Intel, IBM Embark on Solar Power Adventures

By Michelle Savage

June 17, 2008 —  IBM and Intel announced yesterday separate efforts to produce their own solar cells.

Intel's New Business Initiatives group, an internal group created to encourage new development and meet the demand for renewable energy sources, is spinning off an independent company called SpectraWatt Inc.

SpectraWatt expects to break ground on its manufacturing and advanced technology development facility in Oregon in the second half of 2008, with first product shipments expected by mid-2009. The company will be funded through a US$50 million investment round led by Intel's global investment organization Intel Capital.

Once it opens shop, SpectraWatt will manufacture and supply photovoltaic (PV) cells to solar module producers, and also focus its development efforts on improving PV technology and reducing the cost of solar energy generation. The company’s main goal is to increase the efficiency of silicon solar panels, currently at 20 percent, then focus on making the cost of solar-generated electricity equal to traditional methods within four years.

IBM also has a solar project up its sleeve. The chipmaker announced that it would work with a Japanese semiconductor and flat-panel manufacturer, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, to create cheaper solar cells. IBM claims its technology may produce solar cells that cost less than $1 a watt with a 15-percent efficiency rate, making solar energy a viable option for many companies.

Solar cells are components used to turn sunlight into electrical power. According to Photon Consulting, the end-user market segment for solar technology in 2007 was approximately $30 billion, a 50 percent increase from 2006. And solar industry growth of 30 to 40 percent annually is expected to continue in years to come as the economics of solar, which is currently approximately twice the cost of delivered retail electricity on a per kilowatt basis, reach that of traditional electricity-generation technologies.



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