GE to build massive thin-film U.S. solar plant

GE plans to manufacture 400 megawatts worth annually of thin-film solar cells made with cadmium telluride.
(Credit: GE)

General Electric plans to build a thin-film solar factory in the U.S. that will produce solar cells that have an efficiency of 12.8 percent, the company announced today.

In conjunction with this news, GE also announced that it has acquired PrimeStar Solar, a company GE has had a stake in since 2008.

The thin-film solar cells to be manufactured using cadmium telluride were developed by PrimeStar through a cooperative research program with Department of Energy's National Center for Photovoltaics. The cells were given a 12.8 percent efficiency rating, through a verification process conducted by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).

Even though others have achieved higher efficiencies in the lab, that 12.8 percent efficiency rating is significant in the world of thin-film solar technology manufacturing. Cells made from silicon can convert sunlight to electricity with a 15 percent to 20 percent efficiency, but are much more expensive to manufacture and considered a completely different class of solar cell. Thin-film solar cells made with copper, indium, gallium, and selenide (CIGS) have reached 15.7 percent efficiency in the lab.

A better comparison would be with First Solar, the company that will be GE's leading competitor. First Solar has been producing thin-film solar cells using cadmium telluride for years, and has said those manufactured cells have an 11.2 percent efficiency

"Milestones like these are pivotal as the United States looks to drive widespread adoption of solar technologies," Ryne Raffaelle, director of the National Center for Photovoltaics at NREL, said in a statement.

GE said that its new plant, when complete, will be able to produce 400 megawatts worth of thin-film solar cells per year and employ 400 people. That would make it one of the largest thin-film solar manufacturing presences in the U.S.

The company didn't give specifics on where the facility will be sited, or when it will go into operation. GE said it plans to announce the location shortly, from among a number of locations being considered.

First Solar announced in March that it's building a 250-megawatt plant in Arizona to complement its existing Ohio plant, which will bring its total U.S. manufacturing capacity to 500 megawatts annually by 2012.

A few companies, including GE and Abound Solar, have bet on cadmium telluride rather than CIGS. That could be because it is easier to source those two materials instead of the four that go into CIGS. Cadmium and tellurium are often byproducts of mining operations.

The U.S. solar market grew 67 percent between 2009 and 2010 and is now a $6 billion market, according to a recent report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research. The report saw growth potential in the space as more and more utilities seek to build installations for themselves, or source solar electricity for their portfolio.

Worldwide demand for solar is also expected to grow to a $113.6 billion industry by 2020, according to a recent report from Clean Edge.


GE has long said that it wants to be a major player in the space, announcing in 2009 that it would have a thin-film manufacturing plant in the U.S. by 2011.

Studying a second life for electric-vehicle batteries

When a lithium ion battery reaches the point at which it can no longer be used in an electric car, it still has the potential to be used in other applications. But exactly what are the best uses for them?

The U.S. government is backing a comprehensive study to determine just that, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced Tuesday.

"To date, no one has comprehensively studied the feasibility, durability, and value of Li-ion batteries for second-use applications," NREL said in a statement.

The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) will lead the research project which will explore the best applications for used lithium ion batteries. Potential uses include employing used batteries as energy storage devices for variable electricity sources like wind and solar that could also tie in to the electric grid.

"The NREL award to the CCSE team leverages an ongoing UC Davis-CCSE-TSRC study funded by the California Energy Commission on the repurposing of used EV batteries for home energy storage. The total budget for the NREL-CCSE second use battery project is approximately $1.3 million with 51 percent of the funding coming from CCSE and its partners," according to NREL.

The group will also examine how lithium ion batteries might be better designed or manufactured to maximize their potential for second-life uses.

NREL's project is not just a technical study. Like many Department of Energy projects in recent years, a comprehensive study on the economic consequences will be conducted in tandem with the application research.

The team plans to investigate how a second-use system might be used to temper the expensive cost of electric cars and electric-car batteries in the U.S.

It might be economically viable, for example, to have a system where people or companies can give electric-car batteries over for second use, and obtain a refund or credit for the battery's remaining value. Such a system might lower the overall cost of a lithium ion car batteries for manufacturers and consumers.

In addition to researching all the possible uses for lithium ion batteries, the study will also include comprehensive testing to determine battery lifespan, as well as developing a standard for testing and determining battery life.