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                                                                   EXHIBIT 23.1
 
              CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
 
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
AstroPower, Inc.:
 
  The audits referred to in our report dated December 5, 1997, included the
related financial statement schedule for the nine-month period ended September
30, 1997 and each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31,
1996, included in the registration statement. This financial statement
schedule is the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on this financial statement schedule based on our
audits. In our opinion, the financial statement schedule, when considered in
relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly,
in all material respects, the information set forth therein.
 
  We consent to the use of our reports included herein and to the references
to our firm under the heading "Experts" in the prospectus.
 
                                                 /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
                                                 _________________________
 
Wilmington, Delaware
   
February 9, 1998     
