Suniva has announced its high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells have been installed at a 1MW, 4.5 acre, solar farm at Chattanooga Airport, Tennessee, US. Implemented by Inman Solar, this installation is the first phase of a 3MW project by Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA), designed to reduce pollution, waste and energy consumption. Since December, the solar farm has generated nearly 90,000kWh of electricity with no pollution.
In addition to the 8% FiT cuts made in January, effective March 1 the Swiss Federal Department of Energy (DETEC) will further reduce the FiTs for PV power plants by 10% for new facilities.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance has announced that it has changed certain FiT regulations, claiming this will speed up domestic large-scale applications of PV power generation and promote sustained and steady development of the PV industry. This will apply to grid-connected PV installations.
According to Polyera, the Newport Corporation’s PV cell lab has confirmed that Polyera’s polymer/fullerene OPV cell has achieved a 9.1% power conversion efficiency with an inverted bulk heterojunction architecture using ActivInk PV 2000 semiconductor material. The company said its active layer materials are able to be deposited using a wider range of film thickness without lower cell efficiency, which is said to improve yields and simplify manufacturing.
DuPont and Suntech Power Holdings announced that they had entered into a strategic agreement with an overall goal of augmenting the supply of PV materials and technologies in the global solar energy market. The companies agreement will specifically focus on technology advancements, supply chain optimization cost reduction initiatives and DuPont’s Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride film supply.
Danfoss Solar Inverters and MimtaSolar have entered an agreement, which will see MimtaSolar distribute Danfoss’s TLX and ULX inverter series throughout Turkey. The company will offer its single phase products in the 1.8kW to 5.4kW range and three phase products in the 6kW to 15kW range. The Danfoss inverter line is slated to be integrated into Mimta’s turnkey PV systems.
Israel’s energy and water minister, Uzi Landau, has signed a further 19 licenses for 27MW of solar photovoltaic projects, bringing the total number of conditional solar licenses granted for the country’s electricity grid to 515.5MW.
SunPower has now completed the acquisition of BIPV specialist Tenesol from Total, paying out US$165.4 million in cash. Ownership of Total in SunPower will increase to 66% as part of the transaction as Total purchases 18.6 million shares of SunPower common stock in a private placement at US$8.80 per share.
Instituto de Energía Solar at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has certified that Semprius’ HCPV modules have set a new world record with an efficiency level of 33.9%. The module was tested indoors at Standard Test Conditions (850 W/m2, 25°C cell temperature, and a spectrum matched to AM1.5D) and corroborated by outdoor measurements made at the Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems (ISFOC) in Puertollano, Spain. The HCPV modules significantly exceed the previous claim of 32.0%.
Fluor Corporation announced it had been selected last year for its EPC services to contribute towards Arlington Valley Solar Energy II’s (AVSE II) 125MW solar facility in Maricopa County, Arizona. Fluor has also acquired a contract for ongoing operations and maintenance services. In 2002, Fluor designed and constructed the Arlington Valley Combined Cycle Facility nearby.
