Hans Willemsen will be officially inaugurated as the new CEO for Scheuten Solar on September 15, 2010, as he takes over for Frans van den Heuvel who previously held the position before stepping down. Willemsen oversaw Shell Solar from 2004 until 2007 and was recently active as VP for Shell Clean Coal Energy in Asia.
Setting the lowest cost per watt production figures in the photovoltaics industry while ramping production past the 1GW level in 2009, should prove to be the key reasons why First Solar becomes the largest solar cell producer in 2009, leapfrogging Q-Cells and Sharp for the first time. According to market research firm, iSuppli Corp, First Solar is set to produce more than double the 503MW it made in 2008 and increase its market share as well as be responsible for nearly a third of global installations this year!
Masdar PV has reportedly improved the efficiency of its amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar modules to 7.4%, achieving an increase of over 1% in the past six months. "We have achieved this substantial increase in the efficiency of our modules because we have consistently focused on optimizing the production line in line with market requirements from the very outset."
Sputnik Engineering has said that beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010, it will be supplying the UK with its Swiss solar inverters. This news comes after recent investor concern that the UK does not have access to sufficient supplies of high-quality inverters and modules.
Advanced Energy Industries has established its first grid connections located across several sites in Germany and the Czech Republic. The solar powered facilities feature the company's Solaron 500E grid-tied solar PV inverters, providing solar power to those located within the European regions.
Spire has introduced its SPI-Line 20MW per year module assembly line at the 25th EU PVSEC in Valencia, Spain. The new SPI-Line incorporates Spire's SPI-Assembler 7000, SPI-Sun Simulator 4600SLP, the SPI-Laminator 1837, other essential manufacturing and testing equipment and Spire's process technology and support services.
Bosch Solar Energy has revealed that it will be showcasing its cell, module and installation concepts at the 25th EU PVSEC in Valencia. While demonstrating its recognized products during the four day event, Bosch will also present, for the first time, a new crystalline module consisting of 60 high-performance monocrystalline cells.
The 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition/5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (25th EU PVSEC/WCPEC-5) opens its doors today (Monday Sept.6th), welcoming the global PV community to the Feria, Valencia. This year the event is expected to attract more than 4,500 conference delegates and approximately 40,000 visitors to the photovoltaics industry exhibition. "This World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion will bring together the three most important global scientific and strategic PV Conferences: the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, the 36th US IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference and the 20th Asia/Pacific PV Science and Engineering Conference."
German thin-film PV manufacturer Odersun has received state loan guarantees totaling €10 million from the Federal State of Brandenburg. The company said that the credit line will allow it to move forward on its production ramp and facilitate the market entry of its customized solar products.
DCO Energy and Solectria Renewables will be teaming up for three PV systems in New Jersey with Solectria supplying commercial and utility-scale inverters for the three projects. This is not the first time the two companies have come together for a solar project. Earlier this year, Solectria provided 2MW of inverters to DCO for seven projects in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
