Photovoltaics
A special supplement on the photovoltaic industry looking at key issues and opportunities available for manufacturers
A spot light on sunlight
Photovoltaic technology is one of the emerging technologies in the microelectronics industry that is on the verge of becoming a major industry in its own right. Considering the amount of investment exceeded $1 billion in 2005 it would appear that the industry is already quite strong. However, despite the growth there is a long way to go for this emerging industry. Despite the technological advances seen within the solar industry in the last few years, the technology is still costing up to five times that of traditional electricity suppliers. The actual solar cells are still only operating at around 30% of potential output and this needs to increase drastically so they are a cost-effective option.
These figures are slightly misleading as the solar cell module itself represents 40-50% of the total installed cost of a “solar system”. The percentage will change depending on the application. Also many statistics suggest that solar energy costs up to five times that of existing electricity costs. However this is only true if the solar energy has to be added to an electricity grid. In fact the solar system set up in isolation or outside of the grid has already proved to be costeffective if not cheaper in remote (off-grid) industrial and habitation applications.
Good news for companies involved in semiconductor manufacturing is that the photovoltaic manufacturing using polysilicon is growing at a much faster rate than the photovoltaic manufacturing using thin film. Despite a production growth rate of 16% in 2006 polysilicon supply issues still constrain cell production in 2007. It will be a couple of years before any new polysilicon manufacturing plants will have usable material available.
In the early stages of the photovoltaic industry Japan was the clear leader in terms of manufacturing leadership and market share. This has trains changed in the last few years with Germany and other European countries gaining market share in both manufacturing and consumer. The global photovoltaic market continues to grow at an average of approximately 35% yearly growth. Europe as a group of countries are working together to ensure growth in photovoltaic uptake.
Although initially driven by a need to reduce reliance on oil based electricity the photovoltaic market has now developed into a multibillion dollar market that is set to grow at rates seen by the semiconductor industry in the 80s and 90s. With Europe and Asia leading the world in photovoltaic research and consumption, the team at Euro Asia Semiconductor in the prime position to take advantage of this geographically motivated global growth.
David Ridsdale
Editor in Chief
