The official letter of agreement was signed today between Trina Solar and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which ties Trina Solar with the University’s Industrial Liaison Program (ILP). The ILP is a program that looks to encourage university-industry collaboration and technology transfer.
Having invested US$700 million in 2009 to build silicon wafer production facilities with a total nameplate capacity of 2GW, GCL-Poly Energy will invest a further US$300 million to boost wafer production capacity by a further 1GW. The company has production facilities in Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, and Suzhou, China. The company noted that wafer capacity has ramped up to 1.2GW as of June.
With its worldwide manufacturing plants said to be working under full load, SolarWorld has reported module shipments of 237MW in the second quarter, with revenue reaching €382.8 million. Shipments were up 90% compared to the same period a year ago and revenue by 68.6%, SolarWorld reported.
Thin-film module manufacturing costs took a significant fall in the second quarter as First Solar continued to lead the PV industry in the lowest cost-per-watt race.
SolarEdge has formed a partnership with Greek-based Enolia Solar Systems in a bid to expand its operations in the country. This follows the news in June that the Israel-based solar power harvesting solution provider will begin distributing in Australia, highlighting the company's increasing global network.
Updated: Sharp has revealed that it is set to increase annual production capacity at its UK-based manufacturing base (SUKM) in Wrexham, Wales, by 100%, doubling up from the current 250MW of crystalline solar cell modules per year to 500MW. The increase will begin in December 2010, with the aim of completion by February 2011. SUKM, which is Sharp's second international production base (the first located in the U.S.), began producing solar cell modules in the spring of 2004. The Japanese manufacturer must now expand its production capacity to meet the ever-growing global demand for solar cells.
Following December’s announcement that Tonopah Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of SolarReserve, and NV Energy, had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement, the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project has received approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN). The proposed 100MW concentrating solar (CSP) project will be located near Tonopah, in Nye County, Nevada, and supply around 480,000MW hours of solar energy per year.
The German Federal network Agency has revealed that solar capacity increased by approximately 3GW in the first half of 2010 as solar panel operators rushed to register their installations before the feed-in tariff cuts.
Aecom-SPP was recently presented an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command to construct solar power installations on at the Navy and Marine Corps sites in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The contract has one base year and four additional option years...
The process line at Elkem Solar’s Kristiansand, Norway-based facility is to be outfitted with an ABB Automation electrical and automation system on the System 800xA platform. Elkem recently invested US$700 million in the new facility, which holds the capacity to produce 6,000 metric tons of high-purity silicon per year.
