This week, Japanese automaker Honda followed DuPont, General Electric and others to become the latest company to make solar cells.
"To (create a society with less carbon dioxide production), Honda has already been working hard on hybrid and other environmentally friendly products," Yuji Hatano, of Honda's Corporate Communications Division, wrote to United Press International in an e-mail.
"As a manufacturer that generates CO2, (it is important to us) to reduce CO2 by creating (clean) energy," Hatano said.
"At the end of September 2006, Honda began construction of a plant to mass produce solar cells within the current site of Honda's Kumamoto factory, and the new facility will become operational in fall 2007 with an annual capacity of 27.5 megawatts," Hatano said.
"Prior to the startup of the new plant, Honda Soltec Co., Ltd. will begin sales in limited areas in March 2007, of ... solar cells produced by Honda Engineering. Once mass production begins at the new plant in Kumamoto in fall 2007, Honda Soltec will expand sales throughout Japan."
Hatano said Japanese homeowners were the first target market on the agenda.
"We will concentrate on domestic business first. We will look into the potential for overseas markets at the same time; however, we do not have any concrete plans at this moment."
Honda dabbled in solar before officially unveiling Honda Soltec: "In the past, Honda has installed its solar cells at some Honda facilities for field monitoring. Approximately 500 kilowatts worth of systems are installed in total. The amount of electricity generated is (about) 500,000 kilowatt hours per square meter (of photovoltaic material) annually," Hatano said.
The wholly owned subsidiary is a $35 million investment for the company, according to Semiconductor Today magazine. Honda Soltec will produce thin film solar cells made from a compound of copper, indium, gallium and diselenide -- known in the solar business as CIGS.
"CIGS has achieved advantages unique to thin film solar cells, which (have) low energy consumption during production. In the meantime, (CIGS) also achieves the highest level of photoelectric transfer efficiency for a thin film solar cell," Hatano wrote, explaining the decision to go with the experimental technology.
According to a company statement from Honda, CIGS solar cells require about 50 percent less energy to produce when compared to the production of crystalline silicon cells. "This makes the new solar cell more environmentally-friendly by reducing the amount of CO2 generated even from the production stage," the statement said.
Highly refined silicon is the main ingredient of 95 percent of solar cells -- including the newer "thin film" cells, which use much less material than a regular photovoltaic panel.
Silicon is a proven technology, but it is also an expensive component of the solar cell. "The world's solar electricity industry has grown at a rate of 30 percent to 50 percent per annum for the past decade, despite a worldwide shortage of polysilicon," according to a report released at the end of October by the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development.
"The global shortage of silicon for solar electric energy will ease (only) in 2008," the study concluded. This is when several new silicon refining facilities are expected to go online.
Though companies often cite environmental reasons for developing and selling solar technology, it is also a smart business move. While the average gain for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices was 1.25 percent in 2005, eight publicly traded U.S. solar companies gained 134 percent on the stock market, according to Wall Street analyst and renewable energy expert J. Peter Lynch.
Solar is just one of the energy sources provided by General Electric's GE Energy. The company has a varied renewables portfolio that also includes wind, hydro and biomass energy, and together with its thermal energy sources, the company is a $16.5 billion dollar business.
DuPont, meanwhile, boasts "more than 20 years of experience in (photovoltaic) materials development, applications know-how, manufacturing expertise and global market access."
Though the market is rife with companies dedicated to solar -- Lynch's index included DayStar Technologies, Inc., Evergreen Solar Inc., Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Fund, Sunpower Corp. and Suntech Power Holdings -- the technology was originally developed for space travel.
Some solar energy experts have told UPI that the entry of "regular" companies into the solar market proves there's money to be made there; others say the heavies, such as Sharp are the ones who have been pioneering solar for years.
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