The hottest Ge plans to launch thin film solar cel

Ge plans to launch thin-film solar cells

GE's entry into the market may help reduce the price of solar cells

General Electric confirmed long-term speculation that it would manufacture thin-film solar cells based on semiconductor materials such as cadmium and tellurium to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. GE's move may put pressure on first solar, the only major cadmium telluride solar panel manufacturer, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and may reduce the price of solar cells

lightweight material: cadmium telluride, a semiconductor that is good at absorbing light, can be used to make cheap solar cells

last year, General Electric seemed to want to quit the solar industry. It sold the crystalline silicon solar cell factory it acquired in 2004. The company found that most of the solar cells sold in the world are in the use of electronic universal experimental machines. The competition is too fierce for a relatively new entrant, said Danielle merfeld, head of the solar technology platform in GE's experiment

she believes that CdTe solar cells are very attractive to Ge, in part because compared with silicon, the physical properties of CdTe still need to be studied, which shows that it can be done more efficiently, thereby reducing the cost of solar power per watt. Making cadmium telluride solar cells may be cheaper than making silicon solar cells, making it competitive with existing solar cell manufacturers. Merfeld said that GE was encouraged by first solar, which has been cutting the price of silicon solar cells. Because of this, it quickly grew from almost unable to produce solar cells a few years ago to one of the world's largest solar cell manufacturers

Ge will work to improve the cadmium telluride solar cell originally developed by Primestar solar, a company that has left the renewable energy laboratory in Gordon, Colorado. Ge bought a minority stake in the company in 2007 and a majority stake in 2008, but it has not indicated its intention to acquire the company until last week, when it announced that it would focus its solar research and development on the technology of the new company

it is natural that they will avoid silicon at this stage, said Sam Jaffe, a senior analyst at IDC energy insights in Framingham, Massachusetts. Especially last year, the competition in the silicon solar cell market was particularly fierce. The company made little or no profit at all, and there was more room to make profits by manufacturing cadmium telluride solar cells

GE's average index is that it takes about 13 meters of diamond wire to cut each piece of sapphire substrate material, which seems to be avoiding the relatively new thin-film solar technology based on copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) semiconductors. Merfeld said that it is uncertain how this material will perform in the larger scale and volume required for commercial solar cells. Cadmium telluride is a simpler material, which is more convenient than CIGS, making it easier to achieve useful efficiency in large-scale production of solar cells

merfeld said that GE hopes to compete with first solar by providing better solar cells and reducing the cost of the entire solar power. In addition, GE's popularity will encourage installers to buy its batteries and help solar projects obtain funds from banks. Ge also has a broad distribution network, especially for new buildings. Travis Bradford, chairman of the Prometheus Institute for sustainable development, a consulting agency in Chicago when the resistance of the friction contact area is r <

but challenges remain. Tellurium is a rare material. Jaffe believes that in order to reduce costs, it is more important for GE to ensure a large supply of tellurium than to buy it on the open market. He said that with another large manufacturer of tellurium solar cells, it is necessary to find new sources of this element

moreover, compared with general electric, first solar has great advantages in the experience of producing cadmium telluride and the method of reducing the price. Even approaching the price of first solar is very challenging. If Ge wants to get involved in solar cells, the ship of crystalline silicon has already set off, Bradford said. The problem is that the ship of thin film may also have set off, especially cadmium telluride