Solar cell investment seen matching chip sector

Tag : Solar Power Cell

ZURICH (Reuters) - Global investments in solar cell production willmatch those flowing into semiconductor making by 2010, technologyresearcher iSuppli said on Tuesday.
Production of photovoltaic solar cells is expected to rise to about12 gigawatts (GW) by 2010 from 3.5 GW last year, requiring heavyinvestment, iSuppli said.
"Each photovoltaic factory will require an investment of $500million and more ... and will generate annual revenue of $1 billionper year or more, putting them into the size, cost and employmentrange of semiconductor fabs," the researcher said.
Germany's Q-Cells overtook Japan's Sharp Corp last year as theworld's largest solar cell maker. Other big players include China'sSuntech Power Holdings and Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation.
High energy prices will drive demand for renewable energy in theshort term, while over the next 50 years the world will need threeto four times more electrical power to support continued growth inpopulation and economic output, iSuppli said.
An increasing amount is expected to come from green energy.
Demand will get another boost when the cost of solar electricitycomes into line with the power from the grid, the researcher said,adding that Q-Cells and REC expect a reduction in solar systemcosts by 40 percent from 2006 to 2010.
It said it expects the so-called grid parity can be reached by 2012in countries with constant sunshine and by 2018 in areas withadequate or medium sun exposure.
(Reporting by Eva Kuehnen; Editing by David Holmes)