Trina Solar (US) has signed an agreement with Southern California Edison (SoCal Edison) that will see the China-based integrated PV manufacturer supply 45MW of modules for use in SCE's Solar PV Program. The modules, which were purchased for an undisclosed sum, began shipment in May 2010; further deliveries will be made between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011.
Suntech has passed a milestone of sorts with the shipping of its 10 millionth solar module, a Ud-series model that is used primarily for commercial and utility-scale electricity generation. It was manufactured in March 2010 at Suntech’s Wuxi, China facility. The purchaser of the module will be awarded a gift of Suntech solar panels for donation to a charitable cause.
Astronergy’s a-Si/μc-Si tandem-junction high-efficiency thin-film PV modules have been awarded both TÜV and UL certification for the IEC 61646 and IEC 61730 standards. The dual certification means that the company’s modules are guaranteed for these standards in both Germany and the U.S.
Confirming that things are indeed on the up for the company, First Solar has released word that it is planning to double production capacity at its Frankfurt (Oder) manufacturing plant. Strong demand from the company’s European customer base has necessitated the expansion from 223MW to around 446MW by the fourth quarter of 2011. The company is in advanced talks with the German regional and federal authorities in regard to the proposal. First Solar’s current (2010) anticipated annual production capacity is in more than 1.3GW in Germany, the U.S. and Malaysia. With three additional factories in different phases of construction in France and Malaysia...
SunPower has agreed to construct what will be its fifth solar power plant for the Naturener Group in Spain. The 9.1MW (AC) plant will be constructed in Alange, Badajoz, and is one of the largest to be commissioned in Spain so far this year. SunPower will install its T0 Tracker systems and Serengeti solar panels at the 38-hectare site, while also providing operations and maintenance services for the plant.
The German Institute for Standardization (DIN) has passed Suntech’s core product range as certified ammonia resistant by awarding the DIN 50916 standard. This standard assures that the panels can maintain a high performance level under exposure to ammonia, most relevant to installations in and around farms that can use ammonia-based products as fertilizer for land, or livestock that emit ammonia.
Marking the company’s largest module contribution in a single project to date, Evergreen Solar has revealed that it has supplied over 7MW of the total 8MW capacity of a new solar farm in Neustrelitz, Germany. Project developers IBC Solar Invest sited the plant on a 250,000 square metre former Soviet military training base, which required a munitions recovery service to rid the land of any mines.
Wacker Chemie has signed a purchase agreement with Norway’s Fesil Group for the handover of its silicon metal production plant in Holla, close to Trondheim. With a capacity of around 50,000 metric tons per annum, the transaction will ensure Wacker’s supply of silicon metal in the long term, providing approximately one third of its annual silicon metal needs for the production of silicones and hyperpure polysilicon.
An announcement by Sharp Solar outlining the potential boom in the Turkish PV market has referred to the country’s government’s recent introduction of a €0.28 feed-in tariff for the first 10 years, with a rate of €0.22 thereafter for another 10-year period. Turkey receives an average of seven hours of sunshine per day, with a radiation intensity of 1,300 kilowatt-hours per square metre.
