Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

SolFocus is installing a 1MW high-concentrator photovoltaics system at Victor Valley College in the high desert of California. Construction of the HCPV installation, which consists of 122 of the company's SF-1100S 8.4KW arrays spread across six acres, is taking place on the college's main campus in Victorville, CA. When the power plant is completed in May, it will generate about 2.5 million kilowatt-hours annually (roughly 30% of the college's electricity demand) and be the largest facility of its kind in North America, according to SolFocus.

Compound semiconductor manufacturer RF Micro Devices (RFMD) has claimed its first milestone toward entering volume production of III-V-based multijunction PV cells on six-inch gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafers with the successful fabrication of solar cells using its standard semiconductor fab equipment.

Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) will build a 1MW concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar facility on the tailing site of Chevron Mining Inc.'s (CMI) molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico.  

AXT has signed a five-year contract with Azur Space Solar Power to supply germanium substrates to be used for the fabrication of triple-junction concentrator photovoltaic cells for space and terrestrial applications. The companies say that their collaboration efforts have resulted in average TJC conversion efficiencies of 40%.

Semprius and Siemens Industry have entered into a joint development agreement to co-develop plug-and-play demonstration systems based on Semprius' solar module arrays and Siemens' automation and control components. The systems will be installed at test sites around the world, including major utilities, commercial sites, international test locations and government facilities.

Concentrator photovoltaics company Concentrix Solar has received the IEC 62108 certification for its CX-75 Flatcon CPV module generation. The industry standard confirms that the modules and assemblies have passed the required battery of tests and are suitable for long-term operation in a wide range of outdoor climates.

The Canadian government-backed Sustainable Development Technology Canada foundation has announced CAN$58 million in funding for 16 clean technology projects from across the country. The sole solar firm to receive monies to "help move innovative technology solutions to the market" is concentrator photovoltaic company, Morgan Solar.

Spire's semiconductor subsidiary has successfully completed Phase I of its high-efficiency concentrator photovoltaic solar cell program with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The company has also been notified that NREL will authorize Phase II of the program.

X-FAB Semiconductor Foundries has made a strategic investment of US$1.5 million in Semprius, a ‘point-of-use electronics’ IC developer, and is developing concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules for large-scale solar power generation. X-FAB will also become the designated foundry for Semprius technology. The foundry said that the use of Semprius-developed novel technology for the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices could enable a manufacturing process that is faster and far less expensive to produce. The companies are targeting multiple markets and applications, including solar modules, electronic displays and wireless devices.

Epitaxial wafer house EpiWorks has finished the second phase of the expansion of its Champaign, IL, production facility. The company, which now has a solar-cell wafer product line, has doubled its cleanroom space for III-V semiconductor substrate manufacturing.