Solar Power Partners (SPP) and JCM Capital have signed a contract with Avacos Clean Energy, to provide long-term equity financing for its portfolio of rooftop solar arrays in Ontario. Funding will cover both the planning and construction of systems with a combined capacity of up to 20MW across the province.
CIS thin-film module manufacturer Solar Frontier has started shipping 150W modules with 12.2% conversion efficiencies after accelerating its production roadmap and achieving production targets ahead of schedule at its Kunitomi plant in Japan. Based on ‘keen’ interest in its low-cost, high-yield technology, which benefits from the ‘light soaking effect', unique to CIS technology, Solar Frontier said shipments were going to customers on a global basis, though quantity figures were not released.
Skyline Solar has announced the news that it has been awarded with three new patents in relation to its scalable CPV technology, two of which were awarded through the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Green Technology Pilot Program. The patents take the total number of CPV-related patents to seven for the company, and include 108 specific claims regarding BOS system and LCOE cost reduction innovations.
The Joint Forces for Solar initiative, organised by EuPD Research and Intersolar, saw its third US outing yesterday with the presentation of the “3rd US PV Briefing & Networking Forum.” As was the case with Intersolar Europe in Munich in early June, the forum drew large crowds of interested parties to the Innovation Exchange Area of the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where industry experts discussed the future of photovoltaics, with a special focus on California, and networking opportunities enabled discussions among the industry’s key stakeholders.
Equity analyst Jesse Pichel of investment bank Jeffries believes there is little sign of growing PV demand after attending the first day of Intersolar North America. In a research note to investors, Pichel cites weaker-than-expected market demand in the US, due to PV project developers and residential consumers waiting for PV prices to bottom.
Monocrystalline silicon solar cell specialist, Suniva is adding 25-30MW of module production to its Norcross, Georgia plant, which already has a capacity of 170MW for its ‘ARTisun Select’ solar cells. The expansion is scheduled to be completed in late August and operational in September, 2011, according to the company.
Suntech Power has extended the limited warranty for it solar panels from five to 10 years. The new warranty covers defects concerning materials and workmanship and is applicable for all standard panels shipped out after April 1.
Conergy Group has finished work on the UK’s largest solar power park. The 5MW free-field system took just six weeks to complete and is located in the tiny parish of Hawton in Nottinghamshire.
Phoenix Solar was selected by solarcomplex, a regional supplier of renewable energies in the Lake Constance region of Germany, to act as the EPC contractor for the 4.7MW power plant being built in Bodman-Ludwigshafen, Germany. The project will be developed on around .49 miles of land on both sides of the railway tracks between Stockach to Radolfzell.
Solar inverter manufacturer KACO new energy has made inroads into the US market with the signing of a US manufacturing partnership with manufacturing solutions company Sanmina-SCI. The partnership will see Sanmina provide end-to-end manufacturing services for its blueplanet 02xi inverter series with the intention of reducing manufacturing costs and overall delivery times.
