See also:The success of First Solar has given startup companies developing cadmium-telluride solar panels hope. Why, if First Solar could claim to be the lowest-cost producer in the industry while raking in good profits, then we could do it, too.
PrimeStar Solar is no exception. Brian Murphy, CEO of PrimeStar in Golden, Colo., said at a recent conference that "cadmium-telluride is the only technology proven to move below $1 per watt in manufacturing cost."
The company is moving toward the launch of its commercial product, set to take place by the end of this year, Murphy said. Murphy was rather mum about his company's product specs and production plans, however.
He said the commercial factory would have a production capacity in the "tens of megawatts." PrimeStar produced its first thin-film panel in April 2007 and began pilot production last October, he added.
Murphy declined to disclose the manufacturing cost of PrimeStar. And neither would he say how well PrimeStar's solar panels could convert sunlight into electricity.
Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar's panels could convert nearly 11 percent of sunlight into power.
PrimeStar has licensed its technology from nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Back in 2007, the company was awarded $3 million from the Solar American Initiative, administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, for commercializing its technology....MORE
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