Ritek has now made an additional NT$800 million (US$24.8 million) investment in Taiwan-based PVNext, the CIGS module JV with Scheuten Solar, for a stake of 40%.
Due to the lack of medium-voltage power grids in Italy, S.A.G. Solarstrom is also building a transformer substation as part of the installation of 10 photovoltaic systems with a total output of 9.7 MWp in the South Italian province of Brindisi. The project consists of nine ground-mounted systems each with 999 kWp and one system with 710.4 kWp, making a total output of 9.7 MWp. Construction will start this year, and grid connection is planned in April, 2010. Polycrystalline modules from Yingli Green Energy as well as inverters from SMA will be used.
A new joint venture triple junction thin-film solar company is being formed between Sharp, Enel Green Power, and STMicroelectronics. The equal partners are set to invest €320 million to establish an initial production capacity of 160MW at an existing but shuttered former 300mm semiconductor fab owned by STMicroelectronics in Catania, Italy. Thin-film module production is expected to start at the beginning of 2011 and ramped over several years to a targeted 480MW annual capacity.
One of the prime movers in Ascent Solar's efforts to develop roll-to-roll commercial manufacturing of the company's flexible CIGS thin-film PV modules is retiring. Prem Nath, Ascent's senior VP of production operations, will leave the firm on Jan. 15, 2010. He will continue to work with the company as a consultant.
Financially strapped polysilicon start-up Hoku Scientific and Tianwei New Energy Holdings have closed the deal giving Tianwei a majority investment in Hoku. As a result of the agreement, Hoku has issued orders to resume full-scale construction of its poly plant in Pocatello, ID, and authorize the shipment of equipment that had been placed on hold pending Hoku's receipt of financing.
Motech has signed an agreement to buy GE Energy’s solar photovoltaic module assembly operation located in Newark, DE. The 34MW-capacity crystalline silicon PV panel plant, which GE bought from AstroPower in 2004 and planned to close down next year, employs 75 people.
High-concentration photovoltaics firm Amonix has completed the acquisition of Sunworks Solar, adding much of the newly acquired company's management team in the process. Sunworks cofounder and former SunEdison head Brian Robertson becomes CEO of Amonix, Sunworks cofounder Guy Blanchard joins the CPV company as SVP of sales and corporate development, and Matthew Meares, former Sunworks managing director, takes on the role of director of project finance.
Another $6 million in grants may soon be awarded to several solar manufacturers in Ohio, thanks to the state's Third Frontier Photovoltaic Program. The recommendation announcement came last week; the awards are contingent on the approval of the state's Controlling Board. The program supports the R&D that addresses the technical and cost barriers to commercialization of PV components and systems in Ohio.
Sputnik Engineering has commissioned an 8.6MW PV plant, its largest to date, in Germany in the town of Gerwisch near Magdeburg; the system is also the largest in the region. The plant was connected to the country's medium voltage grid on December 14 by Sputnik's service technician Andreas Rittner.
As promised at its recent analyst conference, First Solar and EDF Energies Nouvelles have finally released details regarding their cofinanced CdTe thin film plant. The planned 100MW facility, which will have two operating manufacturing lines, could be established in Blanquefort, near the city of Bordeaux, should final negotiations with the local government prove successful.
