News

Evergreen Solar has signed a second supply agreement with polysilicon supplier DC Chemical, which will bring the agreement’s lifespan through to 2015.

EMCORE has signed a memorandum of understanding with SunPeak Solar forthe provision and installation of between 200MW and 700MW of turnkeysolar power systems for SunPeak’s project in Albuquerque, New Mexico.SunPeak expects construction of the utility scale project to begin inearly 2009.

Amtech Systems has received a further $4.3 million in orders to ship inits fiscal 2008. Since October 1st 2007, Amtech has received solarorders totaling approximately $33 million, the company said. The neworders were placed with its subsidiary Tempress Systems for diffusionprocessing systems, and are from two new German customers and afollow-on order from an existing customer based in the Asia-Pacificmarket.

Trina Solar has provided manufacturing guidance for 2008 and beyondwith the target of achieving cell efficiency rates of approximately 19percent for monocrystalline solar cells by 2010. Importantly, TrinaSolar expects to reduce wafer thickness to 140 microns by 2010 as partof its cost reduction strategies. Multicrystalline cell efficienciesare also expected to reach 18 percent in the same timeframe. Currently,the company plans to initiate production tests of 180-micron wafers andcells in the first half of 2008.

SunEdison has started construction with local partner Sunergy of itsfirst solar power plant in Spain, which is expected to be completed bythe third quarter of 2008. Sunergy currently has over 20MW of PVground-mounted and rooftop projects under development in Spain.SunEdison has over 31MW currently under management and over 52MW ofhands-on installation experience, the company said.

First Solar, Inc. has named Kathy Weiss as Vice President of GovernmentRelations to oversee the company’s public policies and manage thecompany’s state and federal affairs...

Stefan Thiel (pictured) has been appointed to the role of Sales Managerfor the solar cell manufacturer, taking over from Franz Ziering. ersol’s sales and strategic purchasing sectors...

Global Solar Energy has claimed that in December, 2007 it became the first Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin-film solar manufacturer to achieve an average of 10 percent solar cell efficiency on a flexible substrate over ‘several production runs.’

Voltaix, LLC has said that it has significantly increased theproduction of trimethylboron to meet growing demand from the PVthin-film manufacturing industry. The product specifications for oxygenand other key contaminants have also been improved to ensure that theproduct will continue to meet the performance requirements of the solarindustry, the company said.

AOS Solar, a thin film silicon-on-glass start-up of2005, claims that it is aiming to achieve a 90 percent reduction in theamount of silicon its technology requires with a 50 percent energybudget reduction and a reduction in capital equipment costs of 50percent. This combination of crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV efficiencywith thin film manufacturing economics will be presented for the firsttime at the www.ibfconferences.com nanotechnology investment forum in Palm Springs, February 6.