A solar energy startup company in Fort Collins, CO has been getting lots of attention since announcing plans to build a factory and hire as many as 500 people in the next two years. The name of the company is AVA Solar (which stands for Air Vacuum Air) and they have developed a process for making inexpensive solar cells by depositing thin films on architectural plate glass. The process was developed by several researchers from Colorado State University led by W.S. Sampath. The researchers started AVA Solar specifically to go into business manufacturing solar panels based on this new process.
The material AVA Solar uses in their thin film process is made with cadmium and telluride. These materials are used by others in the solar industry, but the method to produce cells is unique. In fact, the manufacturing method has been awarded several patents. The process is intended to be highly automated and scalable which should allow AVA Solar to eventually achieve a $1 per watt installed cost or about 1/8th of today’s average installed cost. This price is considered a sort of tipping point in the industry where the payback period of solar panels make them less expensive than traditional methods of generating electricity. Once this price point is achieved, it may open up a trillion dollar market according to Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc.
The company was recently profiled in Episode 10 of Invention Nation on the Discovery Science channel. Included below is a short video segment from that episode.
AVA Solar Video – Thin Panel Solar Construction Video
Also in the race to deliver cost breakthroughs in solar panel manufacturing are Nanosolar and First Solar who use thin films with different materials or processes, yet they also have significant cost advantages over the primary method of traditional silicon-based solar panels.
