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Dow Corning Solar Solutions Introduces New Path for Solar-Grade Silicon
5 September 2006
Dow Corning announced that it has developed a solar-grade (SoG) silicon derived from metallurgical silicon that exhibits good solar cell performance characteristics when blended with traditional polysilicon feedstock. This new silicon feedstock material, Dow Corning PV 1101 SoG Silicon, is the first commercially available feedstock produced from such technology using large-scale manufacturing processes.
The launch of PV 1101, which offers solar-grade silicon from a different route, promises to alleviate supply constraints of polycrystalline silicon.
Dow Corning is also the majority shareholder in Hemlock Semiconductor Corp, the world’s largest supplier of polycrystalline silicon. Hemlock is continuing to aggressively expand production capacities for polysilicon.
The PV 1101 blend material has already been tested in independent institutes and at several Dow Corning Solar Solutions’ customer production sites worldwide. The testing showed that the blended feedstock material exhibits performance characteristics similar to polysilicon in terms of solar cell manufacturing and efficiency, according to Dow Corning.
Dow Corning began bulk production of PV 1101 earlier this summer, and bulk customer shipments began in August. Progressive ramping up of the PV 1101 SoG Silicon production facility to full speed is currently in progress. PV 1101 SoG Silicon is the first product manufactured at Dow Corning Solar Solutions Group’s new production facility in Santos Dumont, Brazil.
September 5, 2006 in Power Generation, Solar | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: fyi CO2 | September 05, 2006 at 09:50 AM
Perhaps, but then again the producers of high purity monocrystal polysilicon for solar cells and electronics have been ramping up production with new factories and production lines. If there is a global slowdown, the cost of this type of silicon will likely decline as demand for electronics drop off. Either way, the prices are likely to stabilize, moderate, and even decrease in the next 5 years. This is barring:
a) bankrupcy of a major player
b) major new initiative by govt. to install photovoltaic systems
c) new breakthrough in silicon based cells that push the efficiency to above 30% at a cheap price.
d) new production methods that decrese the price per unit, ie less waste, less man/man dollars hours per unit.
In those cases, supply and demand will push prices higher.
Posted by: allen Z | September 05, 2006 at 10:35 AM
ECD/Ovonics, which is major producer of PV panels, managed to use amorphous silicon for their panels. They claim it as major advantage over their competitors, strained by deficit of PV crystalline silicon.
Posted by: Andrey | September 05, 2006 at 10:47 PM
Nanosolar has produced roll to roll CIGS cells that have none of these contraints. If 10% is efficient enough and $1 per watt manufacturing cost is possible, we could see a whole new ball game.
Posted by: SJC | September 16, 2006 at 01:23 PM
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Removing the polysilicon supply bottleneck is great news to spur growth & put downward pressure on PV pricing?