Search sponsor
Search sponsor
United Solar has installed 80kW of its Uni-Solarbrand modules on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas cruise ship, reports Design-Build Solar. The modules cover 2,000 m2 and will generate 111,108kWh of electricity annually for the ship’s shopping area.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has chosen Silicon Solar Solutions as the recipient of a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. The SBIR grant will allow Silicon Solar Solutions to further develop their TAIC process for the creation of thin-film in solar cells. The company’s TAIC process develops a thin-film of large-grain polysilicon by crystallizing amorphous silicon. Silicon Solar Solutions claims that this allows for the grains to be created not only 90 times bigger than more customary methods, but in a more efficient time frame as well.
Sunvalley Solar will be teaming up with Baoding Tianwei SolarFilms to develop and construct solar power systems using the Chinese company’s amorphous-silicon thin-film PV panels on farms in Palm Springs, Thermal City, and other cities in the Southern California desert area.
United Solar has been deemed a Certified Green Business under the Institute for Green Business Certification’s (IGBC) standards. According to IGBC, United Solar demonstrated dedication for the environmental welfare and well-being of the communities it serves.
EME Energie Management Eberlein has partnered with Bosch Solar Energy on a three-year contract for the delivery of 31MWp of thin-film silicon solar modules. EME plans to use the solar modules at various field and rooftop projects in development.
Oerlikon Solar has received the first orders for its latest line of thin-film silicon module production equipment, ThinFab. Two clients have submitted orders for the new range, which Oerlikon claims lowers cost of ownership to an industry-leading €0.50/Wp and reduces the energy payback time.
DuPont Apollo, a subsidiary of DuPont, and China Everbright International have put the finishing touches on a 1.3MW rooftop PV installation at DuPont Apollo’s Shenzhen, China, production facility. The two companies assert that this is the largest single structure thin-film PV rooftop installation in China.
NanoMarkets recently published a new report titled, “Thin-Film Photovoltaics Materials Markets, 2011 and Beyond.” The report studies and forecasts NanoMarkets’ prognosis on materials sales for thin-film silicon, cadmium telluride and CIGS PV. Additionally, it examines the opportunities for materials in the TFPV space as well as giving an eight-year projection for core absorber materials, electrode, substrates and encapsulant markets.
Astronergy has started construction on a 200MW amorphous/micromorph-silicon thin-film PV module manufacturing facility in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, China. The timeline for completion and initial ramp-up of the factory, which represents a RMB 2.9 billion (US$437 million) investment, was not disclosed.
Oerlikon Solar’s €16.7 million research project “Pepper” will receive a €9.4 million funding grant under the Framework Programme for Research of the European Union, coordinated by the DG Energy of the European Commission. The project, which began on September 1, is aimed at demonstrating high performance processes and equipment for thin-film silicon photovoltaics modules produced with lower costs, reduced material use, and an improved environmental-friendly production process.
