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.
Gehrlicher Solar has finished work on its first solar project in Bulgaria. The 1.2MW ground-mounted system, located near the town of Breznik, is expected to generate around 1.4 million kWh of electricity per annum after it is connected to the grid in the coming weeks.
AccuStrata has signed a contract to sell its monitoring and automation systems to one of India’s largest crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturers. The platform will help to increase the yields of the unnamed firm and represents AccuStrata’s largest deal to date in Asia.
Solar PV mounting systems specialist, PanelClaw is revealing its next generation of ballasted commercial flat roof solar mounting systems at Intersolar North America. PanelClaw's ‘Polar Bear’ FR Gen II and ‘Grizzly Bear’ FR Gen II solar racking solutions feature design enhancements that are claimed to deliver lower project costs and offer greater design flexibility.
