In an overtly ambitious move, General Electric Co (GE), the world’s second largest company has announced its plans to invest a humongous sum of $600 million to build a new solar panel factory in the U.S. Taking cue from the increasing marketability potential of thin-film solar panels, the company believes that solar energy production could be a $3 billion business by 2015.
G.E has fervently pursued many sustainability projects over the years, which has in effect already turned them into the leading producers of wind and natural gas-powered electric turbines, and generated about $6 billion of revenue in annual sales. Since then, they have also made a foray into the profitable field of solar energy in 2007.
Accentuating upon that venture, this U.S. based 400-megawatt manufacturing facility will employ around 400 people and will produce enough solar panels each year to meet the needs of 80,000 homes.
But, the price competition is expected to be intense, especially because another ‘green’ giant, First Solar Inc., uses the same thin-film technology. Victor Abate, vice president of GE’s renewable energy unit, said…
The biggest challenge today for the mainstream adoption of solar is cost, and the way you move cost is efficiency. We see ourselves continuing to push that.
Source: Reuters
