Solar Electricity – Competitive Strength Through Diversification of Technologies

In the turbulent business year of 2008 photovoltaics in Germany could report a record growth of about 1,500 megawatts peak in the form of new power generating installations. Already this year – and so considerably faster than originally expected – photovoltaics will be providing one per cent of the total electricity generated in Germany by the various sources. And on the power horizon new “lighthouses” are looming into view: in less than a decade solar electricity in this country will be cheaper than conventional electricity from the wall socket, and the contribution from solar electricity may grow to at least seven per cent by 2020.

Yet in the coming months and years the global financial and economic crisis, the growing competition, and flagging solar subsidies will be demandingfrom the solar sector some top engineering feats, a great deal of entrepreneurial venture, and close collaboration. One recipe for success for the German solar industry on this path involves diversification of technologies. The range of classical silicon cells on the market is being increasingly supplemented with thin film technologies. These too contribute towards further material, energy, and cost cuts in production and present new potential applications for solar power products.

Innovative ideas need a creative environment – like the Adlershof Science and Technology Park. The international metropolis of science and creativity Berlin concentrates competence in solar thin film technologies and provides an important impetus to the development of new technologies for utilising solar energy. Berlin Adlershof affords a key contribution assuring that Germany remains in pole position when the solar economy becomes elevated to a leading industry in the 21st century. This advantage at the outset will pay off in a great many ways – after all, the global expansion of solar energy is still in its infancy.

Yours
Carsten Körnig
Geschäftsführer Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V.