Your argument certainly makes sense, still investors seem to be investing now, and more and more as time goes by. So either they are unaware of the price increases, or the cost of those materials is a minor fraction of the total manufacturing cost...
Michel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Foster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 4:53 PM Subject: Re: [Vo]:Nanosolar San Jose factory construction > It's hard to see how any of the CIGS photovoltaic systems can succeed. Their > cost projections were based on the price of indium when they first formed > their > companies. The demand for indium, in the form of indium tin oxide (ITO), used > as the transparent conductor in flat panel displays, grows geometrically. With > added demand for use in CIGS photovoltaics it's possible that what seemed an > economical solution for producing solar electrical power may have a > self-limiting future. I can't imagine that the price of gallium will stabilize > anytime soon, either. > > The other "inexpensive" photovoltaic may be doomed to the same fate. The > copper > telluride thin film system now faces rapid price increases for tellurium. It's > something like 25 times what it was a few years ago. Perhaps it's time to look > at solar power that doesn't depend so much on very rare elements. > > M. > > --- Michel Jullian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> http://www.nanosolar.com/blog3/2007/10/28/san-jose-factory-construction/ >> "here's a photo from a bit earlier of the first part of one of our >> roll-to-roll processing tools >> coming together. Many of our production tools are quite long - e.g. 100 >> feet. This maximizes the >> yield, throughput, and overall economics of the mile-long rolls of solar cell >> foil processed in >> there." >> >> Even if they didn't deliver ultimately, which seems less and less likely, >> other CIGS thin film solar >> companies have also attracted massive investment lately: >> http://media.cleantech.com/1961/heliovolt-thin-film-boosts-series-b-to-101m >> http://media.cleantech.com/1986/daystar-prices-63-8m-follow-on-offering >> >> Grid competitive solar panels soon on our rooftops? >> >> Michel >> >> >> > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com >
