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Solar distributor Donauer Solartechnik is, like several others in the industry, aiming to capitalize on emerging markets by opening a branch in Muscat, Oman. This branch will be the first step in the establishment of a sales and service network and will be directed by investor Saleh Ahmed Al Badi, chairman and president at NAS Oman international LLC, with whom Donauer has a joint-venture agreement.
Harnessing its R&D into both c-Si and a-Si thin-film technologies, Moser Baer Solar said that it would upgrade its solar cell processes using metal and intrinsic layer semiconductor technology (MIST) to achieve average cell conversion efficiencies of 21% and join the few cell producers at the top table above 20%.
Mage Solar revealed that it had opened a logistics centre in Dagenham, located near London, in order to better serve the British solar market. The company looks to the new site to deliver its PV system components to its installation partners at a more efficient speed. Mage Solar has had a sales team in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 2011 and noted that it continues to expand its network of installation partners.
UK-based organic thin film start-up, Eight19 has installed roll-to-roll printing equipment at its Cambridge, UK headquarters as a preliminary move towards volume production, as reported by PV-Tech’s sister-site, Solar Power Portal UK. Thought to be the largest of its kind in Europe, the bespoke facility includes a multi-station roll-to-roll fabrication machine which is designed to manufacture solar substrates. Eight19 expects to have the first of its commercial printed plastic solar modules available in 2013.
An online auction is taking place to off-load module manufacturing equipment once used at Solon’s Tucson, Arizona plant, closed last year. Organized by Great American Group, the auction is set from 9 am (MST) Monday, January 23, 2012, until noon January 26.
The German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE) has certified PV systems manufacturer, Centrosolar’s, management system. The internationally recognized, VDE, confirmed that the company’s management system, Centrosolar Production System, meets the criteria of the internationally recognised standard DIN ISO 9001:2008.
Powerway has announced it will be investing (US$1,265,328.63) Ran10M$ (partly self-financing, partly bank financing) for production facilities in South Africa, with the intention of supplying mounting structures for over 500MW of solar farms per year. Working in conjunction with the South African government’s BBBEE program, the company will be installing its mounting structures for utility scale PV power plants: Powerfit, PowerScrew, and PowerTracker.
Struggling Dutch module manufacturer, Solland Solar said it was forced to drastically reduce its remaining operations after the successful sale of its solar cell production facility, due to tough market conditions. Both its commercial and module assembly operations are being curtailed, without providing details, affecting approximately 100 employees.
Optomec, performance additive systems manufacturer, has announced it is expanding its advanced applications lab and product development facility in St. Paul, Minn, US. The facility houses its Aerosol Jet deposition system that enables the production of higher efficiency solar cells than is possible through traditional screen-printing techniques.
Just a week after announcing that its new European distribution centre had been completed, Dow Corning has advised that its Solar Energy Exploration and Development (SEED) facility in Belgium has also reached completion. The SEED centre includes a solar application centre and a silicone synthesis technology centre, which aim to help the US$13 million addition advance the company’s research of new silicon-based materials and solar cell efficiency.
