Polysilicon, wafers and solar module prices all declined severely in 2009, according to a new report from iSuppli. On average, crystalline module prices dropped 37.8%, solar wafer prices fell by 50%, and polysilicon prices declined by 80%.
Market research firm EuPD Research has warned against using fluctuating solar pricing to calculate the proposed German feed-in tariff cuts. Markus Hoehner, CEO of the market research and consulting institute, claims that cuts should be calculated on the basis of long-term trends and forecasts. He also notes that rising electricity prices were not attributable to the increase in the adoption of solar in Germany, rather the rises are due to electricity production costs rising, higher transport costs and higher tax burdens. According to EuPD Research, the additional cost for the promotion of solar electricity accounted for only €0.24 cents per head per month in 2009.
Citing an industrywide conversion efficiency average of 5-6% for amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film modules, Anwell Technologies has claimed that it has reached efficiencies of 8.58% at its 40MW thin film plant in Henan, China. The results were said to have verified by the National Laboratory of China and tested according to the IEC61646 standard. The company has not announced if its modules use a tandem cell structure, which has been typically claimed to have efficiencies of between 7 and 9%.
Iberdrola recorded a net profit of €2,824 million in 2009, sustained by the group's success with regulated business and renewables throughout the year, which together counted for two thirds of the company's total operating profit.
Evergreen Solar has named Scott Gish as its VP of sales and marketing. He comes to the solar manufacturer from Photronics, a semiconductor photomask company where he was VP of global sales and business development.
Hitachi High-Technologies and XeroCoat have entered into a strategic partnership for the distribution of XeroCoat’s antireflective coating solutions for solar photovoltaic modules in Japan and China. The agreement gives HHT, through its energy and environmental solutions unit, the right to resell XeroCoat’s equipment systems and materials into the two key Asian markets. XeroCoat also told PV Tech that it has established a demonstration pilot line at an Asian glass manufacturer.
In what the company calls its largest single order to date, Satcon Technology has signed a global master supply deal with Czech private power utility Energy 21 to deliver 30.5MW of its PowerGate Plus photovoltaic inverters. The Satcon units will be used in 15 solar power systems in the Czech Republic.
A Bloomberg report released on February 22 claims that German chancellor Angela Merkel's government will again revise the subsidy cuts for farmland converted to take solar systems. According to an unpublished draft put together by the government, this kind of installation will no longer receive financial support.
The largest PV inverter manufacturer, SMA Solar Technology, beat it own sales forecast for 2009, while posting record sales of €934 million, a 37% increase over 2008 sales of €682 million. Sold inverter output reached 3.4GW in 2009. The company claimed it had gained 2 percentage points of market share last year, taking its global share to 40%. SMA’s ability to ramp production from 342MW in the first quarter of 2009 to 1,415MW in the fourth quarter, contributed to the market share gains.
The state of Pennsylvania has announced new grants totaling more than $5 million in 13 solar energy projects, which will add more than 4.25MW of photovoltaics installations in 11 counties. The projects have a total value of more than $23 million and will include rooftop, parking structure, and ground-mount systems, ranging in size from 20KW to 1MW, to be deployed at schools, condos, businesses, and other commercial and industrial sites.
