With help from REC Solar and Gehrlicher Solar, IKEA will be installing approximately 10,000 solar panels across the rooftops of its Draper, Utah, New Haven Connecticut and Portland, Oregon stores. The three new installations will generate 3,156MWh of electricity per year and bring IKEA’s solar program to 23 store installations in the US.
CIGS thin-film module manufacturer MiaSolé has announced that it has manufactured its 50 millionth cell since its inception. Earlier this year the company, which uses 88 cells per PV module, teamed up with Intel’s Technical Manufacturing Services practice to accelerate its production ramp from 50MW to 150MW per annum capacity by the end of 2011.
Following the many obstacles which blocked SunPower’s route to completing its plant in San Luis Obispo County, it seems that now the path is clear and plans can move forward.
CNPV Solar Power has become the next target of accusations levied at it from The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM). The China-based integrated manufacturer of solar PV products has denied the allegations made in a trade action against suppliers of crystalline silicon PV cells and modules from the People's Republic of China.
In the fourth consecutive Schott Solar Barometer survey, conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Schott Solar, US-based respondents expressed a significant support for the use and development of solar energy and federal investments for solar. According to Kelton, nine out of 10 Americans, or 89%, responded that they felt it was important for the US to develop and use solar energy. Breaking the results down by political party, 80% of Republicans, 90% of Independents and 94% of Democrats, agreed for furthering solar in the US.
Onyx Service and Solutions is working its way to making solar power even more available to the public with its Plug-N-Play high efficiency solar panel. Company president Malcolm Burleson advised that Onyx had been focusing its development resources during the past year to bring the 280W panel to fruition.
Odersun’s thin-film solar cells will now carry the “Made in Europe” certificate, which was confirmed by the VDE Institute. The certificate allows solar plant operators using Odersun’s modules to participate in a 10% higher feed-in tariff from Italy’s Conto Energia IV.
Work will begin next year on the first phase of the 500MW Desertec concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Morocco, according to German newspaper Süddeutschen Zeitung. The initial development stage will cost around €600 million and add 150MW of capacity to the yet-to-be-named site.
LDK Solar subsidiary LDK Silicon & Chemical Technology has been invited by the City Government of Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to construct a 30,000MT polysilicon manufacturing facility in the region’s Jinsan Development Zone. The groundbreaking ceremony took place today, and the additional capacity will take LDK Silicon’s total polysilicon production capacity to 55,000MT per annum by the end of 2013.
