The manufacturing base (location yet to be announced) is expected to employ 400
workers, create 600 jobs, and manufacture 400-MW worth of solar panels each year.
NextEra Energy has ordered 60 MW of thin film solar panels so far and Invenergy has
ordered 20MW of panels and new GE Brilliance inverters (another technology just
launched by GE).
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) verified the record-breaking efficiency of GE’
s new technology. It found a 12.8% aperture area efficiency. This technology
actually started out at NREL before its research and development were passed on to
PrimeStar in 2007.
“This panel surpasses all previously published records for CdTe thin film, which is
the most affordable solar technology in the industry,” said GE in a statement.
GE has put a lot into wind energy (has a $6-billion wind energy business) and now,
as another key part of its renewable energy strategy, it is looking to focus a lot
more on solar. It’s specific focus: make solar cheaper.
“Our wind business was just a couple of hundred million dollars in 2002. Now it’s
a $6 billion platform. GE knows how to scale,” Victor Abate, vice president of GE’
s renewable energy business, said. ”We are addressing the biggest barrier for the
mainstream adoption of solar technology – cost – and the NREL certification proves
that we are on track to deliver the most affordable solutions for our customers.”
“Our plan to open a US solar manufacturing facility further demonstrates our
confidence in this technology and is just the first phase in a global, multi-
gigawatt roadmap. We’re not only excited by the efficiency milestone, but by the
speed at which our team was able to achieve it and the innovation runway for future
improvements in this technology.”
Looks like GE is moving fast on solar. Of course, it’s got a lot of competition in
this field, from First Solar in the U.S. to a number of Chinese solar companies that
benefit from cheap labor and much stronger government support for cleantech.
没有评论:
发表评论