"iTunes of Solar Power" cheaper per watt than coal?

[Occam Bandage]

http://www.solveclimate.com/blog/20071219/1-watt-itunes-solar-energy-has-arrived

A Silicon Valley start-up called Nanosolar shipped its first solar panels -- priced at $1 a watt. That's the price at which solar energy gets cheaper than coal. Curious that this story is not on every front page.

How did Nanosolar make this breakthrough?
While other companies have been focusing their efforts on increasing the efficiency of solar panels, Nanosolar took a different approach. It focused on manufacturing. Here's what it says on the company's home page:

Nanosolar has developed proprietary process technology that makes it possible to produce 100x thinner solar cells 100x faster. Essentially, they've figured out how to print solar cells on thin sheets of aluminum with a printing press.


Hope it lives up to the hype.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. so cool! I've been following this process...

Can't wait to see how they perform in the real world. This could be a BIG advancement. :)

[Occam Bandage]

2. If this can live up to their claims (always a huge "if" with energy tech)

this could revolutionize the energy market. If a renewable energy source were to be cheaper than coal before government tax credits, then we might have one of those rare moments when both the left and the right have reason to push for change.

[AlGore-08.com]

3. The next step would be to make sure all local zoning laws allow their installation

- - some zoning laws are surreal in their stupidity - - and that all power companies buy back excess power your solar cells produce, and charge a reasonable price when you need to buy some power from them.

That said, this is totally freakin' cool - - if it's true.

[LeftHander]

4. The McMansion set will dis-allow such a tacky thing as solar....nt