1. Timing of Market Entry Strategy Analysis for Home Solar Panel
Home Panels
Timing of Market Entry Strategy Analysis for Home Solar Panel By
Mohammed Khadim 1

2. What is Solar Energy? Advantages: Clean Abundant Free Disadvantages:
Must be captured, concentrated, stored, and converted to be used as energy
Cost of solar systems remains higher than traditional energy alternatives
Cost dependent on technical and cost limitations of existing materials and systems
Lack of private sector research investment
Immature industry does not yet generate profit margins large enough to allow for significant reinvestment

3. Home Solar Panel Technology
Solar panels can be used in a variety of different ways in order to harness energy from the sun
Two types of home solar panels in common use today
solar electric panels
solar hot water panels
Solar electric panels or photovoltaic (PV) panels capture the solar energy in light form and then convert it to electricity
Solar hot water panels capture the solar energy in heat form which is then transferred to the water
Recent designs of solar water heaters have increased the efficiency of these home-based systems, and are certainly a strong contender against solar PV panels

4. Home Solar Panel Technology (cont.)
Past - silicon which is used in computers as well
Recent - other materials and metals because of rising cost of silicon
Gallium arsenide – NASA and government use but very expensive
As the cost of solar technologies decreases, and the cost of fossil fuels increases, we are likely to see a widespread increase of home solar panel installations

5. Photovoltaic (PV) Technology
PV is an extraordinary energy technology
Continues to be researched and deployed
Cost effective energy source in many countries including Japan, and Germany
PV cells are very important in producing enough sunlight and heat in order to successfully produce the energy that is needed in order to heat up water, heat homes and power electricity
Solar PV energy is perfect technology because of its ability to improve the national security and boost the economy

6. Suitability of Solar Usage
best when more than 60% of daylight hours sunny 6

8. Timing Of Market Entry Strategies
Technology has to exist
Needs to be marketable
Must be a need for it
Company producing the technology has a good reputation
Company has to have money to produce it
Time of delivery is important
Be able to build on the existing technology
Needs to be developed quickly, simply and cost effectively
Needs to be attractive to the buyer
Timing of entry is related to likelihood of success 8

9. First Movers (Pioneers)
First mover bears the most expense and risk for development and introducing a new innovation
First Home solar panels began full commercial operation of its initial manufacturing line in late 2004
From 2004 through today, manufacturing capacity has grown 2.5 percent to more than 500 megawatts in 2008
First Solar’s annual production capacity will double in 2009 to more than 1 gigawatt

10. Knowledge of Customer Needs
Customer care about
Environment
Over 70 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated from fossil fuels, a finite resource that emits greenhouse gases and other pollution
Security
Air we breathe
Climate change
Home Solar Panel
Drastically reduces the energy bills
Reduces the cost of living
Domestic energy source
Clean
Clean energy, good jobs and economy have already started in the United States and it is gaining momentum

11. Improvement Over Previous Technology
From 2004 through today, First Solar’s manufacturing costs have declined two-thirds from over $3 per watt to less than $1 per watt
approximately 1 watt of PV generating devices was manufactured
approximately 1 billion watts were manufactured worldwide
In late 2007 the United States installed just over 3400MW of solar power (including PV, CSP, and solar hot water)
Solar energy manufacturing expanded capacity of thin-film PV, silicon manufacturing, and other equipment production and grew 74 percent

12. Mature Enabling Technology
Main parts for building home solar panel are:
Solar cells or photovoltaic cells or simply just PV
Plywood
Glass
Copper wire
Silicone
UV protector
Solar cells or photovoltaic cells are the heart of a solar panel
Solar PV customers must be able to connect to the utility grid without undue delay and expense
Consumers should be equipped with PV systems that meet their energy needs while crediting customers for all the energy they generate
Utilities should charge consumers fairly for the electricity they consume and make the same rate choices available to solar customers that are available to other customers

13. Industry Experience Increase Returns
Making electricity directly from sunlight using silicon-based solar cells was patented by .M. Chapin, C.S. Fuller and G.L. Pearson, of Bell Laboratory in 1954
Solar must be at or below the cost of fossil fuels if it is going to play a major role in the market
Solar PV market has been studied until 2012 by EPIA Global Market Outlook for PVs, the solar PV market has been successful over the last years and it is expected more successful in the coming years
In the coming years it is expected that the rate of annual growth will exceed at 30 percent

14. Industry Experience Increase Returns (cont.)
Markets for solar panels are in Europe (Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Portugal) and also USA, China, Japan, South Korea, India
In 2006 the largest market for solar PVs was in Europe
United States ranks 4th in the world for installing solar power after Germany
2020 goal for the Solar Program
Cost of solar energy to be competitive with fossil fuels
Solar industry estimates that growth rates above 25% annually are possible, resulting in a $27 billion market by 2020
Market growth would result in a United States solar industry that could employ 150,000 people by 2025
Growth means new jobs, a stronger economy, and increased energy independence
Demand for solar PV cells now outpaces demand for computer chips

15. Accelerate Market Acceptance
Policy to ensure deployment of solar energy
Financial incentive which ensures market stability and cost reductions
Continued incentives and supply chain efficiency will help make the cost of solar competitive with fossil fuels
Federal government has shown support for solar energy in recent years with the passage of Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provides tax credits for investors in solar power systems
Starting in 2008, home builders offer solar panels as one of the options for new homes in California. Customers who install the system will pay a time-of-use rate, increasing their savings further. Customers will sell back excess electricity to the electrical utility at retail prices.
In the last 5 years, home solar electricity installations have seen a large increase due to
Increased education on climate change
Increasing electricity bills

16. Available Complementary Goods
Producing solar panels has two technologies
Solar panel
Thin file
Solar panel is based on silicon as raw material
Global silicon market is limited and closed
Price of silicon increases constantly
By 2010 it is expected that the silicon will reach 8-10 GWp.
For some years silicon was the bottleneck of the PV industry
Solar panel is expensive because of the high costs of raw materials and the cost of the production, cost estimated at 3,5 Euro per W.
Thin File
Expanding rate of Thin Film capacities is faster than other technology.
By 2010 is expected that approximately 4GW of Thin Film capacity will be available
Estimated cost of thin film per WP is 90 cents Eur
One major advantage of thin film is it uses less silicon absorber material

17. Conclusion
The strategy for the timing of market entry for home solar panels was first-mover

18. Questions? 18