Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

The news that Globe Specialty Metals was reopening its UMG-Si plant in Niagara Falls, Upstate New York revealed something else of interest. Earlier this year and barely out of stealth mode, SpectraWatt announced a change in location for its first solar cell manufacturing plant. Originally, SpectraWatt had planned for its HQ to be located in Oregon but later chose Hudson Valley Research Park in Hopewell Junction, NY, delaying its production ramp plans. It would seem that talk of great support from the Empire State Development (ESD), without giving any details at the time, now proves to have been a sweet deal indeed for SpectraWatt, Globe Specialty Metals and many more PV manufacturers interested in locating to the state.

Five of the leading Chinese crystalline-silicon solar cell and module manufacturers announced their quarterly financial results this week, and in a word, they were stellar, consistently beating market analysts’ estimates. Canadian Solar, China Sunergy, Solarfun, Suntech, and Trina Solar all saw their shipments of photovoltaic cells and modules jump way up, in some cases even double, and as a result, sequential revenues also increased significantly. The companies see the growth trend continuing, into the fourth quarter and beyond, suggesting that 2010 will be a boom year—and pushing the Chinese group to continue or even accelerate their capacity expansion plans, as they increase the efficiencies and power of their products and bring down nonsilicon manufacturing costs.

If you want to get into the thin-film PV game as a serious player, you have to benchmark your costs against First Solar and beat them. That’s a recurring theme among some TFPV start-ups I’ve talked to recently, companies that put as much emphasis on their cost and performance models as they do on touting their enhanced manufacturing of existing approaches (like CIGS) or new-fangled, next-gen technologies (like nanocomposite cells). One such firm gearing up for the long haul is Solexant, which hopes to leverage its inorganic semiconductor nanocrystalline secret sauce(s) with very-low-cost, monolithically integrated roll-to-roll processing and improved balance-of-system schemes.

While Q-Cells weathers the price erosions and market uncertainties of the crystalline-silicon sector, holding its cSi cellmaking production capacity steady for now, its top-performing thin-film unit and flagship of the new Q-Cells Modules brand—Solibro—is about to surpass the century nameplate mark as its second manufacturing plant comes online. The German copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide company with Swedish roots will have 90MW of nominal capacity to go with its existing 45MW, reaching a total of 135MW, according to Q-Cells boss, Anton Milner.

Materials provider to the semiconductor and solar industries Voltaix has announced an executive management change as company founder and CEO Dr. John P. de Neufville has resigned his post. Remaining in the role of president, chairman and chief scientist for the company, Dr. de Neufville will be replaced in the CEO role on an interim basis by Mark K. Fine (left) from January 1, 2010. Matthew Stephens, COO, has also announced that he is departing the company to pursue other opportunities.

Solar Power, Inc. has appointed finance and investment veteran Francis Chen to the board of directors. Mr. Chen, vice chairman with WI Harper Group, brings a wealth of management and private investment experience to the board as the company heads into a period of development. The WI Harper group manages over $400 million in invested capital.

Suntech CEO Dr. Zhengrong Shi has been appointed to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

ATSE, an independent, non-government organisation, selects professionals according to their success in influencing engineering and science in Australia. Inaugurated in Melbourne, the organisation has worked to promote science and engineering for practical purposes since February 1976.