Search sponsor
Search sponsor
First Solar has moved a step closer to doubling its production capacity in Germany by completing work on its new factory in Frankfurt, Brandenburg. Construction work on the manufacturing facility cost €173 million, took just 12 months to complete and has boosted First Solar’s overall annual module capacity to 477MW.
Rumours of a tie-up with Samsung have proved true, with the news that MEMC will establish a new joint-venture firm with Samsung Fine Chemicals to produce polysilicon for the PV industry. The agreement between SFC and MEMC’s affiliate, MEMC Singapore, includes building a 10,000MT plant in Ulsan, Korea, close to an SFC chemical plant. Production ramp is targeted for 2013.
Showa Shell Sekiyu subsidiary Solar Frontier has begun the commercial ramp of its new advanced, fully-automated CIS (copper, indium and selenium) thin-film solar module production plant, located in Miyazaki, Japan. Initial production capacity is claimed to be 600MW and is planned to reach a nameplate capacity of 1GW in 2012.
Germany’s PV manufacturing solutions provider Schiller Automation has created a U.S.-based subsidiary, Schiller LLC, to help it service its expanding portfolio of international clients.
A subsidiary of AUO Optronics has broken ground on its first multicrystalline ingot and wafer production plant in Taiwan’s Chungkang Export Processing Zone. The first phase expansion plan by AUO Crystal Corp (ACC) is to build wafering capacity of 300MW. Financial expenditure details were not provided.
Lanco Infratech has unveiled plans to build a manufacturing facility in Rajnandgaon, India to produce purified silicon, cells, modules and polysilicon. The first phase of the project will cost around INR13.7 billion (US$300 million) and production is scheduled to begin in 2012; annual capacity of the plant is 250MW.
Flextronics and eSolar have signed a deal that calls for the electronic manufacturing services company to provide electromechanical design capabilities to the concentrating solar thermal power plant developer. Flextronics will focus its design services efforts relating to eSolar’s next-generation heliostats and solar collector systems at its Plano, TX, location.
3S Modultec has increased its presence in the Eastern European solar market by selling one of its integrated production lines to Lithuanian firm MG AB Precizika.
Camstar Systems has revealed that its final 2010 financial results saw record revenue growth of 38%. Software license revenue more than doubled year over year and further gains in maintenance and services revenue growth resulted in Camstar significantly exceeding all of its pre-2010 targets.
Power-One’s opening celebration for its Phoenix-based wind inverter manufacturing facility brought out not only the company’s CEO, but State and city officials as well, who came together to sign the front panel of the first 100kW central inverter. The 122,000 square foot plant, which will have a 1GW production capacity by the end of this year, actually began its operations in October 2010 with 40 employees. In time the new facility will not only expand its employee base to 350 people, but also its site capacity, which is capable of holding 4GW.
