International Solar Electric Technology
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Photovoltaics, Solar energy |
| Founded | March 24, 1985 |
| Founder | Dr. Vijay K. Kapur, Dr. Bulent M. Basol, Mr. Eric Tseng |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Chatsworth, California , United States |
Key people | Vijay K. Kapur (CEO) |
| Products | Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic modules |
International Solar Electric Technology (ISET) was a privately held firm focused on copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) photovoltaics. Established on March 24, 1985, by Dr. Vijay K. Kapur, Dr. Bulent M. Basol, and Mr. Eric Tseng, the company was headquartered in Chatsworth, California, with Vijay K. Kapur acting as its CEO.
For over twenty years, ISET’s investigations—largely supported by funding from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—played a vital role in advancing the CIGS solar industry. The expertise of ISET’s personnel contributed to the foundation and development of leading CIGS enterprises such as Nanosolar, Solopower, Showa, and Honda Soltec. Although venture capital investment was limited, ISET intended to commercialize thin-film photovoltaic modules manufactured at a new facility in Chatsworth, aiming for an annual production capacity in the hundreds of megawatts after pilot-scale validation.
The company targeted initial module efficiencies of 10% at a cost of $0.65 per watt, with plans to enhance efficiency to 15% while reducing costs to $0.50 per watt. Ultimately, ISET envisioned manufacturing expenses falling to approximately $0.40 per watt—nearly one-tenth of existing market prices.