CircuiTree - August 2008 - (Page 40)

[ Fein–Lines ] By By Dan Feinberg Photovoltaics: Perhaps the Best Opportunity Since Plated Through-Hole W hat are the topics you hear most about, well, besides the Hillary/ Obama soap opera? They are dependence on foreign oil, price of oil, greenhouse gasses, and global warming. Let me start off by saying that I think manmade global warming is the best business strategy of the last decade and that Al Gore is a genius for riding that horse as long as he can. I personally do not believe in man- is now to support the manufacture of photovoltaic panels. A few months ago, Scientiﬁc American stated that “By 2050, solar power could totally end U.S. dependence on foreign oil.” Over the last few years, I have written and spoken about the need for a “Project Apollo for the 21st Century.” I believe that Project Apollo gave us the technology that we all now take for granted, and it gave us the strong economies of the late ‘80s and the ‘90s. Now we have a new challenge, made global warming. I do, however, support anything that reduces our dependence on foreign sources of fuel and, just like everyone else, I ﬁnd the cost to fuel a vehicle today is astounding but perhaps a bargain compared to what it will be. So what is the answer? There are many—more drilling for oil here at home, nuclear plants, wind farms, investment in hydrogen energy research, geothermal, and, of course, solar. Solar electricity generation requires a manufacturing process that is ideal for anyone who has PWB manufacturing expertise as so many of the processes to fabricate a solar panel are similar to those needed to fab a bare board. Many in our industry are already taking advantage of this opportunity. Dick Crowe (of Bürkle USA) told me just this week that a very large percentage of Bürkle’s business 40 August 2008 • circuitree.com and to achieve energy independence, especially using renewable energy, a national goal would deﬁne us and set our path for success for the rest of the century. Solar is a logical big hunk of such a plan and solar utilizes our industries technologies and processes. Let’s look at the potential: per Scientiﬁc American, the energy in sunlight striking the earth for 40 minutes is equal to total global energy consumption for one full year. The U.S. is endowed with a vast resource, at least 250,000 mi2 of unused sunlit land in the southwest, which is ideal for constructing solar power plants. That land receives over 4,500 quadrillion BTUs of solar energy a year. Just utilizing a tiny fraction of that energy would eliminate our need to buy oil from anyone. I have personal experiences with solar. Here in California, during the Grey Davis days, we were having brownouts almost every day and rotating blackouts every week in the summer. If you are involved with a virtual company, you know that a power outage totally shuts you down. If you are a homeowner, you know how inconvenient it is. In 2002, I decided to invest in 6.5 kW of solar panels and the equipment to utilize it. I have not been without power since, no matter what happens to the grid. My electric bill was reduced by 75 percent, and realtors I know say it increased the value of my property by more than the installation cost. On sunny days my power meter sometimes runs backward and even on partly cloudy days it runs far slower than my neighbors’. For ﬁve years I was the only solar-powered home in the area; lately, however, I am providing references and information to an everincreasing number of people who intend to install solar. The cost was about USD 7/W back then; it is now about USD 5/W and is projected to fall to under USD 4 soon. The point is that the need is increasing, the cost is decreasing, and the interest is increasing rapidly. Our industry knows the processes; this is a growing market that may be on the verge of explosive growth. A national energy plan, something that all the candidates are supporting, will catalyze this growth. I submit to all of you that this is something we should get involved in, something we should support. We should support it by letting our legislators know that we support it, and we should consider using it (assuming you live in a reasonably sunny area). It is good for our country, it is good for the environment, it is good for our industry, and it just might be absolutely amazingly good for those that get involved while this industry is still in the early growth phase. ■ Dan Feinberg is president and CEO of Fein-Line Associates Inc. and a founding partner in the Quantum Performance Group, LLC. Email: baer@mindspring.com http://circuitree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - August 2008

CirciuTree - August 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking Creating Connections Between Electronics Design and Manufacturing Happy Thoughts View From the Middle Market Outlook Fein Lines IPCA Showcase Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index Buyers Guide

CircuiTree - August 2008

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