Abound Solar

Abound Solar

Company type	Private
Industry	Solar energy, Photovoltaics
Predecessor	AVA Solar
Founded	2007
Headquarters	Longmont, Colorado , United States
Products	Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic panels

Abound Solar was an American producer specializing in cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic panels. Its manufacturing operations were based in Longmont, Colorado. Initially founded in 2007 under the name AVA Solar and rebranded two years later, the enterprise concentrated on bringing cost-effective solar panel technology to market. In 2012, the company reduced its workforce by nearly 50% before halting production and entering bankruptcy proceedings.

History

The origins of Abound Solar trace back to research on thin-film deposition techniques initiated in the late 1980s by its founders. In 1991, Dr. W.S. Sampath—a professor at Colorado State University and one of the company's founders—secured a patent for an economical metal deposition method conducted within a vacuum environment. Collaborating with co-founders Al Enzenroth and Kurt Barth, Sampath pinpointed cadmium telluride as a promising material for producing affordable photovoltaic modules.

By 1998, the team had developed a pilot-scale production system utilizing an inline single-vacuum semiconductor deposition apparatus. With backing from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Science Foundation, the technology underwent several years of refinement. By 2004, they achieved scaling up to 16-by-16-inch glass substrates, supported by federal funding through NREL and the Solar America Initiative to demonstrate commercial feasibility.

In 2006, AVA Solar was formed with private angel capital aimed at commercializing this technology. The proprietary manufacturing process attracted institutional investors by early 2007. In 2010, Abound obtained a $400 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to facilitate increased production capacity.

Despite significant funding, financial difficulties emerged; early in 2012, Abound reduced its staff by almost half due to operational setbacks. On June 28, 2012, the company announced it would cease operations and proceeded to file for bankruptcy protection in July.

Technology

Abound Solar manufactured cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic modules employing a proprietary closed-space sublimation process originally developed at Colorado State University.

Production

In April 2008, Abound Solar acquired a manufacturing facility in Longmont, Colorado, previously owned by Applied Films. The company rapidly refurbished this site to establish what became the largest thin-film solar module production plant in the United States, supporting its expansion and increasing market presence.

Environmental controversy

In February 2013, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued a compliance notice mandating Abound Solar to remediate approximately 2,000 pallets of defective solar panels containing cadmium—a known carcinogen—alongside cadmium-contaminated liquids. The bankruptcy trustee projected cleanup expenses at $2.2 million. By July 2013, hazardous waste remediation was finalized, and more than 70,000 usable remaining panels were shipped to Best Safety Glass in Singapore.

See also

• CdTe photovoltaics