Polaroid’s defunct factories now build solar panels for homes

Polaroid has suffered several challenges to its original business model of instantly printing pictures on the spot. Those range from digital pictures to the ubiquitous availability of store printing stations, and finally the presence of mobile phones in most households which makes printing photos completely unnecessary for many. That’s where building solar panels steps in.

Though Polaroid has had to adapt its business to accommodate different levels of demand, the factories built during its years of success are still very much present – and vacant. Konarka, saw an opportunity to repurpose those factories to build solar panels for the home and a variety of other applications.

Konarka’s solar panels are a bit different than other types, they’re made of “power plastic” and can be integrated easily in small form factors. For example they can be used in windows, bags and briefcases. The Polaroid factories were a good fit because the equipment in them was previously used to manufacture sheets of film. Now they builds sheets of solar panels.

Of course, a prominent thought with an initiative like this is the possible jobs it could create in the local community. Green jobs are a ray of hope in our current economy but as Michael Levi, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations (source: NPR) points out, the economy is intertwined. Creating more green jobs may take jobs away from the coal industry because overall there is a finite demand for electricity.

Solar panels for homes are sure to continue on their path toward affordability and once enough consumers use them our overall demand for generated electricity could see a decline. That’s good because it even further reduces our affect on the environment but it isn’t all sugar and spice as Levi points out.