Thin film maker PrimeStar Solar sells majority stake to GE Energy
PrimeStar Solar, a startup developing thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells, has sold a majority state to General Electric Energy, a division of tech giant GE.
Founded in 2006, PrimeStar makes use of technology developed in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In 2007, the company received around $3 million as part of a DoE grant, and later announced a strategic investment by GE.
Relatively few thin-film manufacturers use CdTe technology, but among them is one of the most successful solar companies around, First Solar. The investment may indicate that GE has ambitions to add a solar subsidiary the size of $21 billion First Solar to its family of companies.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed. PrimeStar is based in Golden, Colorado, with offices in Montague, Michigan.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.