Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

PNM, New Mexico’s largest electric utility, has signed a deal with First Solar to build 22MW (AC) of utility-scale photovoltaic solar power plants in the state. The solar company will construct the facilities using its cadmium-telluride thin-film PV panels at five separate sites within PNM’s service territory.

A small electrical fire in a piece of production equipment shut down the Abound Solar thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing line in Longmont, CO, on New Year’s Day. No one was injured from the resulting smoke, no other tools were damaged, and operations resumed the following day, according to company sources.

What is being called the largest solar PV project in California and the biggest thin-film plant in the U.S. has started commercial operations ahead of schedule. The 21MW (AC) site in Blythe, developed and built by First Solar and acquired by NRG Energy in November, operates under a 20-year power purchase agreement, with the electricity generated sold to Southern California Edison.

Sunovia Energy Technologies and EPIR Technologies have completed the design and construction of a closed-space-sublimation (CSS) system for fabrication of polycrystalline cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell devices. The partners are developing an ultra-high-efficiency, low-cost CdTe-on-silicon PV device based on single-crystal CdTe instead of the polycrystalline material commonly used in CdTe panels.

First Solar will build and operate a 100MW plus capacity CdTe thin-film plant in France for EDF Energies Nouvelles, equally sharing the capital and start-up costs, with EDF taking all production volumes for a 10-year period. In essence, First Solar has added ‘contract manufacturing’ or ‘foundry’ operations to its evolving business model. According to the new partners, the new 100MW plus plant will require an initial capital investment of more than €90 million. Full production is planned for the second half of 2011. The location of the site is expected to be announced in the next few months and will also include a facility for recycling solar panels, France’s first such facility and Europe’s only solar panel recycling plant outside of Germany.

The juwi group has been chosen to design, build and operate one of Italy’s largest PV power plants on the rooftops of the great market halls of Verona. Armed with 22,200 First Solar thin-film modules, the plant will cover a surface area of 16,000 square metres. juwi has signed a 20-year lease agreement with Veronamercato, the hall’s operator, for the use of the market hall roof.

Cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaics manufacturer Abound Solar has signed long-term sales agreements with two German systems integrators, Wirsol Solar and juwi solar. The TFPV company (formerly known as AVA Solar) is beginning production on its initial 70-MW line at its recently commissioned facility in Longmont, CO.

Despite the difficult economic conditions, First Solar saw its quarter-to-quarter revenues slip slightly while its income rose and its gross margin improved during the first quarter. The company also showed marked increases in its manufacturing production and capacity numbers, improvements in its average capacity per production line, and further reduction in its manufacturing cost per watt. The thin-film PV company also announced that its board had begun looking for a new CEO to replace long-time chief executive Michael Ahearn, who will step into a new role as executive chairman.