Alta’s efficiency rating was reportedly verified by the United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Above is a solar farm.

Santa Clara, California-based Alta Devices has achieved 23.5 percent efficiency for their gallium arsenide solar panels, paving the way for commercialization according to the company.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic manufacturer Abound Solar is beginning production for 82.8-watt modules in their factory in Longmont.

Alta's efficiency rating was reportedly verified by the United States Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The company said it focuses on gallium arsenide because of its efficiency advantages and ability to generate power even under high temperatures and low light.

Though gallium arsenide is known for being expensive to produce, Alta said it developed a manufacturing technique that allows the company to use very thin layers of the material for solar cells only one micron thick, keeping material costs low.

The thin cells are also flexible, with the potential to be integrated into a variety of applications such as building integrated photovoltaics.

The company is in the midst of building a pilot manufacturing line for their cells and is starting to plan for full-scale production.

"Our goal is to optimize the production economics of solar so that it is competitive with fossil fuels without subsidies, leading to broad adoption of solar generated electricity," said Christopher Norris, Alta president and chief executive.

About a year ago, Alta Devices became one of the first companies to get first round investments from Energy Technology Ventures, a joint venture between ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy and G.E.

Another thin-film PV maker, Abound Solar, said its 82.8-W new module design will have 12.2 percent aperture efficiency, which is in the process of being verified by NREL.

In a statement, Abound Solar said the first module in the plant came out in early January this year. They expect to begin mass production in the second half of 2012, and to start making 85-W modules in the first half of 2013.

"We are very proud of this achievement and I think it underscores the tremendous capabilities of CdTe thin-film technology as a leading solution for competitive, reliable solar power made in the U.S.A.," said Craig Witsoe, president and chief executive of Abound Solar.

Abound Solar already has several installations using their CdTe modules around the world and produced their one-millionth module in December 2011. The company is currently expanding their Longmont, Colorado factory with further expansion efforts within the U.S. scheduled for 2013. (Katrice R. Jalbuena)