Solar commodity: Most silicon solar cells use polysilicon, shown here.
Credit: Courtesy of Wacker Chemie Ag
Silicon shortages drove up prices, but supplies are now increasing.
In 2003, the spot-market price of a kilogram of silicon used for solar cells was $24.
But by 2007, it was $400.
Silicon, which is derived from quartz, has accounted for up to one-third the cost of a solar panel since a boom in solar power drove up the price of raw materials. But an expected jump in silicon production should improve solar power's economics.
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Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
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