Abound, U.S. solar startup, takes on First Solar

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES, April 14 (Reuters) - Abound Solar, a U.S. solar startup whose top rival is low-cost industry leader First Solar Inc (FSLR.O), starts production at its first factory on Tuesday, promising that it will lead the way to making solar competitive with power from dirtier sources.

Abound, a private company that was known as AVA Solar until last month, will make cadmium telluride solar panels at its first full-scale plant in Longmont, Colorado, where it will eventually produce 200 megawatts of solar modules annually.

Using cadmium telluride as its key raw material puts Abound in direct competition with First Solar, the Wall Street darling whose low-cost technology has been snapping up solar power deals with U.S. utilities including Sempra Energy (SRE.N) and Edison International (EIX.N).

Traditional solar panel makers use polysilicon as their main raw material, making the panels more efficient in transforming sunlight to electricity, but also more costly.

Abound Solar's management said it would easily compete with Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar, the solar equivalent of an industry behemoth.

"We think we have a slight technological advantage over First Solar," Chief Executive Pascal Noronha said in an interview. "And by the way I think very highly of First Solar."

Abound's manufacturing process, Noronha said, is completely automated and continuous, allowing the company to convert sheets of glass into solar panels in less than two hours without human labor.