Siemens Solar history, 1997 to 2000: a timeline from the company's own press releases
A dated timeline of Siemens Solar from its own press releases: the CIS thin-film modules, two efficiency records, Germany’s 100,000 Roofs and the RV and Earthsafe kits.
Key takeaways
- Siemens Solar announced its CIS thin-film modules (ST5, ST10) on 7 July 1998 and claimed to be the first to put CIS into series production.
- NREL verified 12.1 % efficiency for a large-area ST40 in April 1999, which Siemens called a thin-film record.
- The company described itself in 1999 as a family of joint ventures and had supplied over 150 MW worldwide.
- The releases stop before the business changed hands; this timeline does not cover that.
The clearest record of what Siemens Solar was doing at the end of the 1990s is its own press-release series. This page strings the dated releases and feature pages into a timeline. Everything in the table comes from those releases; where the story goes beyond them, we say so. Release lists and release bodies differ by a day or two for some dates; we use the date printed in each release.
How the company described itself in 1999: Siemens Solar comprised Siemens Solar GmbH in Munich, a joint venture of Siemens AG and Bayernwerk AG; Siemens Solar Industries L.P. in Camarillo, California; and two joint ventures, Siemens Showa Solar in Singapore and Showa Solar Energy KK in Tokyo, having supplied over 150 MW worldwide (August 1999 release).
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1997 | A Siemens-cited study says the US Coast Guard saves over $6 million in maintenance and disposal costs using Siemens modules, after a one-year, $1 million contract extension awarded in July 1997. |
| 21 and 27 Oct 1997 | Phase two of Detroit Edison’s SolarCurrents programme begins with the dedication of a 26.4 kW array of 420 Siemens modules in Southfield, Michigan (release dated 27 October). |
| 7 Apr 1998 | The Vancouver, Washington crystal-growing site of Siemens Solar Industries is ISO 9001 certified by TÜV Rheinland; a $2 million crystal-production efficiency project with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance is announced. |
| 7 Jul 1998 | At the Second World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion in Vienna, Siemens Solar announces a new family of CIS thin-film modules, starting with the 5 W ST5 and 10 W ST10. CEO Gernot Oswald presents ‘The PV Industry Moving into the Solar Century’. |
| 29 Sep 1998 | Siemens reports an 11.8 % conversion efficiency record for thin-film power modules of any size, using CIS. |
| 21 Dec 1998 | Siemens completes a three-year solar training programme in India sponsored by the World Bank and the Swiss Development Co-operation and coordinated by IREDA. |
| Late 1998 to 1999 | Germany’s 100,000 Roofs programme is announced. The sources give two accounts: the Oswald interview says it was announced before the elections by the economics minister, while the programme page credits the new SPD-Green coalition and says it begins in 1999 and runs six years. |
| 10 Mar 1999 | Siemens announces series production of the ST20 (20 Wp) and ST40 (38 Wp) CIS modules. |
| 29 Mar 1999 | Siemens reports that Yachting World rated the SP75 ‘Highly Commended’ and the SP36 top for reliability and ease of use in its ‘Great Atlantic Gear Test’. |
| 19 Apr 1999 | NREL verifies 12.1 % efficiency for a large-area ST40 CIS module, which Siemens calls a record for thin-film power modules. |
| 13 Jul 1999 | R&D Magazine selects Siemens’ ST family as an R&D 100 Award winner. |
| 26 Jul 1999 | Siemens introduces RV Power Kits (36, 50, 75 and 100 W) and more than 350 Authorized PowerPro dealers. |
| 16 Aug 1999 | Pre-engineered Earthsafe kits for homes announced, configured for 300 to 2,400 W; installed prices start at $3,395 for 300 W. |
| 15 Oct 1999 | UL listing for CIS thin-film modules (title in the release index). |
| 12 and 15 Jun 2000 | Marine solar kits ship to West Marine (12 June); Earthsafe 10 systems receive UL listing (15 June). These are release-index titles. |
The market as Siemens saw it in 1998
The market pages put worldwide production of solar cells and modules at about 120 MW in 1998, up from about 40 MW in 1990, with sales growing around 15 % a year. They judged it realistic that growth would continue at that rate, taking production to about 1,000 MW by 2010 and making PV a $5 billion industry. Siemens’ ‘quick tour’ page says Siemens Solar alone had shipped over 130 MW since its beginnings; the August 1999 release says over 150 MW.
Our arithmetic: 120 MW growing 15 % a year for twelve years is about 640 MW, so the 1,000 MW benchmark already assumed a rate nearer 19 % a year. Reality ran far ahead. IEA-PVPS’s trends report counted about 14.2 GW of PV installed during 2010 in its member countries, and later IEA-PVPS publications put 2010 world installations at about 16.6 GW (production and installation are different quantities, but both exceed Siemens’ benchmark by more than an order of magnitude).
What this timeline does not cover
The releases stop before the business changed hands. Public corporate histories report that Siemens’ solar business later passed to Shell; the releases do not cover that, and we have not verified the dates, so consult Siemens’ and Shell’s own histories before relying on them for a warranty or trademark question.
How Siemens explained photovoltaics in 1998
The history page tells the science story in a few paragraphs: Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect shortly after the start of the 20th century, the Bell Telephone Laboratories work of the mid-1950s that led to the transistor and the first practical solid-state solar cell, the space programme that bought cells at prices as high as $200 per watt, and the 1970s push for terrestrial power that began with warning systems on offshore buoys. It says prices ‘today’ are below $5 per watt. The ‘quick tour’ names Henri Becquerel and Werner Siemens in the early history. See the comparison page for how the modules compare today on power and weight.
Questions readers ask
What is CIS thin film?
Copper indium diselenide: a thin-film photovoltaic material deposited as a continuous layer rather than cut into silicon cells. Siemens used it in the ST5, ST10, ST20 and ST40 modules.
Which Siemens modules are CIS?
The ST series: ST5, ST10, ST20 and ST40. The SM, SP and SR series are silicon modules.
Does this timeline cover what happened to Siemens Solar after 2000?
No. Siemens’ releases stop before the business changed hands, and we have not verified the later corporate history.
Where do the dates come from?
From the date printed in each press release. Release lists and release bodies sometimes differ by a day or two.
Related guides
Siemens solar panels: module reference and datasheets
Reference for 16 Siemens Solar modules (SM, SP, SR, ST): datasheet values, derived figures, typical applications, array calculator and identifier.
Read more →Siemens Solar case files: how the modules were used
Index of 25 Siemens Solar installation notes in six groups: telecom, gas and water, RV and marine, homes, utility and street lighting.
Read more →Siemens ST40 solar module: datasheet and specifications
Siemens ST40 CIS thin-film module: Pmax 40 W, Vmp 16.6 V, Voc 22.2 V, 5-year warranty. Datasheet and calculated figures.
Read more →All 16 SM, SP, SR and ST modules with datasheets.