HUGE GE SUN PLANT FOR U.S.

G.E. Plans to Build Largest Solar Panel Plant in U.S.
Todd Woody, April 7, 2011 (NY Times)

"In a move that could shake up the American solar industry, General Electric…will build the nation’s largest photovoltaic panel factory, with the goal of becoming a major player in the market…

"The plant, whose location has not been determined, will employ 400 workers and create 600 related jobs…[It] would annually produce solar panels that would generate 400 megawatts of energy…and would begin manufacturing thin-film photovoltaic panels made of a material called cadmium telluride in 2013. While less efficient than conventional solar panels, thin-film photovoltaics can be produced at a lower cost and have proven attractive to developers and utilities building large-scale power plants…G.E. has signed agreements to supply solar panels to generate 100 megawatts of electric power to customers, including a deal for panels generating 60 megawatts with NextEra Energy Resources…"

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"G.E., a manufacturing giant, operates in a range of energy businesses, from nuclear power plants to natural gas turbines. It has been aggressively expanding its energy portfolio, particularly through acquisitions…[It has] completed its purchase of [thin-film PV panel-maker] PrimeStar Solar…[T]he Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently certified that a PrimeStar solar panel manufactured at its factory in Colorado had set a 12.8 percent efficiency record for cadmium telluride technology…

"The global conglomerate’s entry into the highly competitive photovoltaic market is likely to prove a significant challenge to First Solar, the thin-film market leader and the dominant manufacturer of cadmium telluride panels…[as well as] start-ups like Abound Solar…[which] in December obtained a $400 million federal loan guarantee to build factories to manufacture cadmium telluride panels."

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"G.E.’s initial panel manufacturing capacity will be a fraction of the more than 2,300 megawatts of capacity that First Solar…plans to have online by the end of 2011…[but] G.E.’s solar effort would parallel the rise of its wind energy business…[which built] 10 turbines a week [in 2005]…[and]…13 a day [in 2008]…[A]s with its wind business, G.E. will face competition from low-cost, government-subsidized Chinese manufacturers…G.E. said it was not applying for a [federal] loan guarantee but was exploring applying for state and federal manufacturing tax credits.

"Prices for conventional silicon-based solar modules have plummeted 50 percent in recent years and are expected to continue to fall, in large part because of the rapid expansion of Chinese manufacturing capacity. That has put particular pressure on thin-film companies to increase the efficiency of their panels and maintain a technological edge…G.E. [will] focus on improving the 12.8 percent efficiency of its panels as well as lowering costs…"