First Solar breaks solar energy’s $1 per watt barrier (USA)

[jpak]

http://www.edn.com/article/CA6640264.html

First Solar Inc this week claimed a milestone in the solar industry toward providing a sustainable and affordable solar energy solution: solar modules manufactured below the $1 per watt point, at a cost of $0.98 per watt.

“This was truly a worldwide goal,” said Ken Zweibel, director of the Institute for the Analysis of Solar Energy at George Washington University. “The solar industry has been aiming at this goal for the past 25 years, and now it has been met by First Solar. The US leads the world in photovoltaics in terms of the technology with First Solar being the lowest cost practical manufacturing modules below $0.98 per watt and SunPower reporting the highest solar converting efficiency of approximately 20%.”

San Jose-based SunPower last May touted full-scale solar cell protototypes at 23.4% efficiency. The company has reported improvements in mass production since its first all-back contact solar cell prototype in 2003. CEO Tom Werner has stated that SunPower’s Gen 2 technology in mass production since 2007 is 22% efficient.

Tempe, Ariz-based First Solar began production of modules in 2004 and reached the $0.98 mark in Q4 2008. From 2004 to the present, the company's manufacturing capacity has grown 2,500% to more than 500 megawatts in 2008. Annual production capacity is predicted to double in 2009 to more than 1 gigawatt, the equivalent of an average-size nuclear plant, the company said. Through controlling costs while building volume, First Solar’s manufacturing costs have declined by more than two-thirds from the initial $3 per watt to less than $1 per watt.

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[dkf]

1. Yes we can!

I sure hope the stimulus package has funds to outfit every Government Building with Solar Energy. If we didn't do that, we certainly missed the boat.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Meanwhile, it can cost $1/watt just to do the paperwork. Oy....

That problem needs to be addressed to help solar become more palatable to consumers.
Maybe making the cost deductible, or subsidized that red-tape?

Paperwork: The Added Cost of Solar Installation
The process of filing papers for permits, rebates and other incentives from local, state and federal agencies can incur a sizable cost – $1 per watt. But it could also create a business opportunity for some.

Paperwork – it's a big headache that could add about $1 per watt to the cost of installing a solar energy system.

"It's not easy to sell to homeowners or small business owners. You need to hire people to deal with the paperwork. Sometimes that adds $1 per watt just to deal with the paperwork," said Steven Chan, chief strategy officer with Suntech Power Holdings, talking about the expansion of the company's network of dealers while at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco this week. Suntech makes solar panels and develops commercial power projects.

That $1 per watt makes up a good portion of the overall installation cost, which varies widely by the size and design of the system as well as its location. The average installation cost of solar energy system in the United States was $7.60 per watt in 2007, according to a recent study by the Berkeley Lawrence National Laboratory, (see U.S. Solar Installed Costs Fell 28% Over a Decade). The figure doesn't include any government or private incentives.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/paperwork-the-added-cost-of-solar-installation-5797.html

[JohnWxy]

4. OF course that paper work often nets you incentives for installing the systems which might turn the

$1.00 per watt into a negative amount once you figure in the rebates and other incentives.

"The process of filing papers for permits, rebates and other incentives from local, state and federal agencies"


This report from Lawrence Livermoore Lab (referenced in article) shows cash rebates for small projects at about $2.50 per installed watt.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/assets/pdfs/berkeleylab.pdf#page=24&zoom=75%,0,900

[JohnWxy]

3. WOW! I missed this.