GE to Build Largest Solar Factory in U.S. in Colorado

In perhaps its biggest solar move since acquiring PrimeStar Solar [7], General Electric Co., (NYSE: GE [8]) announced plans to build America's largest solar factory in Colorado.

The plans to build the factory were actually made this past April, but a location had not been settled on until recently. Aurora, Colorado - a suburb of Denver - is the energy giant's choice, due to proximity to testing lines and available space. However, considering the current climate for solar panel production [9], the venture is a risky one.

Low-cost photovoltaics have led to considerable fallout in the solar market. Some of the biggest solar panel producers in the U.S. recently succumbed to bankruptcy [10] - due in large part to the reduced prices coming out of Asian markets. [11] Many of them having also received large government loans.

But GE intends to drop prices even further and still turn a profit, looking to its successes with wind as an example.

Says Vic Abate, GE's Vice President of Renewable Energy [12], ""It's a challenging industry for sure, but the cost of solar had to come down for it to become a mainstream power source."

The factory - which will be larger than 11 football fields and pack an annual capacity of 400 MW (enough to power 11,000 homes) - will be built without government subsidies and will produce "thin film" panels from cadmium telluride.

Similar to panels built by First Solar [13], they are less efficient at converting the sun's rays into electricity than traditional crystalline silicon panels, but are cheaper to manufacture and therefore produce power at a lower cost.