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Swiss-based VHF-Technologies, better known under its product branding as Flexcell has stopped production of its flexible thin-film products and reduced its headcount to around 50. The move is designed to preserve cash, after being thrown a financial lifeline by Capricorn Capital to the tune of CHF8.5 million (US$8.9 million).
Swiss silicon thin-film firm, Pramac has been forced to file for insolvency after shareholders rejected management proposals over restructuring the company after posting losses (net) of over €94 million in 2011. The diversified firm had been a customer of Oerlikon Solar since 2008. Pramac had a 30MW end-to-end turnkey line using Oerlikon’s ‘Micromorph’ technology.
The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confirmed a 15.5% aperture area efficiency on commercial size flexible PV module (total area 1.68m2) from thin-film manufacturer MiaSolé. MiaSolé’s record represents over 2 points of improvement compared to the previous world record for flexible PV of 13.4% set earlier this year by SoloPower.
Solar Capital Dear 3 (PTY), owned by the JV Moncada Energy Group, has been announced as the second tender for the state incentives under the IPP Procurement Program. The company has been awarded the incentive rate with a solar power project of 94.5MWp gross (75MW net) requiring an investment of €200 million. The South African incentive rate has a duration of twenty years and the irradiation rate of the selected areas is about 2000 hours per year.
Solar Frontier and Showa Shell Sekiyu have announced a pilot project between Japan Cooporation Center, Petroleum (JCCP) and Takreer (an Abu Dhabi oil refining company). Takreer will be installaing PV systems at its facilities. The installations will generate a total of 36.4kW and they will be equipped with Solar Frontier thin-film modules and installed in four locations, including a rooftop.
Having formed a joint venture firm in March, PV CIStems, Solar Frontier and BELECTRIC have connected what they claim to be the world’s largest CIS thin-film solar power plant in Bochow, Brandenburg, Germany. The project’s investor is CommerzReal and the financing is provided by HypoVereinsbank (HBV) /UniCredit.
First generation PV thin-film adopters are falling like flies as Berlin-based Inventux files for bankruptcy. Inventux was a customer of Oerlikon Solar and an early adopter of its micromorph silicon turnkey technology. A temporary insolvency administrator has been appointed by the local court in Berlin-Charlottenburg, which is understood to be looking for new investors and secure some of the 200 jobs at risk at the company.
Ascent Solar has entered into a development agreement with Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise and the Third Railway Survey and Design Institute (TSDI), the company has announced. Under the agreement, the three companies aim to install Ascent solar panels into already existing as well as future railway stations in China. TSDI has been involved in designing over 50,000km of Chinese railways, as well as the design of the Beijing South railway station.
First Solar has announced plans to open an office in the United Arab Emirates, according to Bloomberg reports, in order to meet the demand for solar energy in the Middle East. The company is currently negotiating with potential partners about contracts and a possible production plant in the UAE, as First Solar’s technical development manager Karim Asali commented.
A report from Digitimes has provided musings on how thin-film face an uphill battle in the current market. According to the report, solar firms will need to segue from being thin-film solar module providers to solar PV system project designers and suppliers in order to stay competitive. According to the report, as silicon-based solar product prices drop, thin-film solar products have been sidelined, especially during the past year.
