Citing a turnaround in the number of orders, especially for its back-end line technology for manufacturing crystalline solar cells, Manz Automation has posted revenue of €67.5 million in the first-half of 2010. The solar and FPD equipment supplier saw revenue double compared to the same period a year ago when revenue was reported at €28.28 million, a 139% increase. Order backlog as improved to above €100 million, the company said. Revenue guidance for the year was put at €140 million with the potential for upside.
ReneSola has posted record shipments, revenue and profits for its second quarter 2010 financial results. Wafer manufacturing costs fell significantly from the previous quarter due to high utilization rates and material price declines, particularly from polysilicon, which have fallen to market-equivalent prices, while the overall total wafer cost has been reduced to US$0.56/W.
Product Briefing Outline: Somont has made further improvements to its CERTUS stringing system, which is designed for production capacities from 50 – 100MW per year. The CERTUS features a modular concept to match the desired capacity requirements. CERTUS integrates all elements needed at the front-end of the module production line with new, state-of-the art technology for the stringer, in-line string testing, matrix lay-up, interconnection, matrix testing and lay-up on the glass plate.
Astronergy is taking the next-step in its thin-film capacity expansion plans with the placement of a follow-on equipment order with Oerlikon Solar. The expanded capacity will incorporate new module materials and the latest innovations in thin-film technology, boosting Astronergy’s total thin-film module capacity to at least 75MW by early 2011. The China-based firm has a 30MW line in operation and has plans to expand production to 400MW.
Just when it was safe to say that the severe polysilicon shortages from a few years ago were long-gone and that a era of oversupply boded well for users in the solar industry, issues have emerged within the supply chain that are forcing spot prices higher once again. According to a report from Barclays Capital financial analyst, Visal Shah, checks have shown that spot prices have risen to as high as US$70-80/kg, yet spot prices were at US$55-60/kg range, only a few weeks ago. Bottlenecks were said to have appeared from polysilicon through to wafering, according to the analyst.
As part of its plans to boost production by 50% to 600MW in 2010 and its longer-term goal of reaching 1GW in capacity in 2013, Kyocera has started volume production at its new solar cell manufacturing facility in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Completed in March, 2010, the facility will fabricate its record setting multicrystalline solar cells with 16.9% conversion efficiencies using ‘back contact’ cell technology.
Touted as a ‘reference site’ for mid-sized solar power plants in Germany, Q-Cells and customer HEP Kapital have initiated a 5.3MWp plant on a 19-hectare brownfield site close to Spremberg in the federal state of Brandenburg at a cost of €16 million. The project, constructed by thermovolt uses 24,000 c-Si modules supplied by Q-Cells. The solar park is located on the site of a former military barracks that required clean-up work before construction could begin.
Product Briefing Outline: Converteam has introduced the ProSolar outdoor inverter. ProSolar inverters are available for a power range from 500 kW to several megawatts. ProSolar central inverters are optimised for the use in MW photovoltaic parks. The number of PV strings in the system varies according to the individual requirements.
Product Briefing Outline: Tyco Electronics now offers a new way for locating junction boxes on a PV panel. Compared to the commonly used centralized junction boxes in the PV industry, the new two-rail decentralized junction box requires 50% less jumper cable to connect to the next solar panel, as the junction boxes are located in the corner of the panels.
The planned 500MW thin-film plant, to be developed by Enel Green Power, Sharp and STMicroelectronics, has been given a boost with €49 million funding from the CIPE (the Italian Joint Ministerial Committee for Economic planning). The JV has also been given a name: 3Sun. Sharp and Enel have also established a separate company called ESSE which will develop solar farms using the output in the plants in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean area. The partners reiterated that 3Sun would have an initial capacity of 160MW per year, using Sharp’s triple-junction thin-film technology.
