Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 2:58:53 PM - by Nate Lew

General Electric reportedly plans to expand its solar business in the next couple of years with low-priced photovoltaic panels.

A report on CNET News quotes GE official Michael Idelchik as saying that by 2011, the company will be producing solar panels with cadmium telluride, which is said to be the same material used by First Solar.

The company also noted that GE currently produces its panels from silicon, which has generally been considered an industry standard for years.

According to First Solar's website, it currently has the lowest photovoltaic panel manufacturing cost per watt in the industry, with 87 cents per watt after breaking the $1 per watt barrier in 2008. The company also says its manufacturing capacity for the panels is more than one gigawatt.

With GE also set to enter the market with low-cost solar panels, consumers may turn out to be the winners in the long run - especially since photovoltaic prices have fallen as much as a third in recent months due to the recession and high inventory levels worldwide.