Industry can help solar power

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Solar power is capturing the public's imagination. As a San Francisco Chronicle article "Power burst" puts it, “Spreading one rooftop at a time, solar panels in California are finally generating serious power.” Solar's popularity is further attested to by a poll conducted for the trade association for the nuclear power industry, which asked Americans what energy source they thought would be used most for generating electricity in 15 years. The winner was the sun, picked by 27% of respondents, as reported in the New York Times.

But the Times' article "Solar Power Wins Enthusiasts but Not Money" adds that solar's popularity has not been sufficient to spur on adequate investment in solar power. The article notes that solar energy last year provided less than 0.01% of this country's electricity supply and may account for only 2% or 3% of the grid electricity in the US a quarter century from now, in part because government-funded research on solar power receives less funding than “energy options with more political support.”

But if government funding is lacking, perhaps the private sector can help. In fact, Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, urged attendees at Semicon West to get involved in the solar business. In a keynote address July 18, he said the present low percentage of power that solar methods produce should make solar an attractive growth opportunity for the semiconductor industry. He said the market has, since 2000, experienced a worldwide compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46%. Going forward, he said, he expects the US solar industry to post an 80% CAGR through 2010, vs. a 36.5% rate worldwide.

Evidence of industry support is emerging. Applied Materials, for example, has invested in the solar sector and has won contracts for solar-cell production equipment. As Resch told Aaron Hand, executive editor at Semiconductor International, “I think when Applied Materials makes a jump into a new industry, it shows that it's a real industry…and that it's safe for others to jump in.”

Indeed, spurred on by Resch's keynote, solar was a hot topic on the Semicon West exhibit floor. For example, Ross Overstreet, scientific segment engineer at FLIR, at his booth described to me a technique that can help evaluate solar-panel quality. When solar panels are reverse-powered, he explained, they emit infrared radiation, which enables his firm's IR cameras to detect defects.

Concerted efforts on fronts ranging from production to quality control can help drive solar's penetration into consumer markets, where by 2015, Resch predicted, solar will become cheaper than traditional electricity sources.