What gives with Nanosolar?!
The Nanosolar website is blacked out with a simple message saying please check back September 9. They are obviously gearing up for a major announcements. Speculation on other websites centers around a big announcement confirming massive commercial production ability and the general ebay availability of these printable nano-dye solar cells which have previously only been available to their German partners, and have been promising the under $1 per watt price point holy grail.
Myself I disagree – I sense a takeover by a global behemoth. Dupont? 3M? Dow Chemical? General Electric? Westinghouse? Exxon? I shudder to think. Perhaps it’s positive but I tell you what – I hope it’s not a silicon wafer manufacturer. I would hope and expect the government to step in. Why? Because there is a chance of skullduggery if this is the case.
Certainly there is cause for concern. Silicon cell manufacturers are now a powerful market force. They stand to lose their livelihood overnight if the economics of nanosolar are realised. There are potentially thousands of jobs which are threatened. The intellectual property has a huge strategic importance and it really should not be controlled by forces which are sympathetic to the status quo. That is to say, forces which have a large sunk investment in the existing silicon-based technology.