Tech giants rush to solar power

— -- Semiconductor companies are rushing into the solar power business faster than a Pentium-driven computer, promising to turn a niche form of renewable energy into a mass-market product.

Drawing the stalwarts is solar's 40% annual growth, says Gartner analyst Jim Hines. The 50-year-old chip business is expanding only about 5% annually after years of torrid growth.

Like the computer chip, solar cells use silicon or another semiconducter as a basic part. By replicating the chip industry's high-volume automated manufacturing, tech companies can deliver solar at prices competitive with grid power faster than the industry's current 2010-15 target, he says. Among the entrants:

•IBM. The computer giant in May unveiled a breakthrough concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system that magnifies sunlight to 10 times the energy from today's CPV units, cutting the number of solar panels needed. A liquid metal absorbs heat so the semiconductor doesn't melt, technology IBM developed to cool high-power computer chips. IBM last month announced a new technique for thin-film solar — which uses 1% of the semiconductor in standard panels — to cut costs and boost efficiency. IBM says it will license both technologies.

•Intel. The No. 1 chipmaker this month said it's investing $38 million in German solar panel maker Sulfurcell. That followed the June spinoff of its own fledgling solar unit.

•National Semiconductor. The chip giant last month said its new technology can boost energy output in solar panels by minimizing losses from shade. It drew from its expertise in power management in cellphones. Executive Ralph Muenster wants to make passive solar systems "smarter."