First Solar Breaks the $1 per watt barrier  

Thin film solar company First Solar recently announced that it cut the manufacturing cost of its thin film solar cells to 98 cents (US) per watt - First Solar Passes $1 Per Watt Industry Milestone.

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced it reduced its manufacturing cost for solar modules in the fourth quarter to 98 cents per watt, breaking the $1 per watt price barrier.

“This achievement marks a milestone in the solar industry’s evolution toward providing truly sustainable energy solutions,” said Mike Ahearn, First Solar chief executive officer. “First Solar is proud to be leading the way toward clean, affordable solar electricity as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.”

First Solar began full commercial operation of its initial manufacturing line in late 2004. From 2004 through today, manufacturing capacity has grown 2,500 percent to more than 500 megawatts in 2008. First Solar’s annual production capacity will double in 2009 to more than 1 gigawatt, the equivalent of an average-sized nuclear power plant. These escalating volumes have been accompanied by a rapid reduction in manufacturing costs. From 2004 through today, First Solar’s manufacturing costs have declined two-thirds from over $3 per watt to less than $1 per watt. First Solar is confident that further significant cost reductions are possible based on the yet untapped potential of its technology and manufacturing process.

Keith Johnson at the WSJ's Environmental Capital blog reports that First Solar are involved in a potential 48 Mw expansion of a Nevada solar power plant - Desert Sun: Sempra, First Solar Look for More Gold in El Dorado.

Sempra Generation says it’s building the biggest—and cheapest—solar power plant in the U.S. And it’s not even looking to outer space to do so.

The San Diego-based Sempra announced a 48-megawatt addition to its existing 10-megawatt thin-film solar-power installation near Las Vegas. It’s part of Sempra’s push into renewable energy, especially solar and wind power. That will include “in excess of 300 megawatts” of solar power near Sempra’s existing power plant in Arizona, said chief executive Mike Allman in an interview.

Proximity to existing power plants is key, the utility says. The 58-megawatt Nevada installation, using thin-film solar panels made by Tempe-based First Solar, piggybacks on an existing natural gas-fired plant.

That gives Sempra “the lowest-cost solar ever delivered…nobody can hold a candle to our costs,” Mr. Allman says. That’s partly because there’s no need to secure permission or financing for new power lines. Solar power also provides the most power during the afternoon, right during times of peak demand for electricity.

That said, the economics of Sempra’s thin-film installations aren’t quite as rosy as some have speculated, with never-confirmed analyst cost estimates as low as 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour. “It’s more than double that,” Mr. Allman said. The national average for all electricity is about 9 cents a kilowatt hour.

The planned expansion of the El Dorado plant in Nevada is also conditional on Sempra finding a utility willing to buy the electricity; the first 10 megawatts were contracted to Pacific Gas & Electric. Mr. Allman said Sempra is looking at buyers in California, Arizona, and Nevada—all states that have renewable-energy requirements forcing utilities to get a certain portion of their power from clean energy.

And they are scrambling. PG&E just announced a plan to get solar power from space, in part to meet its renewable-energy targets. Mr. Allman says the El Dorado expansion shows earth-based solar power still has a future, too. “It’s a vote of confidence in centralized, desert, large-scale solar infrastructure,” he said.

PV tech reports that First Solar are also involved in a new 53 MW solar power plant in Germany - First Solar sees explosive growth in Germany.

A new 53MW solar power plant near the German city of Cottbus, could well be unique and come to represent the explosive growth of thin film solar leader, First Solar, Inc in years to come. 700,000 modules will be required for the project, which would become the largest in Germany. The project is being organised by First Solar and Juwi Holding AG, having secured funding from a consortium of banks, with 162 hectares of land leased from the State of Brandenburg on very attractive terms. This was due to the site being a former Soviet Union Army training camp that is ‘littered’ with land mines, grenades and other munitions, according to a joint statement from the project developers.

“First Solar’s mission is to enable a world powered by clean, affordable solar electricity,” said Stephan Hansen, Managing Director, First Solar GmbH. “This project alone is expected to displace approximately 35,000 tons of C02 emissions a year. But we are particularly proud of this project because it adds an additional element to ‘clean.’ Not only will the project produce clean electricity, but it will also result in the removal of hazardous munitions from this project site.”

Matthias Willenbacher, Juwi Chief Executive, said, “Large projects like this one demonstrate that solar power is already capable of making significant contributions to addressing climate change. With this project, Juwi, using First Solar modules, has developed the three largest PV power plants in Germany.”

The significant scale of the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2009, could enable economies of scale yet to be seen in the solar industry. According to the partners, construction of the project began in January 2009, and the first 15MW have already been installed.