Where to buy new bulk solar cells $,31-$.65 a watt?
 

Two years back I was reading a thread on a different forum about where to buy solar cells and an individual posted a link to a manufacturer of cells and at that time the price for me was about $.51 a watt for brand new tabbed cells per $500 pallet but varied on volume and type of cell. It was not from a reseller and the price was achieved after a quote there wasn't a list of in stone prices on the website.

I am curious does anyone know which manufacturer sells the cells in bulk this way? Google has been useless lately just giving bogus ads with places either selling $5k worth at a time or broken garbage for a $1.5 a watt and I don't want to bother with ebay, rather buy them new from the source.

Cheers
Ryan May

I'd be interested as well if anyone has any idea... I think I could handle dropping $500 for 1kw of solar cells.

Count me in:)

Conventional wisdom holds that below $1/W installed cost, it becomes cheaper to do a solar installation than a new fossil fuel installation.

Solyndra have been bragging about breaking the $1/W barrier, but that's $1/W cost to manufacture the panels, on their newest process, for which they're still expanding capacity. That does not position them to sell cells for anywhere near $1/W, though.

What Is Solyndra?s Cost per Watt? -- Seeking Alpha

I haven't seen anything *for sale* for less than about $2.50/W blemished, or $3/W new, by the $10000 pallet.

I have subscriptions to Home Power magazine and Mother Earth News. Recently one of those two, (HP, I think) ran an editorial page dealing with these solar cells. Without being able to quote the article precisely, the gist of it was to stay away. Solar panels are manufactured in clean room type facilities and then they are sealed to prevent air from attacking the connections. They made it sound very reasonable why you would get very low performance and a short life out of home fabricated panels. My two cents worth.

The price above is a small price to pay though to prove whether they actually work or not.

Half the cost of solar cells is the epoxy they are set in, the tempered glass that they are placed behind and the aluminum frames that you use for mounting them.
I also agree completely with home sealed cells not lasting as long, my parents have some that are almost 30 years old that still look and work perfect, there is no reason that they should not last another 30-50 years, I've also seen set ups that sealed with silicone caulk on some form of pan and the whole set up was falling appart after just a few years.

I could care less and am kicking myself I didn't bookmark the site, they have been around a long time and their website from what I remember was fairly simple and had a building and sun as an image behind the links.

My main interest is not in using all the cells, only enough to build an odd voltage trickle charger, the rest I would ebay at the ridiculous $1-$3 per watt prices people are paying just for blasted cells, I swear the folks on ebay are retarded. Most auctions sell individual cells, sometimes broken for more than I can buy a panel, rediculous!

Cheers
Ryan

I think the lowest priced PV is the stuff you laminate onto metal roofing. No glass, no aluminum frames, no epoxy.

Sam's Club - Folding Solar Panel

Lets hold sams club to provide the solar panel with the specs stated above, it would make a wicked arc cutting tool or welder.

hell yeah 800 amps @ 12v! That's enough to power a big frickin' amplifier... so what if you don't want subs, use it to control your electric car's motor... :thumbup:

on topic, I can't remember seeing any <$1/w panels for sale anywhere, except bags of broken junk. Good luck though, I'd start buying at those prices

nano solar is using a method where they print the solar panels on a flexable substrate and uses no glass, they are supposed to start selling to the public soon, rmay i will look for the source you are speaking of.

Google and its real gems.

http://www.bulksolarcells.com/

http://www.easyfreeenergy.com/solar/?cd=Sl1906

woah, I would really consider the solar links from a script generated website with a guy getting arrested as the graphic. :(

I believe I have found who used to sell cells in bulk but they must no longer do so :(

Ah well.

Sally sold solar cells out by the sunset?

Sally sold "C" grade solar cells out by the sunset.

Sally sold sullied "C" grade solar cells out by the sunset.

Can we keep it going? LOL.

Silly Sally's sullen sister said she sold sullied "C" grade solar cells as she sang a sad soliloquy in the soil out by the sunset...

Silly Sally's sullen sister said she supposedly sold sullied "C" grade solar cells as she sipped synthetic Sangria and sang a sad soliloquy in the sifted soil out by the summer sunset.

Highlighted for clarity.

Silly Sally's sullen sister said she supposedly sold sullied "C" grade solar cells as she sadly sipped Sangria and skillfully sang a sad soliloquy as she was subsequently suddenly sequestered in the stifling steeple for sifting soil out by the stunning summer sunset.

What was the topic again??

Should we stop?

I thought the topic was kind of covered when the OP reported back in his last post.

Should silly Sally's sullen sister stop saying she supposedly sold sullied "C" grade solar cells as she sadly sipped synthetic Sangria and skillfully sang a sad soliloquy as she was subsequently suddenly sequestered in the stifling steeple for sifting soil out by the stunning summer sunset stippling the Southern skyline??

You win. Holy crap. I'm not even going to try to add to that.