The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has adopted Synopsys' Sentaurus TCAD package for simulating solar cell characteristics to improve performance. The lab recently implemented the simulation software to create both thin-film and silicon PV cell models.
Terry Bailey has taken over the chairman and CEO reins at Soliant Energy, a concentrated photovoltaics company based in Monrovia, CA. Bailey, who replaces interim CEO Marco DeMiroz, recently left Evergreen Solar, where he was senior VP of marketing and sales.
Trina Solar has signed a sales agreement with the Kerself Group, one of Italy's leading photovoltaic solar plant engineering, development, production, installation, and distribution companies. Under the terms of the deal, the Chinese solar manufacturer will supply Kerself with approximately 73MW of crystalline-silicon PV modules, with shipment deliveries of 23MW slated in the fourth quarter of this year, and further shipments of 25MW expected in each of the first two quarters of 2010.
Hoku Scientific and Tianwei New Energy Holdings have signed a definitive agreement that will make the vertically integrated Chinese solar company the primary shareholder of Hoku. The deal stipulates that Tianwei take a majority investment in Hoku and that debt financing by Tianwei and China Construction Bank be used to complete Hoku's Pocatello, ID, polysilicon production facility, which has faced numerous delays in its construction schedule because of financing and other issues.
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has verified that production-level copper indium gallium (di)selenide solar cells from Global Solar Energy have achieved 15.45% total area conversion efficiencies. The thin-film CIGS photovoltaics manufacturer says that it has also reached record peak efficiencies of 11.7% on flexible stainless-steel cell strings manufactured on its roll-to-roll lines at its full-scale production facilities in Arizona and Germany.
Dow Corning has started construction of a high-purity monosilane gas manufacturing plant in Thomas Township, MI. The factory, located adjacent to Hemlock Semiconductor's polysilicon production facility, is expected to be completed in 2011.
First Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to build a multiphase solar power plant project in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, a site that will eventually reach 2GW in installed capacity. Once finalized, the agreement--the first of its kind between the Chinese authorities and a non-Chinese solar company--could also lead to the construction of First Solar moduling and supplier manufacturing facilities in the region.
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany have both independently certified that Innovalight has demonstrated 18% conversion efficiency with silicon-ink processed solar cells--said to be a record for this type of technology.
SMA Solar Technology has acquired the microinverter technology platform from Dutch company OKE-Services, a move that SMA says makes it the only manufacturer in the world with a product portfolio featuring all existing inverter technologies for operating photovoltaic systems of any size and with optimal technical system configuration.
Trina Solar has opened its own center of excellence to ensure a high level of quality assurance and precision testing of its PV modules. Located at the company's headquarters in Changzhou, the 7200-square-meter facility supports a comprehensive range of indoor and outdoor tests, including product certification processes, material reliability tests for module products, highly accelerated stress tests, and material evaluation and research.
