Electricity from sand and sun” is the slogan that many people have made a top priority. Business with photovoltaics is booming, the industry is growing and is going public. Not too long ago, things were different. Analysts did not believe in the formula but rather technicians, visionaries, do-gooders. Even longer ago, a small company in Bonn, Germany began dealing in solar power modules. They started building the large blue plates themselves along with all of the components that make up this type of plate. The Solar- World AG corporation was created from the SolarWorld, business enterprise. The company is among the top trio in the solar power industry. It is listed at the top of the Tec-Dax and has over 1,300 employees.

The corporate headquarters is still in Bonn. However, additional branches have
sprung up across the globe: in Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Singapore and the USA. Most people work in Freiberg in Saxony, where the 100 per cent subsidiaries, Deutsche Solar AG, Deutsche Cell GmbH and Solar Factory GmbH are located. The company’s second large manufacturing site is in the USA, the largest portion is in Camarillo, CA, the smaller one is in Vancouver, WA. The factories were transferred to SolarWorld following the purchase of the Shell company’s solar division. The weight of the American branch is increasing enormously at present. On March 1st of this year, SolarWorld announced that it was building the largest solar factory in the USA in Hillsboro, OR. It purchased a factory which once belonged to the Japanese semi-conductor company, Komatsu. Up to 1,000 people will work in the new factory.

Products of the companies in the USA and Germany cover the total spectrum of added value: silicon blocks, which are sawed into slices by using very strong, razor- thin steel threads. These wafers are processed into solar cells, these cells are connected and are placed on a plate. Already now this system could deliver power as long as it does not rain and the cells begin to rust. To prevent that from happening, the cells are held together and protected by glass, special adhesives, silicon and weather-resistant synthetic materials. The UL and TÜV seal reconfirms this every year: These modules are indestructible. The performance warranty covers 25 years.

Since SolarWorld has not lost its roots as a business retailer, the company sells not only modules. Solar systems which target the needs of the end-customer are the focus of the international marketing team – regardless of whether the roof is steep, angular or flat. These Sunkits have everything an electrician needs for his customer: modules, inverters, racks with the matching cables, screws, and nuts. Connection and assembly plans are also included. SolarWorld sells these products primarily via electro wholesalers. This path has proven itself: “Products and services from Solar- World AG offer high quality at a fair price/performance ratio,” says Frank Henn, head of marketing. “Our clients, whom we support professionally in the marketing of our products, are at the heart of all of our activities. We pick up our installers directly at their front doors.” Politics is to thank for the fact that the industry as developed into such an important economic force so quickly. The Renewable Energy Law in Germany, the Million Solar Roofs Initiative of the U.S. Federal government and the solar initiatives in various Federal states increased the speed. Many people realized: Investment in a solar electric system is profitable not only for ecological but also for financial reasons. Investors take an interest in large facilities, companies allow photovoltaics facilities to be built on their production and sales centers, private developers finance their energy roof under special conditions.

However, these programs are only one jump start in a new era which has to get by without fossil fuels. Every year, state contributions to the solar power facilities fall. SolarWorld AG is using this time to advance technology. Research and development are extremely important. The solar cells are becoming thinner and better.

This saves silicon, which is not currently available in sufficient amounts on the global market. The international Bonn company needs not be concerned about this – after all it has secured silicon supplies by means of long-term delivery contracts. Since people at SolarWorld have always enjoyed looking somewhat farther ahead, together with Degussa AG, they founded Joint Solar Silicon. And they developed a new procedure to manufacture silicon so that power from the sand and the sun will soon be as natural as the use of mobile phones is today.