In a bid to strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia, Yingli Green Energy has established its regional headquarters in Singapore. Setting up the subsidiary Yingli Green Energy Singapore, the company will drive sales and further business development from the new office, which is located on Battery Road.
Trina Solar subsidiary Changzhou Trina Solar Energy has extended its national distribution agreement with RF Industries (RFI). Initially signed in January 2010, the ~40MW deal, which recognizes RFI as Trina’s exclusive distributor in Australia, will now run until December 31, 2012.
centrotherm photovoltaics and Kinetics Germany have signed an agreement with Société Nationale de l'Electricité et du Gaz (Sonelgaz) to build an integrated solar module manufacturing facility in Rouiba, Algeria. When completed, the 43,000-square-metre site, located 30 km east of Algiers, will be home to Africa’s largest solar module factory and have an annual production capacity of around 116MW.
Q-Cells is set to become the first German firm to enter into the Japanese solar residential sector and is establishing a sales network of selected local installers, Q-Cells Meister Club (QMC), to help smooth its market entry.
Italian agro-industrial group Cereals Docks has installed four solar rooftop arrays at two of its sites on the outskirts of Venice. The systems were installed by electrical engineers Elpo, which used over 15,000 polycrystalline modules and Sputnik Engineering’s SolarMax C central inverters to build the 3MW portfolio.
Under its new recognition by Japan’s Department of Energy and its Japanese Photovoltaic Expansion Center (J-PEC), Intertek’s CB reports on PV products distributed to the Japanese market will be eligible for consumer subsidies. The recognition allows for a more streamlined operation where a manufacturer that has their PV products tested and certified by Intertek will not need any supplementary certifications or approvals when entering the Japanese market.
Eric Daniels will be leading the Solar Energy North American division of Robert Bosch as the department’s first solar energy regional president. In his new role, Daniels will supervise the company’s solar business in North America while specifically focusing on business development opportunities. Daniels is a 14-year veteran of the solar industry who joins Bosch from BP Solar where he served as CTO for seven years.
Together with Annex Power, the Bangkok-based systems integrator, Conergy will build what will be its third solar power plant on Thai soil in the space of a year. The 12.4MW solar park in Nakhon Pathom province, which will cover an area of 268,500m2, follows on from the recently-completed 3MW Ayutthaya solar park, constructed for the investors Yanhee Solar and Ratchaburi Electricity, which have entered into a joint venture agreement to develop solar energy parks in Thailand.
Expanding its global team of solar technology experts, Amtech Systems has appointed semiconductor and solar industry veterans Dr. James Hwang and Dr. SooKap Hahn as chief technology officer and member of the board, respectively.
Solaria has officially unveiled its new manufacturing plant and solar array at the company headquarters in Fremont, California. The opening ceremony was attended by Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom, EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld and several other state dignitaries.
