Imagine a time when electricity could cost you almost nothing and there would be an endless supply of it, so much so that you might even have a surplus of it.

Imagine a time when nearly every household, apartment complex, town home and condo would be covered with photovoltaic cells.

Well actually you don’t have to imagine too far in the future for all of this. There has been a phenomenal growth in interest and investment of solar energy. The solar industry has gotten a new lease of life with the resurgence and newfound enthusiasm in solar energy from projects like San Francisco’s huge new grant program to a new 280 MW plant in Arizona’s desert. Joining the bandwagon is one of the most successful manufacturers of consumer microprocessors, Intel.

To get solar power going in a big way, Intel is establishing a solar startup unit in order to gather investments required for it to become one of the forerunners in this field. The new company is named SpectraWatt Inc. Intel Capital.

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Intel’s global investment organization has started off by an initial investment of $50 million. Joining Intel is a powerful coalition of power corporations and interests, including Cogentrix Energy, Solon AG, LLC (a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs) and PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund ("CETF").

Photovoltaic cells are the "circuit" part of solar panels, which convert sunlight to energy, via the photoelectric effect. The primary business of the company would be the manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells. This is expected to spin off by the end of Q2 2008, by which time the business side of the transaction is expected to be wrapped up. The company aims at mass-producing the cells to be sold to panel makers.

Since the making of photovoltaic is similar, on a most basic manufacturing level, to making computer chips, the formation of this company is a logical move for Intel. The primary focus of the company would be to bring down the cost of the cells by improving on the manufacture process. The company would also strive to advance solar technologies, to improve efficiencies, and to improve the value of the cells sold. A new manufacturing and technology center in Oregon, is where all this would take place. The company has ideas to commence construction by the end of Q2 2008 and it is scheduled to be complete and start shipping units by the middle of 2009.

The president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president Arvind Sodhani, is of the opinion that this new solar company is a fine example of Intel’s leading influence. “SpectraWatt is a great example of technology resulting from entrepreneurial efforts inside Intel. This is an important investment for Intel Capital in the growing cleantech sector and we look forward to working with the company to support its expansion,” Sodhani stated.

There is a tremendous growth potential for the company. Photon Consulting, which tracks the market estimated than in 2007 the market for solar products amounted to $30 billion, up a whopping 50 percent from 2006. This is quite amazing considering the fact that solar power costs twice the price of traditional fossil fuel power, with capital expenses factored in. All these expenses are expected to drop tremendously within a couple of years, bringing with it a yearly growth of 30-40 percent.

This new venture of Intel is just another step in the company’s campaign to be “green” and promote environmental responsibility. Intel leads the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power list as the largest purchaser of green energy credits Andrew B. Wilson, SpectraWatt Chief executive officer and former general manager in the Intel New Business Initiatives group praised Intel's work, saying, "The formation of SpectraWatt is an important step forward in the renewable energy market. We are pleased to work with these companies in the goal of moving toward long-term national energy independence."

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