But it’s marching closer to the battlefield. After years of research and development, along with unfulfilled promises, some makers of CIGS (or variations of the same ingredients) thin films seem to be finally getting ready. Solar Frontier, part of Showa Shell, is building a 900-MW factory in Japan, a manufacturing capacity that could turn the company into the most formidable CIGS competitor. The new factory, its third, would put the company’s total annual production capacity at 980 MW. Solar Frontier expects to start rolling out panels this fall and reach mass production by next spring, says Greg Ashley, the new chief operating officer for Solar Frontier’s American operations.