Anne Zimmermann

Gary Dickerson has been appointed president of Applied Materials effective June 19, 2012, the company has announced. In his new role Dickerson, who will report to Chairman and CEO Mike Splinter, is responsible for Applied Materials’ business units: energy and environmental solutions, display and applied solutions and the silicon systems group. Dickerson spent seven years as CEO of Varian Semiconductor, a company Applied Materials acquired in 2011.

Canadian solar power producer Etrion has opened an office in Santiago, Chile, the company has announced. The company is trying to break into the Chilean market and is currently in negotiations for a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the construction of a 5MW PV project in Chile. Etrion is expecting to sign more PPAs for possible PV projects throughout the year.

The Toshiba Corporation has announced that it will commence the construction of PV plants totaling 100MW in Minami Soma on the battered northeastern coastline where a tsunami and an earthquake caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl a year ago.

Thin-film manufacturer NovaSolar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That’s not unusual, a number of companies have gone bankrupt in the last months. NovaSolar, though, is the US arm of Chinese NovaStar, a company that was created with the remaining assets from bankrupt OptiSolar three years ago.

Solon Corporation has agreed to build a 1.15MW PV system for the Tanque Verde Unified School District (TVUSD) in Tucson, Arizona, the company has announced. The system will be installed across the four campuses of Tanque Verde High School and Elementary School, the Emily Gray Junior High School and the Agua Caliente Elementary School. Solon Corporation will design and construct the system and maintain its operation once completed; the energy generated will we sold to TVUSD under a 25-year PPA. The project is expected to commence operation in early 2013.

SunPower has completed a 1.8MW PV installation at the main building of Bloomberg’s New Jersey campus, the company has announced. The system is owned by Integrys Energy Services and Bloomberg will be buying the generated electricity at below-retail rates. The system is equipped with SunPower PV panels as well as the SunPower T0 tracker system.

Canadian Solar PV modules have scored top ranks in the PTC (PVUSA Test Condition) ratings. More than 9,000 modules have been rated as part of the California Energy Commission’s Solar Electric Incentive program. Canadian Solar modules are among the best modules in the efficiency ratings, with the CS6P-P module line scoring an average 91% in PTC efficiency ratings.

Scheuten Solar has been sold to Chinese investor Aikosolar and the company is celebrating its “comeback” at Intersolar Europe. Aikosolar, a solar cell manufacturer and also owner of Powerway Renewable Energy, has taken over Scheuten’s essential components. The combination of Scheuten Solar’s product portfolio, 10 years of experience and Aikosolar’s financial strength as well as Powerway Renewable Energy’s EPC experience propose a positive outlook for the future, company representatives stated. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Conergy is collaborating with Ensunt for the construction of a 50MW PV project in Pakistan, the company has announced. The PV plant for the DACC Power Generation Company (DPGCL) will be the largest solar power plant in Pakistan. The project is located in Bahawalpur and is co-owned by DPGCL and the Pakistani government. Conergy will plan, design and engineer the project as well as providing the components while Ensunt is responsible for the construction of the plant.

Power One is showcasing the second generation of Aurora microinverters at Intersolar Europe, the company has announced. The Aurora Micro-0.3-I, with an output of 300W and the Aurora Micro-0.25-I, with an output of 250W have undergone 12 months of designing and testing. The two models have undergone some improvements compared to the former models and are now able to offer broader DC input with a maximum of 65Vdc.