News

A new thin-film amorphous photovoltaic manufacturing company has been formed under the Masdar Initiative, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy program, dubbed Masdar PV. The new company will initially invest $600 million in two separate SunFab turnkey 5.7 m2 module production lines supplied by Applied Materials in Erfurt, Germany and in Abu Dhabi. Total investment has been put as $2 billion with an expected capacity in excess of 1GW of annual production by 2014. The combined initial production capacity of the two sites was said to be 210 megawatts, with the capacity already committed to PV system installers in Europe and projects for Masdar itself.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. has acquired a minority stake in Shunda Holdings, a China-based solar wafer manufacturer. The transaction saw Suntech hand over $98.9 million to Actis, a private equity investor for emerging markets, and to Waichun Investment Fund.

Q-Cells has announced its intentions to develop a major thin film photovoltaics manufacturing facility at the Silicon Border industrial park near Mexicali, Mexico at a projected cost of $3.5 billion. The development is dependent on the future growth of the PV market in the US, Mexico and Latin America and is a mid to long-term plan according to Q-Cells.

Over 30 PV equipment and materials suppliers have come together to form the International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) to collaborate on strategic partnerships, develop business opportunities and to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas. The companies, which hail from Europe, the U.S. and Asia, will work together in supporting each other’s events...

Baoding Yingli Group Co. Ltd. has announced its intention to enter the realm of polysilicon manufacturing. Yingli Group expects to establish a green field project, primarily using Siemens methodology, to manufacture 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon annually in Baoding, China.

ersol Solar Energy AG has signed a long-term agreement with aleo solar AG to supply the module producer with crystalline silicon solar cells for a 12-year period, beginning in 2008. The contract volume of the agreement is approximately 250MWp and is expected to cost in the region of $3 billion.

Greentech Media, Inc. has announced the completion of a Series B Round of financing, raising $2.75million, and the subsequent appointment of a senior analyst to drive the company’s corporate growth. Michael Kanellos, well known in the industry for his role as CNET Green Technology Editor, brings experience in producing and analysing content to his new role as Senior Analyst for the company.

The EPIA will host the first International Conference on Thin Films in the Solar Photovoltaic sector in November 2008 in Munich, Germany. The event is being held due to the significant ramp in thin-film technologies that is expected through 2010, which could see the technology represent 20 percent of the overall PV module production capacity.

Suntech Power has reiterated its plans to achieve a name plate production capacity of 1GW in solar cells by the end of 2008. Suntech also expects total PV module shipments to reach 530MW and revenues in the range of $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion for 2008. The company plans to spend between $200 million and $300 million on capital equipment this year to add between 20 and 30 plus production lines with a nominal capacity of 30MW per annum to enable it to reach its 1GW capacity target.

XsunX has signed an agreement with Praxair for the supply of bulk industrial gases for its new multi-megawatt thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar manufacturing facility near Portland, Oregon.