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Fab and Facilities
Opinion
Sharp’s teeth
The news that Sharp and Enel are to build the world's first 1GW thin-film manufacturing plant in Europe (Italy) at a cost of over $1 billion, is a significant move by Sharp to remain a major force within the PV industry. From any angle the move is impressive and bold and reinforces the direction the industry is going, even if that trend is only in its infancy.
News
FPL breaks ground on Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center
With Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and local community leaders looking on, FPL broke ground on its 75MW Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant and first utility-scale solar facility in Florida. It is the first hybrid solar facility to combine a solar-thermal field with a combined-cycle natural gas power plant.
Lockheed Martin to construct solar test center
Lockheed Martin Corp. will begin construction of a solar test center, which will be located at its Moorestown, New Jersey facility. Philly.com reports that the company has said the Solar System Test and Engineering System (SolSTES) Array test center will give the Lockheed engineers a chance to research different solar technologies and materials.
WACKER SCHOTT Solar to build new wafer plant to meet huge demand
WACKER SCHOTT Solar is expanding its wafer production capacity to meet what it described as ‘huge demand’ with the construction of a new plant in Jena, Germany. The new facility is intended to help the joint venture company meet long-term supply contracts already secured through 2017. ‘Fab Jena 3’, will occupy an existing building at SCHOTT AG’s premises in Jena, the companies said.
KYOCERA to construct new solar cell manufacturing plant in Japan
Kyocera Corporation is to construct a new large-scale solar cell manufacturing facility, which will be located in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, and will be the largest of the Kyocera Group’s Japan-based solar cell manufacturing plants. The new plant will manufacture the Back Contact Cell, developed in 2006, which achieves an 18.5% energy conversion efficiency rate. Construction is scheduled to start in 2009 with completion within the year so that production can begin in the spring of 2010.
Dyesol unveils new facility in Wales
Dyesol recently opened its newest facility in Shotton, North Wales only a few weeks after its Australian materials manufacturing and equipment design and assembly facility was unveiled. The new photovoltaic accelerator facility is a continuation of the partnership between Dyesol and Corus to step up the commercialisation of Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology onto steel sheeting building products.
IQE opens Singapore facility
IQE plc recently opened its new facility, marking the occasion with an opening ceremony with 200 guests that included Paul Madden, British High Commissioner in Singapore, Dr. Drew Nelson (pictured), CEO of IQE and Lim Swee Nian, Executive Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board. This new plant is the relocation of the company’s former facility at the Singapore Science Park to the new industrial development in Tampines, Singapore.
Featured Articles
First Edition: A fully-integrated solar factory – requirements for achieving grid parity
By Sylvère Leu, Conergy AG, Frankfurt, Germany
ABSTRACT
Each year, the photovoltaic market has been achieving a two-digit growth rate. The resulting economy-of-scale effects are not enough to achieve grid parity on their own. In order to reduce the production costs to grid parity level, new concepts and ideas must be realised as the basis for a photovoltaic factory. There are four main requirements that must be fulfilled in order to adhere to this cost reduction strategy: a highly integrated factory; automated and stable processes; a production control system (PCS) that provides the statistic data in order to continually optimise the processes; and an optimally-sized aligned production capacity.
First Edition: International Standards: a critical step towards reducing PV manufacturing cost
By Bettina Weiss, PV Group (North America), SEMI, USA
ABSTRACT
Many readers will equate SEMI with the SEMICON trade shows around the world, business and technical conferences, EHS and advocacy initiatives and, most of all, industry standards. Currently, SEMI has close to 2,000 member companies, about 20% of which are active in the photovoltaic sector. These companies form a community called PV Group. The mission of the PV Group is to serve the photovoltaic market with events, standards and services. Working with other industry groups throughout the world, SEMI is dedicated to advancing the growth and profitability of its members, and to achieve overall cost reduction to enable PV energy adoption worldwide. We listen closely to our constituents’ needs and are committed to developing unique approaches to unique problems. Connecting markets and industries that benefit from dialogue has been our mission for 38 years. Between former semiconductor professionals moving into PV, pure PV manufacturers and a startling number of start-ups, there is fertile ground for collective discussions in all regions of the world that are necessary to propel us forward.
Product Briefings
New Product: Pfeiffer Vacuum’s ‘HiPace’ turbopump line expanded
Product Briefing Outline: Pfeiffer Vacuum has broadened its line of ‘HiPace’ turbopumps to include four new sizes. They are characterised by their high pumping speeds for both light (H2, He) and heavy gases (Ar, CF4), achieving high throughputs for heavy gases.
Read more >>New Product: Eyelit Inc’s MES is designed for fast ramp flexibility
Product Briefing Outline: The ‘Eyelit Manufacturing’ solution delivers a full featured, technically advanced manufacturing execution system (MES), asset management, product costing, plant-level connectivity hub, and broad spectrum of other essential functionality. By giving clear insight into production process efficiency, performance/equipment efficiency, inventory control and resource management along with the ability to automatically react to conditions in any factory system, Eyelit Manufacturing suite enables customers to coordinate, control, and respond to changing demands in production.
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