Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News

The increasing cost of conventional energy and the rising carbon levels in the atmosphere have re-focused the energy agenda on to alternative energy sources. We make no secret at Photovoltaics International that we believe that PV offers the best opportunity to mitigate climate change and increase global renewable energy production dramatically over the next five years. If the PV manufacturing industry can achieve scale production, then the effect on system and operating costs will substantially lower the cost of energy.

The past year for Applied Materials has seen a renaissance for the semiconductor equipment manufacturing giant with an increasingly strong presence in solar. By bringing large-scale manufacturing practices from the semiconductor, glass and FPD (Flat Panel Display) industries, the company has produced numerous technologies to help PV manufacturers achieve cost-per-watt objectives.

At Intersolar in Munich this year, Applied Materials presented a demo of the much-anticipated 5.7m² thin-film solar panel. At the same show, Dr. Lahri, the CEO of Signet Solar, one of Applied's more agile customers, officially opened Signet's new manufacturing plant and produced the first of the new wave of large-scale thin-film solar panels.

Photovoltaics International caught up with Dr. Charles Gay, Head of the Applied Solar Business Group and Dr Lahri, CEO of Signet Solar, to learn about the new wave of manufacturing that is bringing the cost of solar power closer to the cost of conventionally-generated electricity.