At $1 per Watt, the iTunes of Solar Energy Has Arrived
by David Sassoon - Dec 19th, 2007
in
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.
Still, to commemorate the achievement, Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen (pictured) is reserving the first three commercially-viable panels. One is staying on display at company HQ; one has been donated to San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation. And the other is was on sale on e-bay.
Starting price? 99 cents.
12/26 update: But then an officious nincompoop at the online auction company stopped the auction.
So far, there have been 83 bids and the price has reached $10,300. The auction is over on December 27th at 17:13:10 PST. We know the heavy hitters won't even show up until 17:12:40.
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.
This could be a big nail in the dirty coal coffin. Remember a few weeks ago Google announced its RE<C initiative, to develop renewable energy that's cheaper than coal? Here's one Google investment that is already paying off. Other developments worth noting:
- IBM's top manufacturing executive has joined Nanosolar
- The company raised $100 million to build a factory, and has secured more than 600,000 feet of manufacturing space.
- It already has orders for the first 18 months of manufacturing capacity
For more details on what Nanosolar is calling The Third Wave of Solar Power, check out their web site and discussion of 7 areas of innovation they've mastered.
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Very Exciting
I really hope it gets to the point where the price is so low and the technology so good we see it being used everywhere
any updates?
Is there anything new on this? Specifically, is there any sign of these reaching the retail market soon? I have 1.5Kw of conventional panels, batteries and inverter to power my house. I need a little bit of top-up during the winter months but would add more panels in a heartbeat if the price seriously dropped.
This is not a risky or immature technology. We buy almost no electricity year round and have a normal looking, typical toy-laden 3 bedroom bungalow. If the price falls, everything changes. Every roof you see will be covered with them.
Solar
This is good to know. I am really interested in solar power but have always been put off because of the price and lack of efficiency. I think if technology continues to improve like this, most people will be having solar panels on their homes.
Solar Energy
Sounds great but I don't see it being used anywhere. It will likely be a very long time before solar energy is used effectively.
Wonder...
This story is almost 2 years old now... i wonder what happened to the $1 per watt solar panels. Must have been all hype as looking at today, prices for are at the $4-$8 per watt price range still.
roofs & cars
It'll be nice to start seeing new houses and hybrid/electric cars sold with these panels plastered all over them. :)
Can it really be that cheap ?
I'm really surprised to see that solar power has become so cheap !
And there's another thing that i'm very confused about... if the solar power rates now rival those of coal, why isn't it being used everywhere ?
Because it isn't accurate.
Coal costs between 5 and 8 cents per kilowatt. Solar is down (subsidies and new manufacturing process included) to $1 per kilowatt. The company is claiming "that it is in the range" of coal. It's just misleading.
Plus - for all the "clean energy" to fight global warming, solar is terrible. Because the dark surface absorbs so much heat - it actually contributes - very directly to the planet's warming.
Hope that helps.
RE: Because it isn't accurate
yes it is SOOO much worse than the black asphalt shingles its covering...DUH get a clue dude. Solar is TONS cleaner than cole. WAKE UP AMERICA
Somewhat Inaccurate
I don't know if it is accurate, but your comment definitely isn't.
First off, its $1 per watt, not $1 per kilowatt for solar and 5-8 cents per kilowatt-hour for coal (I have no idea if that is correct or not; all I know is that I pay 15 cents per kilowatt hour from my electric company). You're confusing power and energy; watts are an energy per second measure, kilowatt hours are an energy measurement (the amount of energy a kilowatt power source makes in one hour, appropriately enough). At $1 a watt, a $1000 kilowatt solar panel would, over the 25 year warranty lifetime, make 365 * 25 * X kilowatt-hours of electricity, where X is the number of hours each day that the sun shines in a useful manner on the panel. This is dependent on where you live, but 5 hours per day on average seems to be fairly normal.
