate all of the developments and research that GE has made in solar technologies, which may help First Solar overpower its own competition. Liz Nelson, full version on renewable energy focus.com - http://tinyurl.com/ ofgbxg6
ALES-BASED IQE plc says that its wafers have been independently certified as achieving 44.1% cell efficiency by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), potentially setting a new world record for production scale concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology. The wafers, produced using IQE’s high-volume MBE tools, were processed by IQE’s strategic partner Solar Junction Corporation, a developer of high efficiency multi-junction solar energy cells for the CPV market. The standard three-junction solar cells are believed to set the new record and demonstrate improved efficiency over Solar Junction’s previous world record - reported in October 2012: “...Improving on our most recent record using high-volume production equipment produced in conjunction with our manufacturing partner IQE, and Solar Junction’s fabrication line is...significant,” said Vijit Sabnis, ceo of Solar Junction. “Following our recent announcement of full qualification of our high volume 4 in and 6 in CPV technology, surpassing Solar Junction’s previous cell efficiency record is a massive achievement,” said Dr Drew Nelson, IQE ceo. “Improvements in CPV cell efficiencies translate to cost reduction in terms of installation and energy generation in utility scale solar farms. The fact that this has been achieved on production qualified platforms is a major milestone. Furthermore, the transfer of wafer production to IQE’s manufacturing tools enables the Solar Junction team to focus on further improving efficiencies on latticematched, multi-junction CPV solar cells using a combination of their unique dilute nitride technology, combined with pre-existing IQE IP. This will facilitate technology transfer into high volume manufacture of ultraefficient CPV cells as the conversion efficiency improves further.”