After examining its results for the past fiscal year, Schott Solar has decided to augment its global PV module production capacity to reach 800MW during 2011. To help facilitate its wafer capacity expansion, Schott has formed a joint venture with China-based Hareon Solar Technology. The first phase of the JV will add 300MW of Schott’s module manufacturing capacity to its existing 500MW capacity in place at its New Mexico and Czech Republic facilities.
Enfinity has begun development on three solar PV projects in California and also announced that work is underway on its 36MWp Stardale installation in East Hawkesbury, Ontario. The California projects include solar installations for the City of Parlier, Greenfield Union School District (GUSD) and the Muroc Joint Unified School District (MJUSD). The three projects combined will have a yearly energy generation of 4 million kWh and over 80 million kWh throughout the next twenty years. Enfinity will supply the financing and development services for all the California projects.
China’s drive to consolidate its leading position in PV manufacturing has been reinforced with a credit facility offered to JinkoSolar from the Bank of China that could be worth approximately US$7.6 billion over a five-year period.
A New Hampshire pub, whose history dates back to the 1930s, is getting a 21st century overhaul, with the addition of a 126-panel solar array. Construction of the system for the Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille will be carried out by groSolar and get underway in the coming weeks.
Jean-Marc Gilson has been appointed as Avantor Performance Materials’ new chief executive officer. Gilson will work alongside the company’s executive chairman, Raj Gupta, and core leadership team, and be responsible for managing the company’s strategic development and future global direction.
Steed Technology recently completed the full acquisition of outstanding stock for Applied Technology Specialists (ATSI). Steed has confirmed that manufacturing of all products will remain in Northern California, while research and development will continue in Oklahoma. Both companies will now operate under the Steed name.
Princeton Power Systems (PPS) has opened its new Princeton, New Jersey facility, which will manufacture inverters and energy storage systems for the alternative energy divisions. In addition to housing PPS’s military-qualified variable speed drive product, the 10,000 square foot facility contains floors that are qualified for assembling 90” inverter cabinets. The new facility boasts various labs, including an inverter test lab, a printed circuit board lab and a variable speed drive test and assembly lab.
Global PV demand of 18GW in 2011 is being projected by investment bank, Roth Capital Partners. Concerns of major overcapacity in module production exist but estimates bankable module supply is in the 21GW range and would only exceed demand by approximately 18%.
eIQ Energy’s Parallel Solar technology will be used on the 1.8MW project at Bee Safe’s Storage facility in Murrieta, California. Installation of the parallel wiring technology is to be carried out by EcoOneEnergy.
Canada’s Clean Energy Fund will provide the city of Colwood, British Columbia with a CAN$3.9 million grant to help build a community-scale solar project. The funding is part of Canada's attempt to increase the energy efficiency of new buildings and reduce emissions from existing buildings.
