The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has recently formed alliances with five U.S. companies to find faster, cheaper ways of manufacturing photovoltaic devices: Astropower, Inc. (Newark, DE), Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX), Solarex Corp. (Rockville, MD), Solar Cells, Inc. (Toledo, OH) and Golden Photon (Golden, CO).

Texas Instruments is trying to improve its "spheral" cells which consist of thousands of tiny silicon balls bonded to a thin, flexible sheet of aluminum. This application would save on costs by allowing photovoltaic cells to utilize less expensive, metallurgical-grade silicon. Likewise, Astropower, Inc. also attempting to use a low-cost substrate, upon which layers of silicon would be deposited.

NREL also reports that its partnership with United Solar Systems Corp. "reached its zenith recently when the company announced plans to build one of the world's largest photovoltaic production facilities." The plant, to be located at Newport News, VA, is scheduled for completion in late 1995. NREL reports that "high efficiencies plus the economies of scale attainable with a large production facility are expected to reduce the cost of solar electricity from today's 25 -40 per kilowatt-hour to 16 /kWh.