Following-on from securing Advanced Green Technologies as a distributor of its rooftop CIGS technology, Solyndra has now tapped another Uni-Solar distributor in the name of California-based firm DC Power Systems. As with the AGT deal, no commercial details were provided by Solyndra.
Since the release of the feed-in tariff rates for the UK, Sharp Energy Solutions Europe has announced that it plans to significantly expand its resources in the region as the company expects a large amount of PV uptake within the next couple of years.
2BG and Rise Technology, the company founded by researchers of the La Sapienza University in Rome, have agreed to a collaborative move on the development of solar cell technologies. The partners will research the production of crystalline silicon cells less than 100μm thick.
Deutsche Solar has chosen Eyelit's manufacturing execution software suite to support its photovoltaic wafer production ramp at its new 500MW facility in Freiburg, Germany. Eyelit and its partner, Systema, were selected to provide a scalable MES solution for the management of factory assets and production, along with material traceability and visibility from raw silicon through wafer processing, including ingot and brick production areas.
Renewed wafer capacity expansion plans at some of the major Asia-based PV manufacturers have led directly to new orders for GT Solar’s ingot growth furnaces. The company noted that it has received new orders worth more than US$200 million for its ‘DSS450’ furnaces and ancillary equipment and services. One China based customer placed a follow-on order worth US$137 million. Other orders came from Tianwei New Energy, Phoenix Photovoltaic Technology, Yingli Green Energy, JA Solar, Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS), and one other unidentified customer.
The M+W Group, Stuttgart, acquired shares in Schmid Silicon Technology Holdings, effective from January 1, 2010. Through this acquisition, the companies will partner in global activities in the engineering and construction of polysilicon plants based on monosilane technology.
In the latest example of increasing CIGS conversion efficiencies, the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has confirmed that Global Solar Energy has achieved 13.2% aperture-area efficiency on a thin-film photovoltaic module integrated with flexible cell-strings from its copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide production line in Tucson, AZ. CEO Jeff Britt told PV Tech that median efficiencies have risen above 11% on the production line and that the company plans to launch its BIPV product line this year. The latest numbers exceed the company's efficiencies announced in September 2009, when NREL said it had measured 15.45% total area conversion efficiencies for the individual cells, and Global Solar had cited record peak efficiencies at the time of 11.7% on its flexible stainless-steel cell strings and median efficiencies between 10 and 11%.
Colexon Energy has begun the construction of a solar power plant with a total capacity of almost 1MWp in the North Italian community Imola. The plant will benefit from the feed-in tariff in Italy, which is set for 20 years.
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.
