GMI1982's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/228981/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/113009-cleantech-s-solar-conundrum?source=feed#comment-345286 345286
Every project that requires external financing, i.e. where the project depends on a separate investor, is experiencing setbacks. Just talk to SunPower, SunEdison, First Solar, et al. The only new projects going forward quickly are those where vendor or a partner provides the capital up-front from their own stash of cash/assets.]]> Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:18:08 -0500
Every project that requires external financing, i.e. where the project depends on a separate investor, is experiencing setbacks. Just talk to SunPower, SunEdison, First Solar, et al. The only new projects going forward quickly are those where vendor or a partner provides the capital up-front from their own stash of cash/assets.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/111204-analyst-first-solar-reaches-grid-parity-milestone?source=feed#comment-331825 331825
The numbers do not appear to reflect system inefficiencies either. The calculation of Wp are at the module level, and there are significant losses at the system level as well as yearly degradation. Pacific Crest does not know how to do calculations on LCOE, that is for sure. The real LCOE needs to include land costs, O&M expense, management costs, grid connection fees, etc. If FSLR has truly reached grid parity, you'd see MANY more plants being built today...

The acreage comment is totally misleading. If you look at the original estimate for the project, it was about 8 acres/MW. See this link: www.semprageneration.c.... c-Si with a tracking system is closer to 6 acres/MW and other leading utility-scale technologies, e.g. CPV, are below 5 acres/MW.

Bottom line, in terms of grid parity, CdTe and a-Si are well behind c-Si and CPV particularly in areas of high DNI (solar irradiance) like the Nevada desert. Flat plate c-Si produce 160W/m2, CPV = 250W/m2, and a-Si is well below 100W/m2. With these kind of inefficiencies at the cell level, you cannot possibly produce systems near grid parity today...]]> Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:10:40 -0500
The numbers do not appear to reflect system inefficiencies either. The calculation of Wp are at the module level, and there are significant losses at the system level as well as yearly degradation. Pacific Crest does not know how to do calculations on LCOE, that is for sure. The real LCOE needs to include land costs, O&M expense, management costs, grid connection fees, etc. If FSLR has truly reached grid parity, you'd see MANY more plants being built today...

The acreage comment is totally misleading. If you look at the original estimate for the project, it was about 8 acres/MW. See this link: www.semprageneration.c.... c-Si with a tracking system is closer to 6 acres/MW and other leading utility-scale technologies, e.g. CPV, are below 5 acres/MW.

Bottom line, in terms of grid parity, CdTe and a-Si are well behind c-Si and CPV particularly in areas of high DNI (solar irradiance) like the Nevada desert. Flat plate c-Si produce 160W/m2, CPV = 250W/m2, and a-Si is well below 100W/m2. With these kind of inefficiencies at the cell level, you cannot possibly produce systems near grid parity today...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/110509-a-new-use-for-solar-energy-highway-right-of-way?source=feed#comment-328889 328889 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:00:51 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/102551-valero-energy-s-insane-valuation?source=feed#comment-293267 293267 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:32:14 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/100552-a-sunny-outlook-for-emcore-barron-s?source=feed#comment-285526 285526 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:22:13 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/82940-in-the-cat-bird-seat-a-review-of-emcores-business?source=feed#comment-210207 210207 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:51:07 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/85370-solar-grade-a-silicon-revolution?source=feed#comment-209997 209997 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:03:26 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/85868-solar-s-warm-but-not-hot-barron-s?source=feed#comment-209992 209992 EMKR), the leader in Concentrated PhotoVoltaic technology. They offer system solutions now that used up significantly less acreage that thin film or silicon-based solar cells, and their cost is about $.37/watt for the cells in 100MW quantities or about $4/watt at the system level. This is by far the lowest cost of all solar cell technologies available today. With efficiencies expected to increase from 39% to 45% plus in 2 years, you will see the cost closer to $1.80/watt and the kWh cost cheaper than the $.10-.20 being paid today for coal-fired power.]]> Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:02:54 -0400 EMKR), the leader in Concentrated PhotoVoltaic technology. They offer system solutions now that used up significantly less acreage that thin film or silicon-based solar cells, and their cost is about $.37/watt for the cells in 100MW quantities or about $4/watt at the system level. This is by far the lowest cost of all solar cell technologies available today. With efficiencies expected to increase from 39% to 45% plus in 2 years, you will see the cost closer to $1.80/watt and the kWh cost cheaper than the $.10-.20 being paid today for coal-fired power.]]>