According to Algerian newspaper El Watan, Edielec is to open a 12MW manufacturing facility producing about 54,000 solar modules annually. The plant is to become operational in March.
Investment companies are continuing to investigate opportunities in emerging markets, one of which is Ghana, which is being studied by a Korean company with a view to investing in the company’s solar market. The Ghana Energy Commission and Halla Energy and Environment, a Kyonggi-do, South Korea-based EPC company, have been in discussions to establish a framework under which the latter could invest in the development of 300MW of solar energy in the country.
With any emerging technology it is to be expected that there will be both winners and losers. According to a new report from Lux Research, few of the CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) thin-film manufacturers stand out, while others will find partners or wither away. According to the market research firm, 2011 was a breakout year for CIGS module shipments and installations, generating 1.2GW of demand. Lux is forecasting the CIGS market to reach 2.3GW in 2015, generating US$2.35 billion in revenue.
Financially challenged Q-Cells said it will restructure its finances in 2 key steps to avoid payment defaults to bondholders. The company confirmed 2011 revenue forecast of around €1 billion but said total losses for the year had yet to be concluded. Q-Cells guided a further decline in revenue in 2012 to approximately €865 million. A return to profitability was not expected until 2014, though this would only occur should all three outstanding convertible bond renegotiations prove successful.
Industrial wastewater treatment (IWT) system manufacturer Saita srl has successfully installed an IWT for an unnamed Belgian solar cell manufacturer. This installation, which claims to recycle 97% of the wastewater used in the multicrystalline cell manufacturing process, marks the second such system installed by Saita, and the Italian company has set its sights on expanding the uptake of such systems across the PV manufacturing industry.
EnterSolar has finished a 228kW solar PV system for Ontel Productions New Jersey headquarters. The rooftop system was officially placed into service in December 2011 and takes advantage of several renewable energy incentives, including the Section 48 Investment Tax Credit, the PSE&G Solar Loan Program and the Bonus Depreciation benefits for solar projects.
Deutsche Bank’s 50-floor, 745-foot-tall skyscraper at 60 Wall Street, Manhattan, New York now features a 122.4kW solar system. Though claimed to be tallest PV system installed in the world to date, several installations in the Alps from the last few years lay a similar claim, including ‘Mountain Crystal,’ designed and built by the Swiss Federal Technical University in Zurich (ETH), which is located 2,883m above sea level.
Solar distributor Donauer Solartechnik is, like several others in the industry, aiming to capitalize on emerging markets by opening a branch in Muscat, Oman. This branch will be the first step in the establishment of a sales and service network and will be directed by investor Saleh Ahmed Al Badi, chairman and president at NAS Oman international LLC, with whom Donauer has a joint-venture agreement.
Harnessing its R&D into both c-Si and a-Si thin-film technologies, Moser Baer Solar said that it would upgrade its solar cell processes using metal and intrinsic layer semiconductor technology (MIST) to achieve average cell conversion efficiencies of 21% and join the few cell producers at the top table above 20%.
Mage Solar revealed that it had opened a logistics centre in Dagenham, located near London, in order to better serve the British solar market. The company looks to the new site to deliver its PV system components to its installation partners at a more efficient speed. Mage Solar has had a sales team in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 2011 and noted that it continues to expand its network of installation partners.