This gives 45625 kilowatt-hours per $1000, or $2281 at 5 cents a kilowatt hour. At my electric bill rate, it would be triple that at $6835.75. The reason why this isn't a clear winner economically over coal is that you have to pay all the money up front, so if you went the coal route you could have had your money invested to earn interest over the 25 year period, which makes them closer to even at $1 a watt. To see this, imagine you took out a 25 year loan to pay for the solar panels at 7 percent interest. Using a handy mortgage calculator, we can see that you would pay $2120.34 over the 25 year period to pay off the $25 loan; very close to the 5 cent per kilowatt-hour coal rate you quoted, and far better than my electric bill at least.
As to why they aren't commercially available at $1 a watt, I suspect it has to do with the mention in the article that they already had the first 18 months of production bought before the manufacturing plant even opened. I am sure there were more orders placed in the last few years, and they probably can't make them fast enough to sell them. Furthermore, from the look of things they're mostly selling to powerplants and very large installations rather than to individuals; I would guess that is because a solar powerplant could be put somewhere sunny for increased efficiency, making them more economically viable than when placed directly on someone's house roof.
The global warming comment is also somewhat disingenuous. A black solar panel doesn't contribute any more than having a black roof or a black driveway does. Given the amount of paved surface area we have on our planet, I somehow doubt the extra blackness is going to cause massive global warming.
Thanking....
So nice! Once we pay for solar products, we no need to pay for other charges (electric bill,). So expense is common for all type of products. People should come forward to use solar products.
solar energy
Sound good. The beauty of solar is that the sun shines everywhere (maybe not equally, but everywhere) and everyone has a roof. If residential and commercial smart-metering is truly implemented - as is purported in the ARRA, and enough solar companies are supported through federal or state level incentives, so people either get a substantial price break or an opportunity to pay for a system overtime, then we are well on our way to viable, continuos clean energy.
If I could have leased or rented to own a PV system for my house I’d have done it 10 times by now. Additionally, as we know, the more people buy something, the quicker the price comes down, and the more the performance improves. Think of what you paid for your PC 15 years ago, and what it was capable of….
cheap solar panels
I've generated the $1per watt solar myself using programs on the $50 club at http://bit.ly/jCHbF and then just repeated the process. Did enogh to keep my household good. The inverters, batteries and regulators I just started buying wholesale and just now experimenting with the products to find out what is better for the buck. People should start building there own and go the route I did and they will be surprised at the outcome
thanks
chris haw
solarischeaper.net
medyum
I would always agree with solar and wind mill energy or any other natural resource energy that will not harm our environment. Nuclear energy is a big NO NO, although it is a very reliable source of energy but it is also destructive, if it use in wrong way and it is always possible. - Yameer from Resorts 360.
Thanking
Thank you very much for given this great post!
good news
It is really a very good news to hear. but i think it is very cheap cost. People will take disadvantages from this.
Solar energy
very interesting article but the disadvantage is it should be used in summer season only.
interested in this kind of
interested in this kind of article.
It-s very good post abd
It-s very good post abd vvery well topic
oyun indir
thanx you nice text
Thanking...
Thanks for this informative post..........
Solar Battery + Charger - for Portable Electronics
Solar battery and charger that provides power for portable electronic devices such as cell phones and digital media players while you are out on the road.
This portable battery and charger has a built-in high capacity battery pack for providing power for all popular portable electronic devices. This well designed dual-panel unit stores solar power or can even be recharged via a standard wall plug and is a popular extra power source for the person on the go or anyone planning an extended trip.
The latest model in our series of solar power products has a 4-setting voltage adjustment switch to help you best select the power output for your portable mobile phone / electronics device and 2000mAh to provide plenty of in-need power. With a built-in USB slot along with connectors for common cellphone brands, this unit is capable of keeping your favorite products (mobilephone, MP3/MP4 player, digital camera) going all day long.
