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Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) have certified TSMC Solar’s TS CIGS series PV modules. With a nominal power of up to 130W are now listed on the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) list of compliant PV modules. TSMC Solar has also received ISO 9001 quality management system certification.
Solar Frontier would seem to know no bounds as it has rapidly become the first serious competitor to First Solar in the thin film PV sector. Not content to provide its CIS-based technology to projects, the company has established a joint venture firm with Belectric that will focus on PV project development on a global-scale. Financial details were not disclosed.
Another day, another record, as new measurements made by NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) have confirmed that flexible CIGS thin-film solar modules from SoloPower have produced an aperture area efficiency of 13.4%, a record for the flexible substrate-based technology. The modules were produced at SoloPower’s 20MW pilot production plant in San Jose, California.
California-based, thin-film manufacturer SoloPower has announced it is expanding its workforce in Portland, Oregon, US. The company expects the facilities in the region to have a capacity of 400MW and employ 450 people.
Market diversification and strong revenue growth in equipment sold to the FPD market, supported record revenue at Manz in 2011, slightly ahead of previous guidance. Sales increased 33% to €240.5 million, compared to sales of €181.4 million in 2010. In its photovoltaic segment, Manz reported a 10.5% increase in sales, which reached to €72.6 million, compared to €65.7 million in 2010 and €46.9 million in 2009. The company posted a positive EBIT of €3.1 million, up from €0.6 million in the previous year.
Having claimed over 55MW of its GIGS thin film product offerings have been installed to data, MiaSolé has secured further funding to the tune of US$55 million from investors to support a focus on what it described as ‘commercial performance.’
Despite an 11.9% increase in revenue for 2011, centrotherm photovoltaics reported a preliminary operating loss of €19.8 million on sales of €698.5 million. Its silicon and wafer segment and its thin-film module segment took the brunt of the losses, leading to a major restructuring operation that will include job losses.
Impairment charges due to price declines and expected challenging market conditions in 2012 weighed on Q-Cells’ preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year results. The company reported a fourth-quarter EBIT loss of approximately €355 million and a full-year 2011 loss of €846 million. Fourth-quarter revenue was €353 million, up significantly from €299 million in the third quarter. Revenue for the year reached €1,023 million.
Solar Frontier has claimed a world record aperture area cell efficiency of 17.8% for its CIS-based thin-film technology. The new figure surpasses its previous record of 17.2% set in March 2011 and was also produced at its dedicated R&D facility, Atsugi Research Center. The company did not say whether the figures had been independently verified.
News reports originating in South Korea and covered by both European and US trade press point to claims that Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is preparing to restructure its PV operations. HHI was reported to be halting PV power plant projects in the US and offering for sale a crystalline silicon production facility as it struggles to combat weak demand, reports claim. However, a letter sent to concerned customers, of which a copy is in PV-Tech’s possession, was written by senior executive vice president & COO, Dr. Choong-Dong Lee of Hyundai’s Green Energy Division, refuting media claims.
