Bright Days for NanoSolar

In the next six weeks, NanoSolar plans to begin building a factory in the San Francisco Bay area that could pump out as many as 200 million solar cells—semiconductors that convert sunlight to electricity—each year. That will be enough to fill 2 million average-sized panels.

The company expects to assemble the cells into more than 1 million solar panels annually in another factory near Berlin that it plans to open next year. It figures that making its panels will cost as little as 10% of what it costs to turn out current panels, eventually putting them within financial reach for lots more consumers.

Without a doubt, the promise is popular with financiers.
But NanoSolar still has to prove itself. Past attempts at producing thin-film solar cells have disappointed. In 1997, Cambridge (Ont.) manufacturer ATS Automation Tooling Systems acquired thin-film technology that bonds tiny silicon beads to foil.

The company spent about $90 million on a new plant to commercialize the technology, which was originally developed by chipmaker Texas Instruments (TI). In May, news that ATS plans to write down nearly the entire cost of developing the technology lopped 25% off its stock price. “They thought they could get the process up quickly, and we’re still waiting,” says Tom Astle, an analyst at National Bank Financial in Toronto. “Building a commercial process to manufacture these things is more challenging than some people think.”

Another problem: Thin-film solar cells historically have produced electricity less efficiently than silicon cells when measured by dollar per watt. So, while thin-film cells may cost less than silicon cells, consumers may have to buy and install more of them to produce enough power.

NanoSolar’s management isn’t worried.

Business Week