SolveClimate is looking for writers, please click here to learn more.
Suddenly with $50 Million, Suniva Joins $1-a-Watt Solar Cell Club
by Stacy Feldman - Feb 5th, 2008
Yesterday, Georgia-based Suniva made a surprise announcement that it has raised $50 million to help achieve its goal: mass-market solar power for less than $1 a watt. Nanosolar, watch out.
Cheapest and most efficient on the market. That's the Suniva hope. It says its wafer-thin solar cells are already 18 percent efficient. That's double the efficiency of today's standard cell. To make them, Suniva has licensed technology from Georgia Tech's University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics (UCEP).
The company's vision for cheap solar is predicated on cheap manufacturing:
Suniva’s vision is to redefine the manufacturing processes for silicon solar cells resulting in reducing the cost of PV ownership to meet the costs of conventional grid power.
By achieving the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Solar America Initiative (SAI) target of $<1.00 Wp (peak watt) for finished PV modules, the final installed cost for a PV power system with “Suniva inside” will deliver power at the level of $0.12/kW-h.
The Suniva vision is predicated on the premise that for PV to achieve its full potential, without today’s subsidies, the technology must ultimately be cost-effective to compete with base-load electricity pricing, not just peak-load pricing.
With $50 million worth of second-round financing, Suniva is now on course to get its <$1 a watt manufacturing plant up and running in the Atlanta area. It plans to begin shipping cells by the fourth quarter of '08. Not bad considering Suniva is just a year old.
The company said it had commitments in excess of $50 million this round but capped the amount. Investors include New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs and HIG Ventures.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Marketing
Interest in the future of marketing Suniva Products.
Geographic location interest central Louisiana.
Post new comment