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The latest Solarbuzz ‘PV Equipment Quarterly Report’ highlights that the fourth quarter of 2010 saw a further 1.25GW of quarterly solar manufacturing capacity come online. According to the market research firm, annualized c-Si cell and thin-film module capacity increased by a further 11.5GW, in 2010. Equipment spending grew for the sixth consecutive quarter to reach US$2.9 billion in the fourth quarter. At the end of the year, 20 equipment suppliers to have order backlogs in excess of US$100 million, with the majority of these orders scheduled for shipment during the first half of 2011.
In an attempt to further capitalise on the rapidly-expanding Asian PV market, DEK Solar has opened a new manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, China. Initial production at the facility in southern China will be solely focused on producing DEK’s successful metallization platform, the PV1200.
CVD Equipment has posted final sales figures for 2010 of US$25 million – a year-on-year rise of 152%. This number was helped by CVD’s fourth consecutive quarter-on-quarter rise in new orders, which brought in US$8 million for Q4.
Natcore Technology’s antireflective (AR) coating technology was independently validated by Chinese solar cell manufacturer, Hunan TLNZ Solar Technology. Natcore researchers in Ohio prepared and sent numerous silicon wafers with the company’s antireflection coating to Hunan, who was selected by the Chinese government to complete the cell finishing and conduct testing.
Emcore has won the right to supply NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland with solar panels for its Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. The US$10 million contract will see four MMS spacecrafts equipped with Emcore’s ZTJ solar cells.
Amtech Systems has announced its preliminary results for Q1 of the new fiscal year, including record-breaking revenue and pre-sale figures. Q1, which ended on December 31, delivered revenue of US$52 million, bookings of approximately US$134 million, and an order backlog of US$172 million.
The world’s largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC, has entered into a five-year c-Si module subcontract agreement with Centrosolar. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal marks TSMC’s entry into c-Si cell production beginning in the third quarter of 2011, when Centrosolar will produce modules for TSMC at a new manufacturing plant extension to be built at its existing plant in Wismar, Germany. The modules will be marketed by TSMC within Europe. The exclusive supply contract is worth 100MW per annum.
The Finnish cleantech company, Beneq, has newly received a combined €9 million investment from Finnish Industry Investment, Via Venture Partners and other private investors. Beneq is known as a supplier of production and research equipment for nano-scale thin-film coatings and developed the nAERO aerosol-assisted process. nAero is a deposition method that allows for production of low-haze and high-haze transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coatings for in-line and off-line coated products. The company is presently shifting from its piloting to industrial production phase.
BTU International has received two new orders, which are estimated to hold a value of over US$18 million, for its Meridian in-line diffusion furnaces from a new and existing Asia-based customer. The diffusion furnaces, for both orders, will be used for capacity expansions with delivery beginning this quarter and continuing through the third quarter 2011. The two new orders will bring BTU’s in-line diffusion tool shipments total to over 2GW.
China Merchants Zhangzhou Development Zone Trendar Solar Tech, a subsidiary of China Technology Development Group (CTDC), entered into a purchase agreement with Goldpoly Science & Technology Industry. The supply deal, whose worth was not revealed, will see GPS&T, a subsidiary of Time Infrastructure Holdings, furnish Trendar Solar with 100MW of polycrystalline solar cells throughout 2011.
