Ten years to the day that Q-Cells manufactured its first solar cell, the company has revealed that it is independently launching production of its Q.Peak high-performance module at its Solar Valley Thalheim headquarters. The new production line was commissioned on July 25 holding a 130MWp production capacity and will produce the Q.Peak modules from monocrystalline solar cells made in Germany.
In an effort to help India meet its Solar Mission goal of 1000MW of grid-connected solar power projects by 2013, Thermax Limited and Amonix signed a new deal to bring CPV technology to India. Under the partnership, Amonix will provide its solar power generation systems while Thermax will act as the engineering, procurement and construction partner for the customer’s turnkey solutions.
In January, SunRun published a report explaining how local governments inadvertently drive up the cost of installing solar projects on a home. Between local solar permitting and inspection processes, a home installation was costing, on average, an additional US$2,500. Six months after its initial report, SunRun has revealed a new study published by Aecom, which confirms how a simpler solar permitting process can potentially generate more than US$5 billion in new growth for the state of California.
Collaboration between Merck and Nano-C is intended to bring about breakthroughs in nanostructured fullerene derivatives and semiconducting material formulations that overcome performance limitations of existing organic photovoltaics (OPV) materials. Merck’s Chilworth Technical Centre near Southampton, UK, is heading up the research.
QSolar has added a second production line to its manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. The addition of a second line has doubled production capacity at the site from 20MW to 40MW a year.
Thermal processing equipment specialist Despatch Industries has been acquired by Illinois Tool Works for an undisclosed amount. ITW does not have any direct previous involvement in the PV industry. Despatch had posted record revenue in 2010 of US$200 million and is expected to produce revenue above US$200 million this year. ITW's revenues exceeded US$15 billion in 2010.
Bucking the trend for downward revised shipment guidance for the second quarter, Canadian Solar said that it expects module shipments of approximately 295MW, higher than previous guidance of between 245MW-255MW. The company said that increased demand had led to the revision but would also mean gross margin guidance would be at the lower end of its prior guidance range of 13%-15%. Greater reliance on outside purchased solar cells to meet orders was said to be the reason for the lower expected margins.
Solektra has received the first shipment of DEGERenergie’s MLD tracking systems for its 30kW PV plant in Križopotje, Croatia. The development is the first to use dual-axis tracking in Croatia and is comprised of four smaller systems equipped with DEGERtraker 7000NT systems.
Solar cell manufacturer Blue Chip Energy has filed for insolvency. The company informed a court in Eisenstadt about its financial state on Thursday and production was abandoned with immediate effect.
Capstone Infrastructure Corporation and SunPower have officially unveiled their new 20MW solar system in Amherstburg, Ontario. Although the system has been operational since June 30, it was only formally opened on Thursday when Capstone and SunPower employees and town politicians officially dedicated the 220-acre site.
