Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley is the new home for Helios USA’s new manufacturing facility, which officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony today. Helios, who states that they are the state’s first manufacturer of high-performance solar modules that can be used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility-based solar projects, is already manufacturing panels and shipping them across the U.S. from its new Wisconsin facility.
Concurrent to its OHSAS 18001 and SA8000 certifications, Suntech Power Holdings has been given the Global Leader Award 2011 from Murphy&Spitz; an award that honors sustainable organizations for their environmental, health and safety (EH&S) practices. Suntech noted that it is the first global solar company to receive both the OHSAS 18001 and SA8000 certifications.
Hanwha SolarOne and CNBM International have collectively extended their business relationship with a new order by CNBM International, which calls for Hanwha SolarOne to supply 50MW of it PV modules throughout 2011. The two companies originally entered into their business relationship in September 2010, when Hanwha SolarOne agreed to supply CNBM International with 10MW of PV modules during 2010.
In accordance with the strategic cooperation agreement signed by JA Solar Holdings and the Hefei City Government, JA Solar will be constructing a 3GW integrated solar industry production base for the company’s solar cells in Hefei, the capital city of East China’s Anhui, Province.
Production capacity at DEGERenergie’s tracking system facility in Ontario, Canada is set to double in the first half of 2011. Last year’s output level has already been increased by 50% and the German firm expects to see production rise by a further 50% in the second quarter as it attempts to take advantage of a spate of recently-announced Canadian projects.
The Japan Photovoltaic Expansion Center (J-PEC) has certified a system configuration featuring Upsolar photovoltaic (PV) modules. The accreditation, which was obtained on February 3rd, insures that Upsolar products can be installed on residences and commercial facilities in Japan, qualifying them for Government solar subsidies.
Sputnik Engineering will be releasing its new communication software, MaxTalk2 at the 26th Symposium on Photovoltaic Solar Energy in Bad Staffelstein taking place March 2 through March 4. The new software edition is said to be able to monitor and manage the measured values of solar plants that use SolarMax inverters while permitting users to survey the status of their solar plant by looking at operating data, statistics, measured values and device parameters.
Ultrasonic Systems has recently installed and commissioned its PV-480 coating system for an unspecified U.S. CdTe solar panel manufacturer. Ultrasonic advised that the solar panel manufacturer intends to use the system for the application of cadmium chloride solution in its absorber layer activation process.
Solon Corporation has won a contract to build a 15MW solar power plant for Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) in Fresno, California. Construction on the 160-acre site will begin this April and is expected to be completed by October.
Solar Rainbow Services and Carlisle Energy Services have joined forces to install a 2.3MW rooftop PV system on Jordache Enterprises’ New Jersey distribution center and warehouse.
