Features

Take any market research firm’s data on end-user demand for solar modules and compare that with manufacturing supply and there is a massive gap to the negative, pushing prices lower from bare wafers to modules. Last week, Q-Cells binned its forecast for revenue for 2009, citing continued lack of demand and falling prices due to the competitive landscape caused by overcapacity.

After a slow start, this year’s PV Industry Forum, the traditional opening conference of Intersolar Week in Munich, finally got going during the last session of the day with a resounding call to action from none other than Q-Cells’ boss, Anton Milner. The conference opened with the usual slides and the usual suspects giving their views of the overall solar market. The obligatory emerging market was given lip service--this time it was India--while the rest of the presentations mostly failed to engage the audience in a meaningful way. Things changed during the afternoon....

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has improved its highest conversion efficiency rate for a 150 x 150 millimeter practical-size multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell by 0.3 points from 18.6 percent to achieve a claimed new world record of 18.9%.

Product Briefing Outline: Reis Robotics has now implemented a newly developed laser soldering procedure for practical use with several customers. Photovoltaics manufacturers are increasingly anxious to fully exploit the automation potential of their production capacity in order to deal with the increasing demands for lower prices. Reis Robotics as system supplier with its subsidiary Reis Lasertec as laser welding specialist have combined skill sets to deliver a laser soldering method for higher quality, shortened cycle times and reductions in manual rework.

Product Briefing Outline: Veeco Instruments has introduced its ‘FastFlex’ line of Web Coating Systems designed for manufacturing CIGS solar cells (those using copper, indium, gallium and selenium). Veeco’s ‘FastFlex’ web deposition platform offers high throughput and improved performance for flexible thin film solar cell production that is claimed to contribute to a lower cost of ownership, due to its high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint.

Product Briefing Outline: First Solar’s FS Series 2 PV Modules are designed for use in grid-connected, commercial power plants and are sold to leading system integrators, independent power project developers and utility companies worldwide. The modules are CdTe thin film in construction that will generally produce more electricity under real-world conditions than conventional solar modules with similar power ratings and the lowest cost per watt overall.

Product Briefing Outline: Pasan SA has introduced a new electronic load that is more accurate and offers several additional features for the testing of solar cells and modules. This electronic load not only is fitted to module and cell flashers, but also can be combined with continuous light sources. Furthermore the equipment is suitable for outdoor testing.

In our first full year online, we have steadily increased the number of new products we have reviewed and also seen the new products section gain increasingly greater traffic levels throughout the year. Looking through the traffic numbers, we have identified the Top 5 most popular reviews of new products for your enjoyment.

Product Briefing Outline: Rohm and Haas Company has launched its new line of ‘Enlight’ materials suite of products for crystalline silicon cell photovoltaic manufacturing. The Enlight product suite is designed to improve traditional solar cell processing by increasing cell efficiency and increasing manufacturing yields.