Some good news on the solar front
Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 11:31PM I suppose it is good timing. Congress eviscerated the recently passed energy bill, removing tax incentives for wind and solar. However, in a few years the solar incentives may not be necessary.
I just read that Nanosolar has shipped product.
To recap an earlier post, Nanosolar is a solar module manufacturing company that developed a new way to manufacture the cells that make up the modules. Instead of melting, purifying, and casting crystalline silicon they make a powdered ink out of nanoparticles of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium, and essentially print the stuff on a roll of metal foil at room temperature. The simplicity of the process reduces the cost of manufacturing the modules by a factor of four.
They have started by selling a megawatt of modules to a company in Germany for a single large array at a brownfield site. According to their press releases the eventually intend to manufacture 450 megawatts annually in their plant in San Jose, California. Compare this to the approximately 150 megawatts manufactured annually in the U.S. today. Think of it as Nanosolar replacing a regular power plant every year.
They claim to be able to wholesale these modules for a dollar a watt. Silicon based modules today wholesale for just over four dollars a watt. When I run the numbers on this kind of price drop it brings down the price of solar electricity to between 11 cents and 15 cents per kilowatt hour, roughly the retail price of electricity right now. That is without incentive grants or tax breaks. In other words, once Nanosolar modules get out in the general market, you'd be an idiot not to put them on your roof. It will probably be a few years before ordinary schmoes will be able to get their hands on them because Nanosolar seems to be focusing on industrial scale installations to start out.
I cannot emphasize it enough: This is a turning point in the generation of renewable electricity, and therefore a turning point in the world of electrical generation in general. With or without the actions of our ignorant sloths in Washington, the economics of electricity have tipped. It will take a few years before the movement becomes apparent, but we will witness an exponentially expanding market for solar electricity.
This isn't the silver bullet for our energy problems or global warming, but it is one of the necessary silver BBs that will eventually bring down the beast. So, amidst all the depression, violence, and anxiety in the world, take a moment to rejoice.
Reader Comments (4)
The key question is, what is the lifespan of these modules? My understanding is that their output drops significatly in a few years, making them MORE expensive in the long run.
Tim,
You are thinking of amorphous silicon modules. These are not silicon based. They are CIS - Copper Indium diSelenide. I can't tell you the true lifespan for these modules, but it is a good indicator that Nanosolar is putting a 25-year warranty on them, when a-Silicon modules generally have only a 15-year warranty.
M.H.
Here is an other company with a similar concept, although not quite the same technology... ...CIGS?
http://www.daystartech.com
it also seems that solar companies all over are building ever bigger output facilities, and one would think that it should bring prices down if the market is flooded with so much more product.