During Solarvalue’s annual general meeting, Dr. Christian Bornhauser (pictured), CTO of Solarvalue, announced that the company had created the first solar grade silicon-ingot, which weighed in at around 15kg during several repeated tests on different plants. He assured that the purity levels of phosphorus and boron were less than 1ppmw and within the demanded specifications.
CNPV Solar Power’s crystalline silicon solar PV modules have successfully achieved UL and C-UL certifications, which are needed for the modules’ use in the US and Canadian markets. CNPV now anticipates listing with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to follow its UL certification and is looking into opening a sales office in California and Canada to meet anticipated demands from the North American sector.
Independent Energy Solutions has completed and commissioned a 1.15MW (DC) solar photovoltaic installation for the Capital Group companies' Irvine, CA, campus. The system, which is mounted on shade structures on the roofs of three parking garages, provides nearly 50% of the energy used to power the campus data center and central plant equipment.
(Updated) Integrating energy harvesting technologies into crystalline solar modules is fast becoming the latest trend, which promises lower BOS costs compared to bolt-on applications. With the number of companies entering this market mushrooming in 2010, Suntech has decided to collaborate with at least four such firms, Tigo Energy, National Semiconductor, Azuray Technologies, and Enphase Energy.
Etrion has now completed the previously announced definitive sale and purchase agreements to acquire the equity in the first two phases of the SunPower Montalto di Castro solar park, for approximately €49 million. The acquisition of the 20MW first phase of the project was completed in August and the acquisition of the 8MW second phase was completed at the very end of September.
The latest figures for the German Bundesnetzagentur show that registered installations in Germany in the first eight months of 2010 reached 4.8GW, a massive 327% higher than the same period in 2009. According to IMS Research, Germany accounted for 48% of global demand in the first three quarters of 2010 – up from 40% for the same period in 2009.
The state of Ohio continues to assist in the development of the region’s growing solar photovoltaic sector, with the award of nearly $1.7 million in job training funds to four area companies: First Solar, Xunlight, Buckeye Silicon, and Nextronex. The grants represent the first monies distributed by the state’s Energizing Careers Program, which was launched in June with a budget of $6 million made possible through Recovery Act funds directed through the U.S. Department of Labor.
In IDC Energy Insights latest report, Technology Selection: Reducing Fire Risk in Rooftop Solar PV Systems, not only are the risks of a fire occurring on a rooftop PV solar system addressed, but so are the methods of prevention. IDC acknowledges that most owners of rooftop PV systems tend to overlook the potential fire risks as PV systems require little maintenance and don’t have moving parts. However, one of the leading risks of a fire on a rooftop system lies in the possibility for electricity to arc across an unwanted gap in the system’s electrical circuit creating an arc-fault.
In order for the Genesis Solar Energy Project and the Imperial Valley Solar Project to qualify for federal stimulus funds, they needed the approval of the California Energy Commission before December 31 and as the clock counted down, the Energy Commission gave their final approval for the two new solar projects in Southern California this week. The two projects are the fifth and sixth solar power plants that the Commission has given their approval for over the past five weeks...
Satcon Technology and GCL Solar Systems signed a manufacturing agreement to boost production of Satcon’s 500kW PowerGate Plus solar PV inverters in the Asia Pacific market. GCL will develop a manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China, which they expect will produce over 500MW of the inverters in 2011. Satcon will supply GCL with the manufacturing processes and technologies for the PowerGate Plus in order to complete final assembly at the GCL solar plant.
