Everybody’s gotta have one..an ipod Nano. Nano is the new thing. Small is the new big.
In solar, many are chasing “nanosolar” technology. In New Mexico a recent announcement of yet another “breakthrough” where they believe they will soon achieve a 10% organic cell.
The promise of disruptive technology is the one wild card that could change the whole supply chain bottleneck issue in solar today. Yet with each announcement, not a single plant has gone up in the past year which has achieved true production efficiencies sufficient to disrupt much. There are a few to watch on the horizon, yet these are still years away from mass production. By that time, I expect the silicon based industry will have caught up. Or will it?
It takes a hundred million dollars to plunk down a new silicon feedstock facility. To spend that you need to be assured of a large and sustainable market. What if tomorrow someone really can make a nanosolar organic solar cell for $1 per watt with no silicon? An entire industry is shaken up.
I suspect this can be one of the reasons that the silicon feedstock makers like Elkem have been so slow to react to the huge uptake in demand in solar power’s workhorse, the silicon-based solar cell. They are taking a cautious approach realizing that this is an industry in its infancy despite several decades that still has some shaking out to happen. They don’t want their investments to be the crumbs left on the floor.
I don’t suppose you’d have a hundred million dollars lying around to invest in a new feedstock facility, would you?
Sass
solar panel
1 Comment
There are already producers which do not need solar grade silicone.
For example: http://www.antec-solar.de
NOTE TO READERS FROM SASS:
This commenter is absolutely correct. There are makers now using CIS and CIGS and CdTE materials which do not require silicon. However their market share is still minimal, although growing. I am a firm believer in thin film technologies such as Antec’s and I salute their efforts and progress.
Sass