Despite reports that Solar Frontier’s 900MW, CIS thin film production plant in Miyazaki, Japan has reached full capacity the company has said nothing of the sort. What Solar Frontier has said is that all production lines are now commercially operational having started its production ramp earlier this year. The Kunitomi Plant was said to be ‘on track to reach its targeted annual capacity of 900MW as average module output continues to increase, without giving a timeline. The Kunitomi Plant is said to be Japan’s largest solar module production facility, as well as the largest CIS factory in the world.
The ongoing wafer supply deal dispute between China Sunergy and REC Wafer entered a new phase with a Norwegian court ruling in favour of China Sunergy. REC Wafer is said to appeal the decision made by the Norwegian Court of Appeal.
Phoenix Solar has secured two new contracts of one MWp each in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat states, India. The projects were signed with Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd in Singapore, its Asia Pacific subsidiary. Both PV projects will use thin film technologies. Both projects are scheduled to be connected to the grid by 31 December, 2011.
German football club Bayer 04 Leverkusen has signed a three-year sponsorship contract with solar giants JinkoSolar. The deal provides Jinko with advertising space at the club’s BayArena and also grants it exclusive rights to install solar panels on the stadium itself.
Having undertaken a scan of the geographical map for PV demand, Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel believes the long anticipated second-half year boom is proving elusive to see. In a research note to investors, the firm noted that demand improved in June, but July appears to have flatlined, despite increased factory utilization from major PV module suppliers. Pichel raised the alarm that inventory could be building again, after being consumed in the April-June timeframe.
The recently completed 10MW utility-scale solar project in Larissa, Greece, which is being hailed as the largest solar plant in the country, is sporting Yingli Green Energy Holding PV modules. The project was developed by Selected Energy, a subsidiary of Selected Textiles, and constructed by Biosar Energy. Financing for the 10MW project was provided on a long-term, non-recourse basis from the project finance team at Piraeus Bank.
Spire has begun the expansion of its Advanced Technology Center (ATC) lab at its corporate headquarters in Bedford, MA, with updated equipment for customer evaluation and factory training. The new Spire systems installed include a larger format laminator and electroluminescence crack detection system, as well as next-generation assembler and simulator gear.
Despite the first-half slump in PV installations and significant inventory build across the PV supply chain, leading polysilicon producer Hemlock Semiconductor would seem to be riding its 50th year in business in style, as Dow Corning management noted that the polysilicon JV arm had remained ‘sold-out’ in the first half of the year and the situation would remain the same for sometime.
Granted, we are dealing with little acorns, but Westinghouse Solar reported revenue for the second quarter of 2011, up 38% q-on-q and expects revenue to accelerate further from the third quarter onwards as its recently announced new modules gain traction in the market.
OPEL Solar International has signed a contract to supply modules for Limen’s two 1MW high-concentration PV (HCPV) power plants in Sicily, Italy. The order is valued at US$5 million and OPEL will begin delivery of the Mk-I modules in late 2011.
