Thin-Film Panel Cost Can Be Reduced Further, Solar Frontier Says

Thin-film solar panel costs have more room to fall than more widely used crystalline silicon products, according to a Japanese panel maker that’s expanding production of the niche solar product.

Crystalline silicon panels, which account for more than 90 percent of all panels produced, are approaching their limits for further cost reduction as the technology matures, said Satoru Kuriyagawa, chief technology officer of Solar Frontier K.K., a wholly owned unit of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.