The up-and-coming solar market of India has received a boost with the news that the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) has agreed to fund a 2MW solar PV project in Gujarat. CIGS module manufacturer MiaSolé will supply the project, being developed by Universal Solar Systems, with modules for the park, which will bring India’s National Solar Mission (NSM) a step closer to its aim of establishing 20GW of grid-connected solar capacity by 2022.
Reporting on its third-quarter financial results, Spire has revealed that it is responding to a 57% reduction in operating revenues by turning its efforts to bolstering its EPC integration activities. Revenue for the quarter reached US$8.9 million, less than half the US$20.6 million figure for the same quarter in 2010.
Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited (MBCEL) has commissioned a 23.8MW solar power plant in Lauta, Germany, said to be the company’s largest to date. Funded with approximately €50 million long-term debt financing from DKB bank in Germany – the same financier for the company’s Thuringen and Meissens projects, the farm uses c-Si technology, SMA central inverters and was built with Conecon as the construction partner.
CIGS thin-film module manufacturer MiaSolé has announced that it has manufactured its 50 millionth cell since its inception. Earlier this year the company, which uses 88 cells per PV module, teamed up with Intel’s Technical Manufacturing Services practice to accelerate its production ramp from 50MW to 150MW per annum capacity by the end of 2011.
LDK Solar subsidiary LDK Silicon & Chemical Technology has been invited by the City Government of Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to construct a 30,000MT polysilicon manufacturing facility in the region’s Jinsan Development Zone. The groundbreaking ceremony took place today, and the additional capacity will take LDK Silicon’s total polysilicon production capacity to 55,000MT per annum by the end of 2013.
JinkoSolar Holding has provided a calm and unruffled response to the SolarWorld/CASM petition news, stating that the company intends to carry on its manufacturing practices as normal while the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and the US Department of Commerce (DOC) decide how to respond to the allegations of unfair trading practices on the part of Chinese cell and module manufacturers.
Following on from the recent Solyndra debacle, the head of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Program, Jonathan Silver, has resigned his post. Although the two incidents might well be unrelated, media reports are hinting at the two being linked, following the DOE’s bestowal of a loan of US$535 million to the now-bankrupt Solyndra.
SolarEdge Technologies has gained certification for its module-embedded power optimizers, rendering them ready for commercial deployment. The optimizers, now recognized and listed for use in North America, are embedded as a junction box in smart modules and are capable of arc detection and termination.
Despite global oversupply and plummeting demand for PV modules and components, the UK solar market is still experiencing large install figures and has had an explosive year with 900% growth. Over 300MW has already been installed and forecasts suggest that 550MW could be deployed by the end of the current FiT period.
The Meyer Burger takeover of Roth & Rau is on its way to becoming more of a reality as the management board team has undergone a reshuffle, and former Roth & Rau chairman Dr. Dietmar Roth has left his former role for a seat on the Meyer Burger board of directors.
