This paper gives an extract of the state of the art of the manufacturing of semitransparent crystalline silicon POWER solar cells in an industrial environment. A short introduction of the POWER devices concept (see Fig. 1) will be given followed by an insight in the applied production process. Finally, examples effecting the efficiency distribution in the cell production and their solutions are given. It is believed that the lessons we learned in optimising the manufacturing process and production line of transparent POWER solar cells can be helpful for the increasing activities in the direction of thin wafers as well as novel solar cell devices. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.