http://www.gizmag.com Arizona based First Solar has achieved a major milestone in reducing the manufacturing cost for solar panels below the $1 per watt price barrier - the target necessary for solar to compete with coal-burning electricity on the grid or grid-parity. Using cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology in its thin-film photovoltaic cells, First Solar claims to have the lowest manufacturing cost per watt in the industry with the ability to make solar cells at 98 cents per watt, one third of the price of comparable standard silicon panels. The efficiency is in part due to a low cycle time - 2.5 hours from sheet of glass to solar module - about a tenth of the time it takes for silicon equivalents.en gizmag.com http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-21016 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-21016 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:56:35 -0500 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-12181 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-12181 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:01:47 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-10429 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-10429 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:25:15 -0600 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-1366 http://www.gizmag.com/solar-panel-1-per-watt-grid-parity/11143/#comment-1366 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:55:05 -0500