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.
Canadian Solar has supplied over one quarter of the modules for a recently completed 10MW solar project in Cavriglia, Italy. The system’s 40,000 modules – including 12,465 of Canadian Solar’s CS6P-P series – were installed by Coop Cellini Impianti Tecnologici and connected to the grid in October.
BrightSource Energy is adding molten salt storage capacity to three concentrating solar power (CSP) plants it is building for Southern California Edison (SCE). The additional capacity will also dispense with the need for one of the seven 200MW power stations BrightSource had agreed to build in the original contract.
Verified by the Fraunhofer ISE Institute, CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenid) thin-film manufacturer, Solibro a subsidiary of Q-Cells has reported a CIGS test module has achieved a new world record conversion efficiency of 17.4%. Earlier this year Solibro produced a record full-module reading of 14.7% in series production.
Solar manufacturing giant Suntech Power has appointed Pawel Nowotny as the new head of its European marketing team. Nowotny will be based out of Suntech’s European headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and responsible for implementing the company’s long-term brand-building strategy across Europe.
