Solar firms vie to outshine competitors

The race to power homes and businesses with solar energy is intensifying as prices drop, extreme weather causes more outages and the Build Back Better plan — as currently proposed — seeks to increase the federal investment tax credit (ITC) from 26 percent to 30 percent and extend it for at least 10 years.

The $2 trillion social and climate spending bill includes a 10 percent tax credit for families living in low-income communities and an additional 10 percent tax credit if a certain percentage of the solar parts are manufactured in the United States.

Solar's improving competitiveness against other technologies has increased its share of total U.S. electrical generation from 0.1 percent in 2010 to nearly 4 percent today, according to the Washington-based Solar Energy Industry Association.

In the meantime, SEIA says the cost to install solar has dropped by more than 70 percent over the last decade. An average-sized residential system is down from a pre-incentive price of $40,000 in 2010 to about $20,000 today,

New types of photovoltaic (PV) technology also are generating interest in addition to traditional crystalline silicon. SEIA points to thin-film PV, which is a fast-growing but small part of the commercial solar market, and building-integrated PV (BIPV) like Tesla Solar Roof products, which double as solar panels and roof shingles.

John Rhee, the new CEO of SolarWindow Technologies Inc., has promoted and hired former senior executives of multinational conglomerate LG Corp. to lead the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company into manufacturing.

Last month a holding company owned by Rhee and his immediate family acquired nearly 72 percent of SolarWindow, which developed transparent coatings and processes to generate electricity on glass, plastics and film from natural, artificial, low, shaded and reflected light. The technology, which is branded as LiquidElectricity, transforms ordinary surfaces into photovoltaic devices, or electricity-generating products.

The manufacturing process uses low-cost, high-speed roll-to-roll and sheet-to-sheet processes similar to producing tinted window films and printed electronics.

Company officials haven't disclosed yet where SolarWindow products will be manufactured.

SolarWindow is entering the production phase as competitors make headlines, including GAF Solar and its nailable solar roof shingles and LG Solar USA for its NeON-brand modules supplied for a showcase residence of the National Association of Home Builders.

Rhee announced recently In Jae Chung was promoted to chief technology officer. He previously was CEO at LG Fuel Cell Systems and CTO at LG Display, which is a business unit reporting more than $20 billion in annual sales and supported by more than 15,000 patents.

Rhee also hired Chulwoo Kim as the global director of technology and product innovation, which is the position Chung held previously. Kim formerly served as vice president at LG Electronics and vice president of LG Display, where he oversaw some 20,000 employees and $10 billion in production volume for complex manufacturing of certain technology products.

"SolarWindow strengthens our position with the leadership of [Chung and Kim], who at LG pioneered manufacturing methods, engineered state-of-the-art production lines and collectively oversaw 50,000 employees to produce over $30 billion in technology products," Rhee said in a news release.

Rhee, who also was elected chairman of the SolarWindow board of directors, continues to serve as managing director of Light Quantum Energy Holdings as well. The holding company acquired the SolarWindow shares on a fully diluted basis from Kalen Capital Corp. and its subsidiaries in a privately negotiated deal.

During his earlier tenure as president of SolarWindow, Rhee built SolarWindow operations in South Korea and introduced LiquidElectricity. He succeeds Jatinder S. Bhogal as chairman and CEO. Bhogal now is a SolarWindow adviser.

In January, Bayport, Minn.-based window and door manufacturer Andersen Corp. said it was making a strategic investment in Redwood City, Calif.-based Ubiquitous Energy Inc., which also developed a coating for windows that converts sunlight to electricity. Branded as UE Power, the coating is applied to glass as part of the standard manufacturing process using thin-film deposition known as physical vapor deposition.

Andersen joined backers putting up $30 million, bringing the total funding to $70 million, for the material science company founded in 2011 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Michigan State University scientists and engineers trying to integrate solar power technology into everyday products and surfaces.

"Ubiquitous Energy's transparent photovoltaic technology is revolutionary and represents a new horizon for the fenestration industry," Andersen Chairman and CEO Jay Lund said in a news release. "As America's premier window and patio door manufacturer, Andersen is excited to support the work of Ubiquitous Energy to bring solar power into homes and commercial buildings through windows and doors, creating new opportunities for energy efficiency, cost savings and smart home integrations that will both delight homeowners and contribute to a healthier planet."

Andersen officials were particularly impressed with Ubiquitous Energy because its solar film is clear and unobtrusively integrated into the window frame, according to a CNBC news report.

Ubiquitous Energy is focused on architectural glass right now, but CEO Susan Stone told CNBC the longer-term vision is greater.

"We have amazing applications in all kinds of industries, like consumer electronics, like automobiles and even agriculture," Stone said. "So we're not stopping at windows."

California-based GAF Energy is offering a solar shingle that can be nailed like traditional roof shingles. The award-winning product, branded as Timberline solar energy shingles, is being assembled domestically at the company's manufacturing and R&D facility in San Jose.

Timberline products are the first to ever receive Underwriter Laboratory 7103 certification for use as both solar panels and construction materials, according to GAF Energy President Martin DeBono. He told the website The Verge that installers drive nails through a three-inch nailing strip that then overlaps the top of that shingle with the bottom of the next one.

Parent company Standard Industries is investing more than $1 billion into the solar energy shingles, which consist of glass, polysilicon solar cells and top layer of a proprietary fluorinated alkane ethylene polymer described as fire-resistant, impact-resistant and textured to be walkable.

GAF Energy says the shingles have a Class A fire rating and stand up to hail but are less dense than traditional shingles so they should be easier for roofers to handle. The product was launched in early January at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, where it received three awards in the innovation, Smart Cities and Smart Homes categories.

The website Electrek says Tesla is making a significant upgrade to its solar roof with a more powerful solar tile. The staff reported obtaining a data sheet that indicates the new SRR72TI solar tile offers a maximum output of 71.7 watts compared with its SR60T1 tile, which has a 58.5-watt capacity. The data sheet identifies the primary materials as glass, polymers, fiberglass and silicon.

"With more efficient solar cells, Tesla managed to maintain the same tile size with a 22 percent increase in max power output," Electrek reports. "It will enable Tesla to fit more solar power with fewer solar tiles on a single roof."

Using fewer solar tiles could simplify the installation process and the number of electrical connections needed between tiles.

"Interestingly, the new tile data sheet also mentions that Tesla can install the solar tiles over existing roofs," Electrek said, singling out roofs that are a single layer of three-tab composition shingles as well as a single layer of architectural composition shingle.