Baraclit, an Italian prefabricated roofing developer for industrial and commercial industries, is sporting a new 2.5MW solar installation at its SolarLAB2 open-air solar laboratory in Bibbiena, Italy. Canadian Solar and Energy Resources partnered for the project, which aims to be a laboratory used to study the incorporation of photovoltaic technology on prefabricated roofing.
Vertically-integrated Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar has signed a contract to supply 35MW of its modules to Payom Solar in 2011. The modules are to be used on a range of Payom’s roof-top and ground-mounted projects across the U.S.
Manz Automation will break ground later this week on a new production, technology, and training facility in Suzhou, China. The factory will manufacture equipment for the photovoltaics, FPD, and PCB industries, with 50% devoted to solar tools, said company executives during a press conference held in conjunction with the SNEC trade show in Shanghai. The building will be finished by the end of this year, with production machinery installed early next year and the initial production ramp planned for February 2012.
Motech Industries is the latest company to become a member of PV Cycle, showing the company’s commitment to the environmental aspects of photovoltaic manufacturing by ensuring that its modules are properly recycled in Europe when they reach their “end-of-life.”
Australia’s Capital Territory (ACT) feed-in tariff has been expanded to include medium to large-scale solar projects in order to cater for larger commercial and industrial farms as well as community groups. According to the Australian Solar Energy Society, the gross feed-in tariff, which pays a premium for all solar energy generated, is now available for solar panel installations 30kW to 200kW.
Soltec Renewable Energies and Shikun & Binui Solaria are set to build a 6.7MW solar power plant in the disused copper mines of Timna Valley in southern Israel.
Parabel has been commissioned to develop one of Europe’s largest solar systems, the 41MW park in Brandenburg, Germany. The park, situated on the site of a former military training ground, is currently in the first planning and approval phase, with construction expected to take place between June and August; the final phase will increase output to 90MW.
First, Tessera Solar sold its 850MW Calico Solar project to K Road Sun in late December and now the company has announced that its 709MW Imperial Valley solar project has been bought by AES Solar, who, like K Road, intends to convert the CSP project into a PV installation.
CIGS thin-film photovoltaics manufacturer SoloPower has received a conditional commitment for a $197 million loan guarantee from the US. Department of Energy Loan Programs office. The company said the funds will support construction of a flexible thin-film module manufacturing facility in Wilsonville, OR, that, when completed and at full capacity, is expected to have an annual capacity of approximately 400MW.
JA Solar's R&D team has developed and revealed its new high-power multicrystalline solar cell that is claimed to sport a conversion efficiency of 18.2%. Using its new “Maple” technology, the company states that its Maple cells feature silicon crystals that are broader, flatter and have less grain boundaries than traditional multicrystalline silicon. This new technology is said to allow for less energy waste and better conversion efficiency.
