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First Solar Shines as the Solar Industry Falters
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/513596/first-solar-shines-as-the-solar-industry-falters/[font face=Serif][font size=5]First Solar Shines as the Solar Industry Falters[/font]
[font size=4]First Solar’s strong finances are helping fund innovation and drive down the cost of solar power.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on April 12, 2013
[font size=3]Innovation in solar cell technology has slowed as startups struggle to get a foothold in a tough market and solar panel manufacturers delay purchasing the equipment they need to manufacture more efficient cells. But First Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, continues to invest in boosting the efficiency of its solar cells.
The company, which is based in Tempe, Arizona, announced this week that it had set a new world record in efficiency for thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels. The equipment it uses to produce the record-setting panels will eventually be installed on all its production lines. It also announced the acquisition of Tetrasun, a startup with high-efficiency silicon technology that First Solar hopes to bring to market next year. First Solar’s stock jumped from $29 to over $40 on Tuesday and is still above $35 a share.
First Solar is able to make these investments because it is in a much better position than other major solar manufacturers, most of which are either declaring bankruptcy or on the brink of it (see “Why We Need More Solar Companies to Fail” and “Solar Downturn Casts a Shadow over Innovation”). It’s doing better for at least two reasons. Its solar panels are cheaper to make than conventional silicon solar panels, which has given it better profit margins. And it was one of the first companies to expand beyond making solar panels to become a project developer, designing and installing complete solar power plants. These projects create a steady market for First Solar’s panels and help it drive down costs in areas besides the panels themselves, which account for less than a quarter of the expense of solar power. The company’s good balance sheet and project experience also help lower the risk to investors, helping it secure better financing rates. And financing is now the biggest single contributor to the cost of solar power, accounting for 36 percent of the total for large installations and even more for smaller ones.
…
By next year solar power could cost as little as 10 cents per kilowatt-hour without subsidies and thus become cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels in many markets around the world, First Solar says. It expects to lower costs to 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2016, bringing solar power close in price to one of the cheapest sources of power in the United States—a new natural-gas power plant, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects to average 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour over its lifetime.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=4]First Solar’s strong finances are helping fund innovation and drive down the cost of solar power.[/font]
By Kevin Bullis on April 12, 2013
[font size=3]Innovation in solar cell technology has slowed as startups struggle to get a foothold in a tough market and solar panel manufacturers delay purchasing the equipment they need to manufacture more efficient cells. But First Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, continues to invest in boosting the efficiency of its solar cells.
The company, which is based in Tempe, Arizona, announced this week that it had set a new world record in efficiency for thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels. The equipment it uses to produce the record-setting panels will eventually be installed on all its production lines. It also announced the acquisition of Tetrasun, a startup with high-efficiency silicon technology that First Solar hopes to bring to market next year. First Solar’s stock jumped from $29 to over $40 on Tuesday and is still above $35 a share.
First Solar is able to make these investments because it is in a much better position than other major solar manufacturers, most of which are either declaring bankruptcy or on the brink of it (see “Why We Need More Solar Companies to Fail” and “Solar Downturn Casts a Shadow over Innovation”). It’s doing better for at least two reasons. Its solar panels are cheaper to make than conventional silicon solar panels, which has given it better profit margins. And it was one of the first companies to expand beyond making solar panels to become a project developer, designing and installing complete solar power plants. These projects create a steady market for First Solar’s panels and help it drive down costs in areas besides the panels themselves, which account for less than a quarter of the expense of solar power. The company’s good balance sheet and project experience also help lower the risk to investors, helping it secure better financing rates. And financing is now the biggest single contributor to the cost of solar power, accounting for 36 percent of the total for large installations and even more for smaller ones.
…
By next year solar power could cost as little as 10 cents per kilowatt-hour without subsidies and thus become cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels in many markets around the world, First Solar says. It expects to lower costs to 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2016, bringing solar power close in price to one of the cheapest sources of power in the United States—a new natural-gas power plant, which the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects to average 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour over its lifetime.
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