e360 digest

05 Jul 2012: U.S.’s Largest Solar Factory
Halted in Face of Dropping Prices

General Electric has halted construction of what would have been the largest solar factory in the U.S. due to the falling price of photovoltaic modules globally and says it will focus instead on developing the next generation of cadmium-telluride thin-film technologies for the developers of solar plants. Construction

A Solar Panel on Every Roof?
In U.S., Still a Distant Dream

Daunted by high up-front costs, U.S. homeowners continue to shy away from residential solar power systems, even as utility-scale solar projects are taking off. But residential solar is having modest growth.
READ THE e360 REPORT

of the 400-megawatt factory in Aurora, Colo, which had been announced after GE purchased Primestar Solar in April 2011, will be put on hold for at least 18 months, company officials say. While the thin-film panels are less efficient than conventional silicon panels, they had emerged as a popular option for large utilities since they can be built at a cheaper cost — particularly when silicon prices are high. But with a steep drop in silicon prices and increased production by Chinese solar companies, the price of conventional solar modules has dropped roughly 50 percent in recent months. “Given those dynamics… we’re focusing our efforts on developing the next generation of [cadmium-telluride] module technology so we can reach higher efficiency levels and a more competitive cost position,” Danielle Merfield, GE’s general manager for solar technologies, told Forbes. The Colorado-based startup Abound Solar, which had received a $400 million federal loan to build cadmium-telluride panel factories, filed for bankruptcy last week.

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

For Africa’s Solar Sisters, Off-Grid Electricity is Power

Harnessing Citizen Power to Fund a U.S. Solar Revolution

Betting on Technology to Help Turn Consumers Green

Solar Power Off the Grid: Energy Access for World’s Poor

A Power Company President Ties His Future to Green Energy

A Solar Panel on Every Roof? In U.S., Still a Distant Dream

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network