San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed contracts with subsidiaries of Soitec Solar Development to build three solar projects in San Diego County with a combined capacity of 30MW. All three systems will use Soitec Concentrix technology and are currently awaiting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
Tigo Energy has secured investment of up to US$20 million to help expand its manufacturing, international sales and logistics divisions and meet rising demand for its Maximizer Management Unit.
Hanwha Chemical is planning to spend KRW1.04 trillion (US$955 million) on a new polysilicon plant in South Korea to help double sales over the next five years. When construction is completed in July 2013, the Yeosu plant will have the capacity to produce 10,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon a year.
United Solar and Advanced Green Technologies (AGT) have finished work on a new 807kW system spanning six school rooftops in New York’s South Country School District. Each school will generate around 158,000 kWh of electricity per annum and save over US$25,000 in the process.
Solar Frontier has signed a distribution contract with Italy’s DW Europe to help expand its CIS solar module marketing and sales base in southern Europe. The agreement will enable Solar Frontier to establish a comprehensive distribution network and presence within the burgeoning European solar sector.
Global research firm Cleantech has revealed that global investment in green technology for Q1 2011 totalled US$2.57 billion, with the solar sector accounting for US$641 million. Investment came from 159 companies in North America, Europe, China and India, and was up 13% on the figure of US$2.28 billion from the same period last year.
This month’s international trade fair Society of Vacuum Coaters (SCV) will see Fraunhofer FEP launch its new transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer. The titanium dioxide-based layer, which can be applied to PV glass layers, has similar conductivity and transparency to other indium-free materials, but also boasts greater resistance to chemicals and the ability to withstand temperatures up to 550°C.
Schott North America has appointed Linda Mayer as its new president and CEO. Mayer became the first woman to head up Schott’s North American subsidiary when she started the role on April 1 and succeeds Gerald Fine, who became a company director and joined its North American advisory board in January.
Sacramento City Council has approved SolarCity’s request to build a 1.9MW multi-site system in the city centre. When completed, the development will be the largest in Sacramento and generate 2.6 million kWh of electricity in the first year.
SunWize Systems has completed the first stage of its 4.45MW car park solar array. The system, situated on top of a Veteran’s Affairs (VA) medical center in Phoenix, Arizona, is one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. and is expected to be completed in July 2012.
