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.
Nanometrics Incorporated, a supplier of metrology systems has announced that a major manufacturer of advanced thin-film solar PV cells has successfully installed the latest generation of the Trajectory Solar Monitor (TSM) metrology system for in-line process monitoring and control of CIGS films. Exact details of the transaction are yet to be disclosed.
Astronergy, a unit of Chint Group, advised that Munich RE had selected its thin-film amorphous microcrystalline silicon PV panels for a 1.65MW solar project in Thailand. The plant was commissioned on October 28 with Astronergy noting that various Chint subsidiary components were being used for including inverters and BOS system elements.
Total sales from Panasonic’s new subsidiary, Sanyo were down 19% to 669.3 billion yen, compared with 829.7 billion yen in the same period a year ago. Though the company did not provide disclosure of Sanyo solar PV business separately, Panasonic did say that sales were stable in the quarter. Sanyo had previously not disclosed PV sales separately.
