David Savastano, Editor07.02.12
The market for solar cells continues to shift, as some large manufacturers are now in bankruptcy proceedings while others are finding additional funding sources. The main concern is the changing nature of the photovoltaic (PV) market, as the conditions of a few years ago that made the investment into new technologies a strong opportunity have changed dramatically.
For example, in the area of traditional or utility scale, solar cells, the high price of silicon made new technologies, including CIGS (copper indium gallium (di)selenide) and CdTe (cadmium telluride) among others, more attractive. However, as the price of silicon dropped, silicon-based solar cell prices reportedly have been cut in half, and one of the key advantages of these other technologies was eliminated.
The other problem is that supply and demand is out of balance. According to a recent report by Forbes, supply exceeds demand by nearly double. As a result, some companies are looking to sell below cost in order to gain market share, and ride out the losses as other companies go out of business. Solar World’s U.S. subsidiary successfully brought a complaint to the U.S. Department of Commerce that requests that anti-dumping duties be imposed on solar products imported from China; the department ruled in favor of Solar World in May 2012.
In recent months, a number of noteworthy PV companies have exited the marketplace or are in deep trouble. These include Q.CELLS, Odersun. Abound Solar, Energy Conversion Devices and, on the organic photovoltaic (OPV) side, Konarka Technologies.
Q.CELLS, a leading German silicon PV manufacturer and reportedly at one time the largest global manufacturer of solar cells, is going through insolvency proceedings. Hanergy Holding Group acquired Solibro, Q-Cells' CIGS solar module operation, and South Korea's Hanwha Group has confirmed that it is considering acquiring Q.Cells.
Odersun, a German building integrated PV (BIPV) thin-film specialist, shut its doors in May 2012. Energy Conversion Devices announced its bankruptcy in February 2012, and gave up efforts to survive in May 2012.
Abound Solar is the latest thin film manufacturer to go bankrupt. The company, which received $70 million out of a $400 million loan that had been guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy – the same program that Solyndra had received $535 million from – specialized in CdTe thin film modules, and cited “aggressive pricing actions from Chinese solar panel companies” as the key to its bankruptcy.
For the printed electronics market, Konarka Technologies is the major story. Konarka had raised more than $170 million over the years, and had developed a conductive polymer that could be printed onto a flexible plastic backing material. However, it could never increase its efficiency past 9%, and the company was unable to escape its debt.
What does this mean for solar, and for OPV? First Solar, which produces thin film CdTe, remains the leading solar cell manufacturer in the world, and General Electric is moving heavily into that market. Nanosolar ($70 million), which prints its cells, and MiaSole ($55 million) have successfully completed new financing rounds, while Ascent Solar has received major cash infusions from TFG Radiant Group.
As for OPV, while Konarka has filed for bankruptcy, other companies such as Heliatek and Eight19 receive more funding and are reporting advances.
Ultimately, PV technology across the spectrum of technologies will continue to adapt over time, and some companies will move forward while others drop out.