Solar Panels Slim Down
12/2006 - With help from massive VC funding and subsidies from the state of California, the solar power industry is taking off. But as it scales up, solar is running into a problem: a shortage of silicon, also used for that other California commodity, computer chips. Enter thin-film solar panels, a technology that uses 1 percent of the silicon of regular panels - and is flexible enough to be printed on sheets that can be layered on top of, or sandwiched between, glass without being visible. Thin film has been around for a while, but production is expected to ramp up by 70 percent next year. Honda, Sharp, and Energy Conversion Devices (pictured) have all built production facilities to churn out the film. It's going to be a very sunny year.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/biz2/revolutions/5.html
12/2006 - With help from massive VC funding and subsidies from the state of California, the solar power industry is taking off. But as it scales up, solar is running into a problem: a shortage of silicon, also used for that other California commodity, computer chips. Enter thin-film solar panels, a technology that uses 1 percent of the silicon of regular panels - and is flexible enough to be printed on sheets that can be layered on top of, or sandwiched between, glass without being visible. Thin film has been around for a while, but production is expected to ramp up by 70 percent next year. Honda, Sharp, and Energy Conversion Devices (pictured) have all built production facilities to churn out the film. It's going to be a very sunny year.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/biz2/revolutions/5.html
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