CIS Thin Film PV panels are always critisized because they produce a little less power per m2 compared to the more expensive silicon panels. Anyone that cares to look at a roof with PV knows there is plenty of space, so what does it matter if the output is a bit less, but that is how selling points work. CIS panels are hard to come by because you need to order a large amount to convince traders to order them. The lesson is negative propagande is more effective in producing beliefs than positive reality, or maybe truth that is handed to us is more easily accepted.
Silicon PV is still energy intensive. It requires glass, plastic, heating, aluminum soldering and of course silicon. That energy cost is actually a positive thing, a driver for a product, in our carbon/credit economy. The coal and gas industry prefers solutions that generate revenues for them, revenues that the banks channel for them. Keynsian Economics has in its core the drive to maximize carbon fuel use. This is another reason why CIS is impopular, why it is a small player now for years.
This is all about to change now that Shell and Aramco have secretivly created large production capacity for CIS panels, that will shortly start flooding the market. They are being distributed through a company called Solar Frontier. How this came about will be studied in some more detail, but this is a positive thing for Shell and Saudi producer Aramco. They are LATE, but this is one way for them to also reduce fossil fuel use where it is not absolutely necessary to preserve liquid feuls for vehicles. And it makes business sense. Now let’s hope they wise up over Clathrate gas exploration..