Appearing once again in the news, DayStar Technologies has shaken up its management with a new CEO appointment. Michael Matvieshen, CEO of EPOD Solar which recently announced a merger with DayStar, will replace Robert Aldrich (pictured) who recently resigned from his four-month CEO role.
New Zealand-based renewable energies company Meridian Energy has taken over Cleantech America, Inc., the utility-scale PV solar plant developer. The acquisition marks Meridian’s first venture into the solar power sector, having previously been mainly involved in wind and hydroelectric projects. Meridian will now manage the operation of Cleantech’s 5MW CalRENEW-1 solar facility in Mendota, CA.
Preparation for the construction of one of the largest solar plants in Greece is underway as Scheuten Solar announced it has signed up for a 1MWp project between Tripoli and Megalopolis in the south of the country. Scheuten will supply its Multisol modules for the Ilioependytiki S.A.-owned plant, which will then be installed by Data Energy.
Pending feasibility studies and approvals by various government authorities, ReneSola Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with the Yancheng city government, Jiangsu province, for the construction of a 500MW on-grid solar power plant. The company has also gained approval in a letter of intent with the Panzhihua east district government in Sichuan province for the development of a 5MW rooftop project, also subject to approval by authorities.
An industry veteran with over 15 years of investor relations experience, Michael McCarthy has joined the Evergreen Solar team and will oversee the company’s investor relations concerns. The newly created post of director of investor relations will see McCarthy tap his experience in working with the capital markets and the investment community, while reporting to Michael El-Hillow, Chief Financial Officer.
In an attempt to attain the efficiencies of silicon solar cells coupled with the relative cheapness of thin-film manufacturing, XsunX has proposed a new TFPV technology that utilises the unused manufacturing capacity of the hard disk drive industry with the aim of mass production of cheap and efficient solar cells. While current manufacturing techniques use the near-20% efficiency CIGS-based thin films, XsunX points out that this technology does not take advantage of the benefits of working with stationary, small area production technologies that can result in higher efficiencies.
Statkraft AS, Norway's biggest energy generator, has teamed up with SOLON SE for the construction of several solar power plants in an undisclosed location in Spain with a total output of 40MWp. With this agreement, Solon gains a key strategic customer as well as exclusive rights to Statkraft's photovoltaic power plant activities in Spain for the duration of the agreement, which stretches until the end of 2011.
A power industry veteran with over 25 years’ senior experience, Gian Maria Ferrero has joined the SunPower team as vice president and general manager of utilities and power plants for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. Ferrero joins the company from his former role as CEO for SAE Power Lines, prior to which he held various senior roles in a 23-year tenure with ABB.
Starting work on what is being called one of the largest solar thermal power plants in the world, Solar Millennium, via its subsidiary, Flagsol, has begun development on the 50MW Andasol 3 plant in southern Spain for completion in 2011. Situated on the Plateau of Guadix in the province of Granada, Andasol 3 is the third of the Andasol projects in the southern Spain region using parabolic trough technology.
VLSI Research, Inc. has revealed its Top 10 PV manufacturing equipment supply companies (see table below) for last year, with Applied Materials’ near-$800 million in revenues ranking them at the top of the pile. Coming in second is Oerlikon Solar, followed by GT Solar International, Gebr. Schmid and centrotherm photovoltaics AG. All three had revenues in excess of $500 million.
