Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News

The Austin-American Statesman reports that HelioVolt has enacted "a 'modest' reduction in its workforce," cutting about 15 jobs. The copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide thin-film PV company "made the cuts because of a weak economy and because the company is shifting away from pure research and toward becoming a manufacturer of solar power products," according to the story.

One of the worlds largest manufacturers of thin film transistor liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD), Taiwan based AU Optronics Corp has announced plans to start an a-Si thin film pilot line using what it describes as a ‘third generation’ technology with conversion efficiencies in the 10% range, starting in 2009.

Green Energy Technology has become the latest company--and the first in Taiwan--employing Applied Materials' SunFab amorphous-silicon thin-film PV module turnkey manufacturing line technology to achieve volume production status. The Taiwanese firm said it will reach an annualized capacity of 30 MW on its Generation 8.5 large-area glass line in the first quarter of 2009, and then ramp to 50 MW by the fourth quarter.

It was an interesting year for the thin-film industry, with Applied Materials’ first ‘SunFab’ turnkey 5.7m2 glass substrate (amorphous Si) thin-film modules. Several companies have jumped on this technology, one of the most prominent of which was Best Solar, who we saw place a $1.9 billion order for the company’s SunFab lines in March.

Japan’s Kaneka Corporation has been reported by the Nikkei business daily to be investing approximately US$1.1 billion in expanding its a-Si thin film production through 2015 to reach capacity of approximately 1GW. As part of the production ramp, a new plant could be built in Belgium by 2011 at a cost of approximately US$224 million, though an exact location had not been finalized according to the report.

Taiwan-based Auria Solar has become the first company in Asia to commence production of thin-film silicon solar modules using Oerlikon Solar’s Micromorph technology. Auria has already produced its first thin-film module using the technology, less than four months after having the equipment delivered. Oerlikon’s Micromorph technology will aid in the company’s reaching its target of annual production of 500MWp by 2012.

Conergy Deutschland GmbH has announced its completion of installation work on what is currently the world’s third-largest thin-film solar park in the world. The park, located in Trier, (Rhineland-Palatinate), has an output of 8.4MW and has been financed by Stadtwerke Trier to the tune of €30 million. It was completed in six months and has now been connected to the grid, benefiting from a feed-in tariff of 35.49 cents per kWh, according to the company.

Energy conglomerate Total, via its U.S. subsidiary, Total Gas & Power USA (SAS) has made a US$45 million investment in organic thin-film specialist Konarka Technologies, Inc. The investment will result in Total becoming the largest shareholder in the start-up with a stake close to 20%. Previously, Total had made investments in crystalline silicon technology firms such as Photovoltech and Tenesol. The investment in Konarka is Total’s first foray into the fast emerging thin-film market.

COLEXON Energy AG and Masdar PV GmbH entered into a long-term strategic partnership that will run until 2013 and produce more than 150MWp of solar modules. COLEXON is the first company to commit to such an agreement with Masdar and does so after the recent news of its merger plans with Renewagy.

San Diego-based Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc. has revealed that its recently acquired subsidiary Notos Solar d.o.o. has signed a letter of intent for the purchase of a 5MW turnkey thin-film PV manufacturing facility from Nanergy Hungary. With this move, Notos Solar d.o.o. is opening up the Serbian solar market as it has also secured the exclusive rights of the technology for use exclusively for the Republic of Serbia and Macedonia.