Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News

Market research firm Frost & Sullivan expects polysilicon supply to catch up with demand in 2008. It cites in a new report that the major suppliers are bringing more than 17,000 tonnes of new polysilicon capacity online in 2008, and while demand from PV manufacturers is set to continue, semiconductor manufacturing demand is only growing at single digit levels. Read more >>

SunPower Corporation has signed a multi-year polysilicon supply agreement with Jupiter Corp. that starts in 2010, continues through 2016 and equates to more than 3 gigawatts of solar cell production. Read more >>

LDK Solar has reiterated that its Trichlorosilane (TCS) plant at its Xinyu, Jiangxi site remains on construction schedule as the Basic Engineering Phase (BEP) has been completed, which includes the detailed drawings for the actual construction phase of the project. Read more >>

Having already allocated approximately $1.5 billion to significantly expand polysilicon production, Hemlock Semiconductor, the largest maker of high-grade polysilicon, is in the process of searching for a new site for further expansion, according to the Financial Times. Read more >>

LDK Solar has said that the severe weather conditions experienced in China recently would have no significant impact on the progress of its polysilicon plant construction. Read more >>

Evergreen Solar has signed a second supply agreement with polysilicon supplier DC Chemical, which will bring the agreement’s lifespan through to 2015. Read more >>

EMCORE has signed a memorandum of understanding with SunPeak Solar for the provision and installation of between 200MW and 700MW of turnkey solar power systems for SunPeak’s project in Albuquerque, New Mexico. SunPeak expects construction of the utility scale project to begin in early 2009. Read more >>

Voltaix, LLC has said that it has significantly increased the production of trimethylboron to meet growing demand from the PV thin-film manufacturing industry. The product specifications for oxygen and other key contaminants have also been improved to ensure that the product will continue to meet the performance requirements of the solar industry, the company said. Read more >>

Consarc Corporation has announced that it will form a new division to build and market furnaces for solar grade silicon volume production. The company currently makes vacuum and controlled atmosphere furnace technologies for the processing of metals, specialty alloys and engineered materials. Consarc is a subsidiary of Inductotherm Group. Read more >>

LDK Solar has signed a 500MW, ten-year multicrystalline solar wafer supply contract with Neo Solar Power Corp., a subsidiary of Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry UMC. Multicrystalline wafer deliveries are expected to start in 2009. Read more >>