The reintroduction of subsidies and a new feed-in tariff introduced in November 2009 helped to more than double solar sales in Japan in 2009, compared to the previous year. According to the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, sales reached 483.96MW in 2009, up from approximately 230MW in 2008. Japanese PV solar cell and module manufacturers also increased exports to the U.S., which were up 21% compared to the previous year, reaching 203.17MW in 2009.
In ongoing module performance tests by Photon International magazine, SolarWorld has touted that is has once again demonstrated that its modules generated more electricity than all competitive products tested, producing up to 12% more power than the others.
Consistent with its announced plans for further small-scale power plants in Italy, TerniEnergia has plans to build a 1MW PV power plant in the Apulia region at a cost of approximately €3 million. The plant will be owned by TRP-PVE, an Italian-Chinese joint venture company.
A stay of execution over the proposed feed-in tariff cuts in Germany has been reported by Reuters. The proposals have been delayed until June 1st, instead of April 1st, 2010. However, the report notes that new rooftop solar installation FiT will be cut by 16%.
VLSI Research has awarded Oerlikon Systems a ‘five star rating’ for customer satisfaction in 2009. The five star ratings are handed out by chip equipment users (representing 95% of the world’s semiconductor market) and compiled by VLSI Research as part of their 2009 Customer Satisfaction Report.
In a conference call with financial analysts, held today, Evergreen Solar’s Chairman, CEO and President, Richard Feldt, responded to one of the last questions in the hour long call over the expected outcome for Sovello. He noted that the company had only weeks to seek a buyer that would probably acquire the company at ‘fire-sale’ prices or enter into insolvency.
In a major effort to boost its position within the solar equipment market, Singulus Technologies is planning a suite of new product introductions in 2010 that will include technologies to lower PV manufacturing costs and boost cell efficiencies for both both ‘front-end’ c-Si production and CIGS and CdTe applications. Another import move will be the development of complete integrated turnkey lines for ‘front-end’c-Si production, leveraging technologies and systems from its recent acquisition of Stangl. The company noted that due to continued pricing pressures on PV manufacturers this was a key driver to focus on such solutions.
Borrego Solar Systems has appointed Bill Bush as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Previously, Bush served as the CFO of Solar Semiconductor. He will work to further develop the relationship between Borrego Solar and investor Walsin Lihwa, and work with Borrego’s commercial and public-sector customers on solar system financing. Walsin Lihwa recently formed a US$30 million Power-Purchase Agreement Fund (PPA), organized as Green Lake Capital LLC.
Product Briefing Outline: Festo has introduced a Bernoulli Gripper for transporting delicate work pieces such as solar cells and wafers. The most particular benefit of the gripper is the minimized air consumption which reduces the energy costs. Other essential aspects are little swinging power, high grip force, low-pressure applications and a constant area load.
With one of the largest order backlogs amongst solar industry equipment suppliers GT Solar International reported fiscal third quarter revenue of US$173.6 million, compared with US$104.2 million in the second fiscal quarter and US$205.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. The company raised FY2010 guidance to the upper end of its previous range with revenue expectation of US$500 million to US$550 million.
