Not Your Mother's SOLAR POWER Anymore

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PV PRICES HAVE NOT FALLEN APPRECIABLY SINCE 1994. AS A RESULT, THE SOLAR INDUSTRY IS EXPERIENCING A MIDLIFE CRISIS.

An industry development nearly as expensive per watt but perhaps more practical is "building-integrated" PV. These systems, which include solar windows, shingles and siding, are meant to do away with the traditional bank of solar panels mounted on a backyard tracker, in favor of a more seamless and unified design. The amorphous (also called thin-film) module is made by vaporizing the silicon and depositing an ultrathin layer of it onto a flexible substrate. They can be bent or shaped to accommodate any surface, and though much less efficient than single-crystal or multicrystalline designs (the traditional panel construction techniques), their adaptability and beauty hold tremendous promise. Some roof systems can be sold as just that - a complete roof - designed to last 20 years or more generating power and repelling the elements. Unisolar's SHR-17 PV shingle (actually 86" by 12"), for instance, generates 17-watts at peak output, is designed to tolerate shading (traditional panel output evaporates quickly with even a slight shade cast across it) and retails for $139. A two kilowatt array of these shingles is not cheap, at $16,000 ($8 per watt), but a consumer can still envision a reasonable payback schedule. The practicality doesn't end there. "After all," concludes Weiss, "When was the last time you bought a roof that paid for itself?"

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