DOE Supports Project to Cut Silicon Solar PV Wafer Costs 50%

[kristopher]

DOE Supports Project to Cut Silicon Solar PV Wafer Costs 50%
September 9, 2011

...Aiming to drive down costs and make the US solar power industry more competitive, Secretary Chu finalized a conditional $150 million loan guarantee that will enable Lexington, Massachusetts’ 1366 Technologies to continue developing its multicrystalline Direct Wafer solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing project.

The Direct Wafer process holds the promise of producing approximately 700- to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of silicon-based wafers annually, reducing manufacturing costs by 50% and thereby significantly enhancing the competitiveness of a US company to compete globally against countries whose governments are aggressively supporting solar power industry development.

...The Direct Wafer manufacturing process reduces four separate manufacturing steps into “a single, low-cost continuous process and greatly reduces silicon waster by forming individual wafers directly from a bath of molten silicon,” the DOE news release explains. Frozen inside the Direct Wafer furnace, a thin sheet of silicon is then removed and trimmed by laser to size.

The entire wafer production process is completed in just 25 seconds. Conventional batch processing methods require up to three days. The Direct Wafer process also reduces energy consumption by 90% while producing an industry-standard silicon wafer that can be used by multicrystalline solar power cell manufacturers...

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/09/09/doe-supports-project-to-cut-silicon-solar-pv-wafer-costs-50/

[MADem]

1. Plus One on that baby!!! nt

[Firebrand Gary]

2. Good Stuff!