Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

Sanyo Electric has completed the installation of two 'solar parking lots,' incorporating solar panels and lithium-ion battery systems, as well as providing 100 Sanyo developed electric hybrid bicycles named 'eneloop bike,' in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The power generated by the solar panels installed on the roof is stored to recharge the 100 electric hybrid bicycle batteries and illuminate the parking lot using LEDs at night.

Suniva has commissioned its largest solar power installation with Titan Energy Systems, located in Karnataka, India. The 3MW, ground-mounted system is the largest grid-connected solar plant in India, covering approximately 12 acres.

Voltaix, the provider of materials to enhance the performance of semiconductor chips and solar cells, has announced its plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The plant will be constructed at the Portland Industrial Park in Upper Mt. Bethel Township.

Two privately held, U.S.-based solar manufacturing equipment companies have joined forces to comarket their products. Chad Industries and Alpha Omega Power Technologies say the agreement will benefit the market by making it easier to obtain fully integrated solar simulated test systems and solar-cell sorters.

Pilkington North America, based in Toledo, Ohio, will collaborate with Dyesol to develop opportunities in the building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market. The partnership will utilize Pilkington's TEC series of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated float glass and Dyesol's dye solar cell (DSC) materials and technology.

Tribridge, the U.S-based IT services and business consulting firm, has entered into a contract with SpectraWatt to provide software and services to deploy an ERP system for the start-up company's new production facility and administrative offices in Fishkill, N.Y.

AIS Automation Dresden has been tapped by Bosch Solar Energy for one of its manufacturing execution systems (VPC-MES) for installation in Bosch’s Arnstadt crystalline solar cell manufacturing factory. This order marks the fourth AIS Automation MES system to be installed in a Bosch facility, and will enable the increase in Bosch’s production capacity by approximately 400MWp.

Solar cell and module equipment supplier 2BG has ramped up a 15MW turnkey module line for the AV Project company in Avellino, Italy. The update of the line, which was installed in January, is the second 2BG line installed with the company and will allow the upgrade of AV’s production capacity with the latest automation solutions. The original line was designed to process 48 cells per module, while the new line handles 60 cells per module.

Sixtron Advanced Materials has introduced a patent-pending antireflective passivation coating technology that it says will greatly reduce the light-induced degradation problem for crystalline-silicon solar cells. The company claims to have demonstrated an 88% reduction in LID on cells treated with its silane-free Silexium coating.

DSC technology company Dyesol Limited is in plans to establish a wholly owned subsidiary in Japan. With the creation of Dyesol Japan, the company hopes to interact more thoroughly with Japanese corporations. The subsidiary is to be called Dyesol Japan Kabushiki within Japan and is expected to begin operating officially in 2010.