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 Nanosolar's 140,000 sqft facility in San Jose, California
This is a big moment in the energy supply field. A Silicon Valley start-up called Nanosolar has shipped its first solar panels. The price; US$1 per watt. That’s right - Nanosolar is the first solar panel manufacturer to be able to profitably sell solar panels for less than $1 a watt.
To put this into perspective, here’s an article from a year and a half ago, which talks about a report from Tom Astle at National Bank Financial. Astle says that “if the solar market continues to grow at more than 20 per cent and the benefits from volume continue to be found, it is predicted that the cost of solar module power could drop below $1/Watt within the next 15 to 20 years."
15 to 20 years! With current prices for solar power at around US$3 - $3.50 per watt, what Nanosolar has announced is amazing. Perhaps most importantly (from an environmental standpoint) $1 per watt is the price at which solar energy becomes less expensive than coal.
According to the US Energy Department, building a new coal plant costs about $2.10 a watt, plus the cost of fuel and emissions. Now, however, says Nanosolar, with a $1 per watt panel it is possible to build $2-per-watt systems.
So, how have they done this? Apparently, while many photovoltaic start-up companies are concentrating on increasing the efficiency of their system's sunlight conversion, Nanosolar has focused on lowering the manufacturing cost. It’s basically figured out how to print solar cells onto aluminium sheeting (much in the way a large printing press works) rather than the usual semiconductor manufacturing techniques that deposit thin films on silicon wafers.
For more information, check out Nanosolar’s (they’re heavily backed by Google’s co-founders, btw) website.
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Susanno
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Friend..
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Wish all the best
Susanno