http://www.pv-tech.org/ Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News Copyright 2008, Semiconductor Media en-GB info@pv-tech.org Fri, 16 May 2008 11:32:10 GMT 120 http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/asus_photovoltaic_testing_lab_shakes_bakes_zaps_modules_in_the_cause_of_saf As we walked through the dusty, weedy area of previously tested solar modules known as the "boneyard" at the Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory (PTL), my tour guide and lab marketing manager Paul Symanski warned me that "there might be snakes" among the piles of Solar Power Corp., Astropower, and other museum-worthy units. He offered this comment nonchalantly, as if he were asking me if I took cream and sugar in my coffee. Wed, 14 May 2008 10:48:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/socal_edison_to_announce_initial_supplier_for_solar_rooftop_projectguess_wh Southern California Edison's project to cover more than 100 warehouse and other industrial rooftops with 250 MW of solar/PV modules continues to move forward. Next week, the supplier of the first 2.2 MW's worth of PV for the initial installation on 600,000 square feet of rooftop will be announced. Here's a short statement that company spokesman Gil Alexander just sent me via email. Tue, 06 May 2008 08:03:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/dow_invites_cigs_leader_global_solar_to_sai_dance_leaving_miasoles_prospect Monday's announcement that Dow Chemical's Building Solutions unit has asked Global Solar Energy to participate in its Department of Energy Solar America Initiative (SAI) project to develop building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products came as no surprise--to me, anyway. During Chip Shots' visit to Global's Tucson, AZ, new plant last Friday, my hosts gave me a head's up on the news. The manufacturer (yes, manufacturer) of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film PV will work with the megacorporation's subsidiary to create and bring to market flexible solar-roofing materials, part of the SAI's goal of creating "solar electricity cost competitiveness with grid electricity by 2015." Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:19:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/it_rhymes_with_polymer_organic_pv_startup_solarmer_pushes_development_effor I recently became aware of another photovoltaic startup, one based in El Monte, not far from my digs in Los Angeles. Dina Lozofsky, who I met when she worked at UCLA with the California NanoSystems Institute, recently took the VP of IP development and strategic alliances position at Solarmer Energy. As she told me in a recent email, the PV newbie (with UCLA-developed basic tech) "is working to make flexible, translucent, efficient polymer solar cells a reality, and we have just achieved the first demonstration of our technology. As far as we know," she continued, "this is the first polymer solar cell charging of a mobile phone (see photo below). The panel was successfully tested out charging multiple brands of phones." Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:22:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/sending_solar_energy_from_commercial_rooftops_to_the_grid_socal_edisons_aud The idea may not be original, but it has an elegant obviousness: why not use some of the many industrial rooftops in the sprawling southern California megalopolis as sites for megawatt-level, solar-powered electricity-generating plants? The scale of the recently announced Southern California Edison (SCE) project, however, is unprecedented, dwarfing that of any comparable plans, such as Colexon Energy's deployment of First Solar and other PV modules on rooftops of chicken farms and other commercial structures in Germany. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:03:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/solar_startup_stion_plans_move_to_san_jose_remains_stuck_in_stealth_mode The Edenvale area of San Jose is becoming a little hotbed of photovoltaic activity, but the latest company set to move there remains in stealth-mode information lockdown. As the San Jose Mercury News reported Wednesday, Stion has become the third PV firm over the past year or so, joining CIGS concerns Nanosolar and SoloPower, to succumb to the city of San Jose's offer of redevelopment monies for manufacturing tooling ($700,000) and workforce training ($100,000) as part of Mayor Chuck Reed's "green vision"/emerging technologies fund agenda. The company will move from its current Menlo Park location into a one-time IBM building in the south San Jose neighborhood. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:26:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/what_took_so_long_massive_solar_utility_plant_to_be_built_in_sunny_arizona Few places cry out more for the widepsread implementation of solar energy solutions than the desert state of Arizona. Can you imagine the sweet irony of all those air conditioners working overtime during the blazing summer months, eventually getting their power from household PV modules, building-integrated arrays, or even from solar power channeled through the grid? Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:36:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/friday_follow_ups_first_solar_burns_bright_and_a_sober_view_of_chinas_chip It's the end of week and time to follow up on a couple of recent stories, including First Solar's latest results and cautionary tales about the Chinese semiconductor industry. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:10:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/checking_on_applied_materials_that_services_display_solar_and_oh_yeah_semi If you've looked at Applied Materials' 1QFY08 results announced yesterday, your eyes are not deceiving you: the equipment company booked more new orders from its global services, display, and energy and environment solutions units combined than from its silicon segment---$1.385 billion for the threesome compared with $1.075 billion for the core semi equipment business. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:58:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/monday_morning_perspectives_flex_displays_and_football_semis_vs_exxon_mobil How do flexible electronics, American football, financial and market results, politics, and photovoltaics go together? They don't, except as fodder for some Monday morning perspectives on Chip Shots. Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:39:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/cigs_thin_film_sector_grows_blends_hype_promise_part_ii_ascent_solar_and_is Although they both participate in the emerging copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaics sector, Ascent Solar Technology and International Solar Electric Technology (ISET) have at least as many differences between them as things in common. Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:14:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/cigs_thin_film_pv_sector_grows_blends_hype_promise_part_i_overview Few solar photovoltaic sectors exhibit as volatile a combination of hype and promise as the copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) thin-film segment. A handful of companies--Global Solar, Wurth, Showa Shell, for example---are already manufacturing relatively modest amounts of commercial products using CIGS (or its cousin, CIS) films on glass, stainless steel, or flexible substrates, while a larger number are just developing (or trying to develop) processes, building and characterizing (or trying to build and characterize) pilot or initial manufacturing lines, or talking (and talking) about building volume-manufacturing facilities. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:40:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/more_light_reading_for_the_new_year_a_solar_grand_plan_amec_vs_amat_top_10 One of the original purposes of blogs, once known as Weblogs, was to offer links to interesting tidbits all over the World Wide Interweb (sic), something Chip Shots does from time to time in addition to the usual onslaught of rants, musings, analyses, and news coverage. Here are a few interesting reads from the first days of the new year. Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:25:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/ebay_cancels_nanosolar_cigs_panel_auction As we reported in Fabtech's pair o' blogs last week, Nanosolar announced it had shipped its first CIGS-based solar panels and put its second roll-to-roll manufactured panel up for auction on eBay, with the proceeds destined for charity. Because of some regulations on the auction site about using it for charitable fundraising purposes, eBay canceled the Nanosolar activity late last week, so don't try and join in the bidding fun (which, btw, had skyrocketed from the starting price of 99 cents past $13,000 with almost a week to go). For now, panel no. 2 will stay at the thin-film photovoltaic upstart's Silicon Valley HQ, where it will keep panel no. 1 company. Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:28:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/midweek_follow_ups_first_solar_expands_nanosolar_ships_eag_acquires_semicon With all the IEDM coverage of late, Chip Shots has a backlog of developing stories that need some updating and comment; refreshingly, no 45-nm semiconductor tech coverage will be included. Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:51:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/ics_and_pv_in_the_same_wafer_boat_micrel_fabricates_solar_cells_chips_on_on When I read the brief report about Micrel's contract manufacturing of solar cells in its San Jose semiconductor facility, I did a double take: "They're running PV wafers and semi wafers in the same fab?" I thought. "That doesn't happen too often." As it turns out, Micrel may be the only place where there's simultaneous volume processing of chips and photovoltaic solar cells, according to company VP of worldwide operations, Guy Gandenberger. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:30:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/going_organic_solar_cells_in_a_spray_can_may_not_be_as_farfetched_as_you_th As I scarfed my pasta during the lunch break at the mid-October press gathering at IMEC, Paul Heremans told me about the center's SOLAR+ Program's work in the organic photovoltaics (OPV) arena, including an upcoming paper at the Materials Research Society meeting about a spray-on deposition method: Not sprayed on with a spin-coating tool but deposited with an inexpensive airbrush nozzle like those used to paint cars! After swallowing my mouthful, I confirmed what Paul had said and asked what kind of conversion efficiencies the method had achieved. When he told me the numbers were between 2% and 3%---comparable to conventional techniques---I was intrigued. Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:44:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/going_organic_solar_cells_in_a_spray_can_may_not_be_as_farfetched_as_you_th As I scarfed my pasta during the lunch break at the mid-October press gathering at IMEC, Paul Heremans told me about the center's SOLAR+ Program's work in the organic photovoltaics (OPV) arena, including an upcoming paper at the Materials Research Society meeting about a spray-on deposition method: Not sprayed on with a spin-coating tool but deposited with an inexpensive airbrush nozzle like those used to paint cars! After swallowing my mouthful, I confirmed what Paul had said and asked what kind of conversion efficiencies the method had achieved. When he told me the numbers were between 2% and 3%---comparable to conventional techniques---I was intrigued. Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:34:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/the_thin_wafers_the_thing_baccini_buy_bolsters_applieds_crystalline_silicon One phrase sums up a key piece of Applied Materials' just-announced $330 million acquisition of privately held solar-tool manufacturer Baccini: automated ultra-thin-wafer handling. During Monday's conference call, Applied executives repeatedly referred to the Italian company's unparalleled capabilities in handling crystalline-silicon (c-Si) wafers less than 120 microns thick---some 30% below the industry thickness average. And the Baccini tools can process the thin slices with very low wafer-breakage rates, high yields, and solid efficiencies. Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:32:00 GMT http://www.pv-tech.org/chip_shots/article/amid_soaring_solar_stocks_first_solar_shines_bright_on_all_fronts While perusing the weekly stock-market wrap-up in the Los Angeles Times' business section on Saturday, I was struck by the prodigious increases (can you say, "bubble"?) in year-to-date share-price increases for several solar industry companies---despite the recent corrections/downturn in the markets Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:36:00 GMT