Unirac has been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 International Organization for Standardization certification for its quality management system. The year-long certification process, which involved internal and external audits across the business and customer support organizations, provides Unirac with international recognition for its attempts to continually monitor and improve its management structure.
Suss MicroTec and Rolith have come together to use Rolith’s disruptive nanolithography method in order to develop and construct nanostructuring equipment. Rolith’s nanolithography technology uses near-field optical lithography with cylindrically shaped rolling masks. Sub-wavelength resolution is reached by a phase-interference effect or plasmonic enhancement printing structures. Rolith advises that a continued operation yields a high throughput with low cost production.
Solar Power Partners and JCM Capital have joined forced for the creation of a fund that will develop, finance, own and operate 200MW of Ontario-based solar projects. Although the amount of the dedicated fund was undisclosed, the two companies have already started 20MW of projects, which will begin construction in 2011.
NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, is in the process of purchasing four solar PV projects, totaling 40MW from First Solar. First Solar will continue with the development of the Sombra and Moore Solar Energy Centers, using their own thin-film solar modules and upon the projects reaching an operational state, NextEra’s Canadian subsidiary, NextEra Energy Canada, will assume full ownership and operation of the four projects.
MEMC is to join forces with Flextronics to produce PV panels to be used by SunEdison on a range of forthcoming projects. The MEMC-branded panels will be manufactured at Flextronics' production facility in Newmarket, Ontario, with work scheduled to begin during Q2 2011.
IDC Energy Insights has launched three new global-research projects focused on quantifying and tracking the rapidly-growing Smart Meter, Photovoltaic Module, and Solar Inverter markets. To help man the new programmes, five analysts will be joining IDC's Worldwide Tracker team, which will be managed by Ryan Reith.
SunPower will build a 1MW solar power system on the roof of the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi. The roof installation is the latest addition to the Masdar City project and will see E19 solar panels mounted on a canopy structure, providing shade for the building's roof terrace and solar power for the facility.
Taiwan-based multicrystalline wafer producer, Green Energy Technology (GET) is on target to reach a balanced capacity for both ingots and wafers of 1GW by the end of 2010. GET reported sales for November reached NT$1,862 million (US$61 million), an increase of 6.5% sequentially and 106.9% above sales figures for the same period a year ago. Sales for the first 11 months of 2010 totalled NT$15,236 million (US$500 million), up 91% from the same period in 2009.
SunPower has signed loan agreements worth €195.2 million to finance the final two phases of the Montalto di Castro solar park in Lazio, Italy. The solar bonds are expected to be funded by the end of December and will help add 44MW to the facility, which will have a final capacity of 72MW.
