LG Electronics Enters North American Solar Market

LG Electronics Inc. (LGERF.PK) today announced its entry into the North American commercial solar industry.

The company already markets solar panels for residential, rooftop and commercial applications in other global markets. 

LG also already has a strong presence in the North American consumer and business-to-business marketplace for other products.

Launching LG solar panels in the United States represents a milestone in the company’s plans to expand its global solar business to $2.4 billion by 2015.

LG Electronics said it plans to invest $820 million over the next five years in solar cell research and manufacturing to increase production capacity to more than one gigawatt.

LG Electronics made the announcement at the Solar Power International 2010 conference in Los Angeles, California. The company unveiled multicyrstalline modules and monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) modules that it will market in North America.

The panels are designed for a variety of installations including on-grid general applications such as residential, commercial and power generation for utilities:

• RIE Module – This technology applies RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) innovation, previously used for semiconductors, to solar cells.
• MWT Module – This multicrystalline module includes LG metal wrap through (MWT) technology, which can remove the wide ribbon usually found on the front of a multicrystalline module.
• High Power Monocrystalline Module – This module combines all of LG’s second-generation cell manufacturing technology into one unit. It will be available in 2011.
• Tandem Thin Film – This large-area double-junction solar cell has one of the world’s highest efficiency. Capitalizing on market demand for sustainable solutions, LG is developing non-toxic silicon thin film that does not require scarce resources to produce. LG Tandem Thin Film uses wide light wavelength range for high power generation efficiency, with an initial efficiency rate of 11.1%.
• Multicrystalline module– This module is designed for home, building rooftops and power generation facilities.  This multicrystalline module has a low-light induced degradation (LID).
• Monocrystalline module – This module is designed for residential roof-top and building applications and is light weight and highly durable.

LG Electronics North America, based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of Korea’s LG Electronics, Inc.