Industry background:

PV is a basic type of solar electric technology. The market for photovoltaic and solar thermal and products, equipment, materials and services, is exploding worldwide with recent estimates projecting the PV market to grow from US$13 billion today to over $40 billion in 2012. Worldwide investments in the production of photovoltaic (PV) cells will rise to the same level as those for semiconductor manufacturing by 2010, due to booming demand for solar energy, according to iSuppli. Each PV factory will require an investment of US$500 million and more, will employ as many as 1,000 workers per site, and will generate annual revenue of US$1 billion per year or more, putting them into the size, cost and employment range of semiconductor fabs.