GE、6億ドルを投じ、2013年に米最大規模の400MW薄膜太陽電池 CdTe Thin Film 製造工場を建設へ
GEが、4月7日に6億ドルを投じ、2013年に米最大規模の400MW薄膜太陽電池 CdTe Thin Film 製造工場を建設すると発表しました。発表時点でアメリカ最大規模のの薄膜太陽電池工場とのことです。完成すれば、年間生産量400MW規模となるようです。
GEは、このほかにも風力などの再生可能エネルギーに積極的に投資を行い、研究開発を続けるとアナウンス。その具体的な取り組みに注目が集まっています。
GEは、CdTe（カドミウムテルル）薄膜太陽電池のプライムスター・ソーラー社 PrimeStar Solar の最大株主となるなどの動きを見せてきたが、今回の発表で、この膜太陽電池もCdTeを選んだことを発表したことで、次世代薄膜太陽電池への注目が集まりそうです。
報道では、ファーストソーラーやソーラーフロンティア（前昭和シェルソーラー）などとの競争が伝えられるが、ファーストソーラーは、すでに製造原価1W=1ドル以下をアナウンスしているし、ソーラーフロンティアも追従可能としている。追従することになった、巨人GEがどのていど具体的な見積もりを出すのかが注目されます。
プレスリリース / GE,April 7, 2011
・GE Achieves Highest Publicly Reported Efficiency for Thin Film Solar, Earns New Orders and Unveils Plans to Build US Manufacturing Plant
GE's Solar Breakthrough
(GE's Solar Breakthrough）
-----image : GE : Thin Film Solarより-----
" ・Highest-Ever Reported Efficiency of Nearly 13 Percent on a Full-Size CdTe Thin Film Solar Panel ・More than 100 Megawatts of New Orders for Thin Film Solar Products ・GE to Build 400-Megawatt Manufacturing Facility, will be Larger than Any Existing US Solar Panel Plant Today ・Solar Strategy Complemented by Announced Acquisition of Power Conversion Technology Company Converteam ・GE Completes Acquisition of PrimeStar Solar, Inc.GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that a full-size, thin film solar panel developed by the company has been independently certified as the most efficient ever publicly reported milestone for the technology. GE intends to manufacture the record-setting solar panels at a new U.S. factory that will be larger than any existing solar panel factory in the country today. When complete, the factory will highlight an expected $600 million plus investment made by GE in solar technology and commercialization and will be complemented by the recently announced acquisition of power conversion company Converteam.
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The record-setting panel was produced on the PrimeStar 30-megawatt manufacturing line in Arvada, Colo. It was measured by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) at a 12.8 percent aperture area efficiency. This panel surpasses all previously published records for CdTe thin film, which is the most affordable solar technology in the industry. Continually increasing solar panel efficiency is a key component of GE’s goal to offer advanced solar products while reducing the total cost of electricity for utilities and consumers. In fact, a 1 percent increase in efficiency is equal to an approximate 10 percent decrease in system cost.
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GE also announced more than 100 megawatts of new commercial agreements for solar thin film products, including panels, inverters and total solar power plants. GE’s largest solar agreement to date is with NextEra Energy for 60 megawatts of thin film solar panels. Once deployed, the panels will help grow NextEra’s solar power portfolio, solidifying the company’s position as the largest generator of solar energy in the country today. NextEra also currently produces 4.5 gigawatts of renewable energy with GE’s wind turbines.
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GE also has signed a 20-megawatt solar agreement with Invenergy for the supply of thin film solar panels and GE Brilliance inverters. Invenergy, a Chicago-based clean energy generation company, will install the solar products at a project site in Illinois. Invenergy recently executed a power purchase agreement for the project, which upon completion will be one of the largest solar installations in the state.
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In addition to thin film solar panels, GE offers power electronics and pre-designed utility scale solar power plants for use in multi-megawatt applications. The recently proposed $3.2 billion acquisition of Converteam will add the company’s energy conversion technologies to GE’s solar offerings, further broadening GE’s portfolio.Power electronics are critical to bringing renewable sources such as wind and solar into the mainstream, delivering economies of scale and providing stable connection to the grid. By adding Converteam technology, GE is well positioned to bring a broad range of integrated generators, converters and inverters to the wind turbine and solar plant sectors.
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より具体的な情報を、数字を検索したが見当たらない。代わりに見つかったのは、太陽光エネルギーの実体とポテンシャルを描いた”太陽エネルギーのプロモーションビデオ”。そのなかで、100マイル四方のGEの太陽電池は、全米のすべてのエネルギーを賄うことができるとのキャプションが流れるのです。100マイル四方、10000平方マイルは、25600平方キロメートル。小さな国日本にとっては、とてつもない広さですが、巨大な砂漠一個が300000平方キロメートルもの大きさがあると言われている巨大な国アメリカにとっては、面積的には十分に確保できる広さです。
あとは、コストと本気度。GEがどこまで本気か？ 注目しましょう。(t_t)
参考
The Power of the Sun
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