The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s high-desert Adelanto Switching and Converter Station has started to take shape. Located on a 42-acre site, about 65 miles north of Los Angeles, construction on the project began in February this year, after the Board of Water and Power Commissioners granted final approval for the project in December 2010.
As part of its long-term cost reduction goals for its turnkey Micromorph thin film silicon ‘ThinFab’ production lines, Oerlikon Solar has teamed with gas suppliers Air Liquide and Linde to provide more than a 20% reduction in total cost of all gases and precursors. As a result, its ThinFab (120MWp) lines going into full production by end of 2012 can reduce module production costs by up to 5%. The total gas budget was said to be less than €8.50 per panel.
Semiconductor equipment supplier, Novellus Systems is developing what it describes as conformal film deposition (CFD) technology, an atomic layer deposition process to grow conformal metal oxide and metal nitride dipole layers in the PV cells. Collaboration is being undertaken with the University of South Florida (USF), to study the precise engineering of solar cell interfaces via a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.
David Brady, First Solar’s VP of Treasury is also taking over the role of Investor Relations, reporting to Mark Widmar, Chief Financial Officer. Former investor relations officer, Larry Polizzotto remains within the company, though no formal position has been chosen. Reasons for the shuffle were not given.
Pushing the boundaries of conventional silicon solar cell technology, while offering a low-cost production approach, took another step forward, according to R&D organisation, imec. In conjunction with its industrial affiliates, researchers have developed a small-area (2x2 cm2) - interdigitated back-contact (IBC) silicon solar cells that has demonstrated a conversion efficiency of 23.3%. Work will now focus on developing a large-area and production viable cell and process steps.
OPDE has signed a module supply contract with Canadian Solar for its 8.8MW solar power plant in Ablitas, Spain. Installation of the CS6P-P series modules began last month and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
JCM Capital has signed an agreement with Hay Solar Holdings ULC to provide development, construction and long-term equity financing for a 30MW portfolio in Ontario, Canada. The portfolio will be comprised of a series of 100kW solar installations at farms across the province.
National Solar Power and Hardee County, Florida have advised that with the signing of a developer agreement, National Solar Power plans to build a 200MW solar farm in the county. The project is said to have a US$700 million price tag and will be the company’s second solar farm. While the Hardee County Commission recently approved the agreement, the local and state permitting process is still pending.
At Suntech Power Holdings’ recent Global Supplier Conference, the company recognized 19 companies with its award ceremony, one of them being DuPont, which was honored for its supply and technical service as well as its product innovation and collaboration. DuPont provides Suntech with its Solamet PV metallization pastes for its solar cells and also supplies Suntech’s backsheets with the DuPont Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride film.
Gemma Renewable Power (GRP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gemma Power Systems, which is a subsidiary of Argan, advised that it had executed a US$16.6 million EPC contract with Southern Sky Renewable Energy Canton for the design and construction of a 5.7MW solar project. The installation, which will be built on a closed capped landfill in Canton, Massachusetts, will feature 19,800 PV panels across 12.5 acres. GRP has already received a full release to start construction and engineering activities and aims to have the projected completed by the summer of 2012.