If all that wasn't enough, this can also be used as just a regular backup power source. Once the internal battery is fully charged you can keep this in your car or backpack and use it whenever you want, day or night. While providing clean, cheap green power is its main strength, you will find that it can also easily be used as a backup battery for your camcorder or other high demand portable electronics product.
Re: At $1 per Watt, the iTunes of Solar Energy Has Arrived
The 1973 oil embargo and 1979 energy crisis caused a reorganization of energy policies around the world and brought renewed attention to developing solar technologies. Deployment strategies focused on incentive programs such as the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program in the US and the Sunshine Program in Japan. Other efforts included the formation of research facilities in the US (SERI, now NREL), Japan (NEDO), and Germany (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE). A recession is awful, but a disaster is worse. Disaster, be it natural or manmade, is a fascinating topic. Many out there are devotees to one specific disaster, and all associated memorabilia, the Titanic. The RMS Titanic is among the worst of maritime disasters. Lousy materials and construction paired with a flawed design made for a very bad disaster. But it's not just the Titanic. Lots of people are fascinated with the tales of survivors, and some look into an online payday loan to get their hands on new stuff. Others would look into no end of personal loans to ward off the next natural or man made disaster.
estetik
Great post. Very much impressed reading your page about solar energy.
veryy good
veryy good
salla
salla kafaya gore
sanalika
Sanalika çok güzel
thanks for the information
thanks for the information
Bio products are good they
Well written, thank you for these thoughts
Solar energy is a very good
Well written, thank you for these thoughts
Thanks
thanks for the information
Teknoloji Haberleri
Thank you admin.
jizzhut
thank you
I would always agree with
I would always agree with solar and wind mill energy or any other natural resource energy that will not harm our environment. Nuclear energy is a big NO NO, although it is a very reliable source of energy but it is also destructive, if it use in wrong way and it is always possible. - Yameer from Resorts 360.
ask siirleri
Thanks again! Keep it up!
Is silicon valley will sell
Is silicon valley will sell those solar panel to individual user or they are going to put up a large plant, that will supply households? Solar energy is really money saving alternative for electricity. How much is the initial investment of a household who consume 500Kilowatt to 1000Kilowatt, if they decided to put up solar energy.
http://www.kromtasmakina.com
thank site nice post
mırc
Well, solar energy power is good and if it really delivery cheapest electric expenses for each household...
thank
thanks u
Thx !! Leon
Thx !!
Leon
Hola, soy de México, me
Hola, soy de México, me encanta el nuevo proyecto, soy súper fan de XTC. Me gustaría saber como puedo conseguir algunos albumes. Lo amo Sr. Partridge!!
Article is excellent
The details provided by author is excellent, however you can also build solar panel and windmills by downloading the guide from http://www.earth4energy.com
Solar Energy
This is evaluation of our world. This sure change our life at this cheaper price.
Requiring not anything but abundant, non-toxic normal materials
Requiring not anything but abundant, non-toxic normal materials, this moment discovery ought to unlock the a large number of potent, carbon-free fuel source of all: the sun. “This is the nirvana of how we’ve been heard operating just about for years,” claimed MIT’s Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the tedious work in the July 31 quandary of Science. “Solar energy has constantly kept on a limited, far-off solution. Now we can monumentally imagine throughout solar electricity as unlimited and soon.
running clinics onsoloar power
I have been running the waiting area of my surgery clinic in the UK on solar power for the last 6 months we should all try to do something for the environment.
Interesting..
I am from Rome (Italy)...if you think that here in Italy we have started to talk once again of nuclear energy...and that also the new buildings / apartments far from the centre of the city are often not equipped to use solar energy.
msn adresleri
interested in this kind of article. if you wanna me I will publish all my work which continues about 1 years. thanks for your article and being as a base of my works.
Very good!
Very good!
What we need to do is get
What we need to do is get the big companies wanting this technology instead of trying to prevent it. After all if microsoft had made typewriters we may not have had the chat internet...
I was searching for
I was searching for something and I came across this article. I am glad that I came across it was pleasure to read it.
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