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The Solar Power International (SPI) conference and exhibition is the largest solar industry event in the U.S. The 2008 event is being held this week in San Diego, California, coming straight after the solar investment tax credit (ITC) bill was passed in Congress, extending incentives for domestic and commercial installations that could now see the U.S become the largest market for solar energy in the years to come. Our intrepid reporter, Tom Cheyney is on the ground at SPI, or on the roof, as he was yesterday. However, this daily review covers breaking news from the show in an easy to digest summary.
Spire Corporation has spread its wings into the thin film turnkey production world by securing a contract to supply various systems of a module line for XsunX’s first 25MW production line being assembled in Portland, Oregon. Spire is providing parts of its Spi-Line 25TF production line, as well as providing training and knowledge transfer to ensure XsunXcan ramp the facility as fast as possible. According to the company, the Spi-Line 25TF is capable of producing modules from any of the most popular thin film technologies.
Xantrex Technology has used SPI to launch its GT500 Grid Tie Solar Power Inverter, a 500 kilowatt (kW) system designed for large scale applications that has an estimated weighted California Energy Commission (CEC) efficiency rating of 96.5%. Aimed at utility scale markets, the GT500 is important to the company after the ITC bill allowed utilities to build, own and operate solar farms. The GT500 and a complete portfolio of Xantrex solar products are on display at booth 1513.
Ascent Solar gave an update on its first volume production plant for flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules. The plant in Thornton, Colorado, is in the final stages of completion and should be ready to accommodate installation of the equipment in early 2009. The company noted that it had placed orders for critical CIGS deposition equipment as well as laser scribing, encapsulation and testing equipment for the initial 30MW line. The Company is displaying developmental modules at booth 729.
Evergreen Solar got off to a good start at SPI with a mention in our top story of the day. Touting its ‘American-Made’ String Ribbon solar panels it has a new line of 200, 205 and 210W panels on display at booth 1115. The company recently received both CEC recognition and ETL Listing to the American and Canadian UL Standard 1703. The new ES-A Series panels also have a CEC approved 90.4 percent PTC/STC rating compared to that of sub-90% for most other multi-crystalline silicon panels. The new ES-A series panels are the first in production using the Company’s new Quad furnace technology which will also be displayed at the booth.
GE Energy Financial Services said at SPI that it had joined a group of other investors in providing nearly $21 million in venture capital to CPV start-up Soliant Energy. GE’s investment was put at $2.5 million. Soliant Energy is focused on the commercial market with the aim of providing the highest solar return on investment and the cheapest solar electricity at the plug.
Sharp Corporation promised to bring its next-generation multi-junction thin film solar modules to the U.S market as soon as it starts production at its new manufacturing plant in Katsuragi City, Nara Prefecture, in November 2008. Sharp will target its thin film modules at large scale projects. The company said that it is already working with prospective U.S. customers in preparation for these large-scale deployments.
Sanyo Electric will boost PV module production at its plant in Mexico to 50MW by April 2009, up from its 20MW current nameplate capacity. This is in addition to its recent announcement to build a module plant in Oregon.
