The sin- gle counterexample has been the recent emergence of CdTe from First Solar,8 with a compelling low manufacturing cost in the range of $1.25/Wp. However,
there are some residual concerns about the environmental effects of Cd, leading First Solar to adopt a “cradle-to-grave” approach, from sourcing of Cd from mining byproducts through recovery and recycling of Cd from used solar cells.