DuPont sees revenue growth from solar rising 20-30%

Chemicals maker DuPont said revenue growth from its solar power business could accelerate above 20 to 30%, fuelled by demand for the clean energy, a top executive told Reuters on the sidelines of an economic forum in Guangzhou on Friday.

DuPont, which is looking to bolster its presence in the solar-energy space and triple its annual photovoltaic sales to more than USD1 billion in 2012, had been expanding its solar business by 20 to 30%, Thomas Connelly, executive vice-president and chief innovation officer, told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

When asked whether that trend would continue in the next few years, Connelly said: "Absolutely. It could accelerate."

"As we reach the point of grid parity the adoption of solar will accelerate," he said.

Grid parity is the price level at which photovoltaic power becomes competitive with traditionally generated power.

DuPont's move into solar is part of a broader push by the chemical industry to supply solar cell producers with technologies to make the renewable energy source more efficient.

The global economic recovery was now underway, Connelly said.

"We see some bright spots in the global economy," he said. "Certainly, we see some of the large developing markets of Asia, notably China and India, are moving ahead very strongly."