A subsidiary of China Technology Development Group Corp. has lined up $36 million in credit from a leading Chinese commercial bank to enhance the solar PV company's manufacturing plant. The company said that China Merchants Zhangzhou Development Zone Trenda Solar Energy Ltd. (known as Trenda Solar) has received a commitment of credit line worth RMB 250 million from the Fujian branch of China Construction Bank.
SpectraWatt, the solar cell spinoff from Intel, has stopped construction on its Hillsboro, OR, manufacturing facility and may seek another plant location because of financing difficulties, according to a news report in the Oregonian. The story says that Andrew Wilson, SpectraWatt's CEO, "confirmed Wednesday that the company had suspended construction plans and was searching inside and outside the state for an existing building to retrofit for less money."
The Austin-American Statesman reports that HelioVolt has enacted "a 'modest' reduction in its workforce," cutting about 15 jobs. The copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide thin-film PV company "made the cuts because of a weak economy and because the company is shifting away from pure research and toward becoming a manufacturer of solar power products," according to the story.
SunEdison and Developers Diversified Realty have embarked on what is being called the largest solar distributed generation program of its kind. The North American solar energy services provider has obtained the rights to deploy PV systems at more than 200 shopping centers developed and managed by the Cleveland-based real estate investment trust. The potential capacity of the program could run as high as 259 MW on locations in 24 states and Puerto Rico, covering up to an estimated 30 million square feet.
Thin-film solar PV manufacturer Odersun has appointed former NXP Semiconductors exec Hein van der Zeeuw as its new CEO. Van der Zeeuw has 26 years of experience in the electronic components and semiconductor industry and is a former member of the board of management of Philips spin-out NXP, which he resigned from in July, 2008 after serving as executive VP of operations.
Solar start-up companies accounted for more than half of the $2.5 billion-plus in venture capital investments made in the final quarter of 2008, according to the latest Venture Power Report issued by Greentech Media. Twenty-nine VC rounds in the solar sector were completed during the quarter, for a total of almost $1.336 billion, outpacing the next busiest sector--ethanol/biofuels/gasification--by a wide margin. The report says that investment numbers should stay strong through 2009, with smart grid, energy storage, and energy efficiency applications as areas of likely focus.
China Sunergy has signed a one-year agreement to supply multicrystalline solar cells to privately owned Indian module manufacturer Ajit Solar. The deal calls for the PV manufacturer to deliver 12 MW of cells to Ajit next year.
Green Energy Technology has become the latest company--and the first in Taiwan--employing Applied Materials' SunFab amorphous-silicon thin-film PV module turnkey manufacturing line technology to achieve volume production status. The Taiwanese firm said it will reach an annualized capacity of 30 MW on its Generation 8.5 large-area glass line in the first quarter of 2009, and then ramp to 50 MW by the fourth quarter.
First Solar has completed its first 10-MW ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant for Sempra Generation near Boulder City, NV, a project said to be the largest thin-film solar power plant in North America. Under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement with the El Dorado Energy subsidiary of Sempra, Pacific Gas and Electric will buy the solar-generated electricity produced by the plant, with first power deliveries expected by Jan. 1.
Yingli Green Energy has signed separate solar module sales agreements with two leading German PV system integrators, City Solar and Wirsol. The City Solar deal calls for the supply of 20 MW of modules in 2009, while the Wirsol contract commits the Chinese company to provide 15 MW of panels.
