Thin-film solar sheets seek time in the sun

The pay-off is in the lower cost.

Thin film module prices were being sold in Europe in November for $3.69 per watt compared to $4.29 per watt for the lowest priced traditional multicrystalline module of similar power sold in the United States, according to a Solarbuzz survey.

"The lower retail prices are making companies interested in the technology as an alternative. However, there is a large capital expenditure to build a thin-film plant and the solar power conversion rates are low," according to KGI Securities researchers in Taipei.

"It's still too early to know if it can be a profitable technology in the future, as we'll have to see if the conversion rate can be boosted and also how many players enter the market, which will affect competitiveness," said KGI.

Obstacles aside, many believe that thin-film efficiency will steadily rise, possibly reaching 15 percent, with improving technology to take a bigger share of the solar energy market.

Thin-film solar cells could account for up to 30 percent of the global solar cell market by 2010, from around 7 percent in 2006, according to estimates compiled by Taiwan's E-Ton Solar.

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp plans to boost its thin-film solar cell production capacity from 15 megawatts per year to 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2010 with the construction of a massive plant in Sakai City.

No investment figure was available from Sharp, but rising costs of silicon are making the new technology more attractive.

The lure of thin film is spreading, with firms across the industry getting involved with the technology, including Taiwan's Motech Industries, China's Suntech Power Holdings and Germany's SCHOTT Solar. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, Taiwan's No. 2 maker of LCD panels, also recently said it was entering the thin-film business.

Germany's Q-Cells has invested aggressively in companies producing or planning to produce thin-film technologies, buying as Calyxo GMBH and Brilliant 234 GMBH, with annual capacity of 25 MW and 24 MW, respectively, by the first quarter of 2008.

(Additional reporting by Baker Li)

(Editing by Doug Young and Megan Goldin)