Germanium solar cell substrate producer Sylarus Technologies has entered into a long-term germanium feedstock supply and recycling agreement with 5N Plus. The deal is supported by 5N Plus agreeing to the subscription of a convertible debt in Sylarus, which in turn supports the substrate manufacturers' expansion plans.
GCL-Poly has updated its solar wafer capacity expansion plans, highlighting that it expects to reach 2GW by the end of October 2010. Previously, GCL-Poly had said this figure would be reached by the end of the year. The company also noted that wafer capacity has reached 1.2GW.
Array Technologies' DuraTrack HZ solar tracker has been selected by American Capital Energy (ACE) for use in a 20MW solar photovoltaic power plant being constructed near Searchlight, Nevada. The project is the result of an agreement between ACE and NV Energy to assist NV Energy in meeting Nevada's portfolio standard, which requires that 25% of energy be generated by renewable resources and energy efficiency and conservation programs by 2025.
Continued capacity ramp at OCI could see the Korean-based polysilicon manufacturer become the world’s second largest producer on the back of another 5,000 metric ton (MT) expansion. The construction will begin in June 2010, with completion expected by October 2011 at a total cost of KRW 220 billion. The new expansion at its existing facility Gunsan, Jeollabukdo, Korea would result in a capacity of 32,000MT per annum with one of the lowest manufacturing costs.
centrotherm photovoltaics has concluded the ramp-up of two crystalline solar cell manufacturing lines at LG Electronics, which enters the photovoltaics manufacturing industry with one line for mono-crystalline and one line for multi-crystalline solar cells.
During its Annual General Meeting (AGM) Sunways executives noted that they expect the company to double PV module sales in 2010, compared to the previous year. Demand in Germany has remained strong while overseas sales are also expected to continue to increase. However, shortages in inverter components would limit sales growth of its solar inverter range in 2010.
Six out of the 17 university teams that are participating in the Solar Decathlon Europe, to be held from the 18th - 27th June, have announced that they will be using SunPower solar panels to construct their designs.
CIGS thin-film manufacturer Solyndra has informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has decided not to go forward with plans for a scheduled initial public offering. At the same time, the company said it has entered into an agreement for the sale of secured convertible promissory notes to certain existing investors in an aggregate principal amount of $175 million in a private placement.
CFV Solar Test Laboratory, jointly owned by the CSA Group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems CSE and the VDE Testing and Certification Institute, has revealed that Albuquerque, New Mexico will house their new solar module testing laboratory.
During IEEE’s 35th PV specialist conference, RASIRC and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems will present their research on using purified steam in the solar cell fabrication process with their paper, “Purified Steam for Industrial Thermal Oxidation Processes.” The paper compares purified steam with pryolytic team for silicon solar cell fabrication.
