News

A group of industrial partners have said that they have developed apulling process resulting in silicon crystals with a diameter of 300mm.The process, specifically for applications within the solar cell andmodule market, can reduce energy consumption in the pulling processcompared to smaller sizes and allow the energy recoup time per W (peak)to be faster.

Green and Gold Energy (GGE) has placed a follow-on order for 3 millionconcentrator solar cell units, equivalent to 105MW of energy fromEMCORE Corporation. The 105 MW purchase order is valued at $24 millionand is claimed to be the largest procurement of concentrator solarcells in the industry to date. All hardware ordered under this contractis to be shipped by the end of 2008, according to EMCORE.

A number of key appointments and promotions were announced for Suntechrecently, including appointments to Chief Strategy Officer, InvestmentDirector and Senior Director of Business Development for the U.S. Specific appointments are set out below.

SunPower’s Global Quality and Customer Satisfaction division hasreceived a new Vice President in the form of Surinder Bedi, announcedcompany CEO Tom Werner (pictured).  This role will see him implementand drive the company’s improvement and quality programs and overseeingcustomer services.

Surfect Technologies has announced its move to start selling itssingle-cell electroplating tool and processes to the solar cellmanufacturing industry, following other semiconductor equipmentsuppliers into this rapidly expanding market.

WACKER CHEMIE AG and SCHOTT Solar have announced plans to jointlyinvest €370 million through 2012 in expanding multicrystalline siliconwafer production at facilities in Jena and Alzenau, Germany for solarcell production that is planned to generate one gigawatt/year by 2012. The joint venture would become one of the world´s five largestsolar-wafer manufacturers, according to the companies

WIN Semiconductors has placed an order with AIXTRON for its AIX 2600G3IC epitaxy reactor that will be used for the development andmanufacture of triple junction solar cells on germanium wafers forterrestrial Solar Cell applications. It will be installed in WINSemiconductors’ facility in Kuei Shan Hsiang, Taiwan.

Green Energy Technology has awarded Applied Materials with a contract to supply a complete production line for thin film solar modules using ultra-large 5.7m2 glass panels. Applied will deliver the fully integrated line of equipment for the new facility being built in TaoYuan, Taiwan in the first half of 2008 with production expected later that year. The facility will have a nominal rated capacity of 40 megawatts per year.

Continuing its strategic focus on the solar cell manufacturing market, Applied Materials has made another major acquisition in the solar equipment sector with the purchase of Switzerland-based HCT Shaping Systems SA, the largest specialist in wafer sawing tools for both solar and semiconductor wafer markets.

The continued demand for polysilicon coming primarily from the solarcell industry has led to WACKER’s starting ‘stage 8’ of polysiliconproduction expansion at its Burghausen, Germany site by an additional7,000 metric tons to a total of 21,500 metric tons per year.