First Solar's U.S. project pipeline now tops the 1GW mark, after the thin-film photovoltaics company and utility Southern California Edison signed deals that will lead to the construction of two large-scale solar power projects in Southern California. The installations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties will have a combined generation capacity of 550MW (AC) of solar electricity, or about 1.2 billion KW-hours, enough to provide power to approximately 170,000 homes, according to SCE.
The continued weak demand for both residential and commercial rooftop installations in conjunction with the lack of project finance available for utility-scale solar plants are forcing major module manufacturer Solon to undertake a further round of restructuring. Solon plans divestments, a reduction in its temporary workforce, and part-time work among other cost saving measures. Solon also said it would review a potential spin-off of the Austrian production company, Solon Hilber Technologie.
Shaanxi Tianhong Silicon Industrial Corp. in Xian City, China, has successfully started polysilicon production at its 1,250MT plant, according to turnkey plant provider centrotherm photovoltaics. The plant was planned and developed by centrotherm SiTec, a subsidiary of centrotherm formed out of centrotherm’s acquisition of SolMic and from its former subsidiary centrotherm SiQ. This is the second turnkey plant the company has successfully completed.
Trina Solar saw its second-quarter revenues increase over the previous quarter although sales numbers were down from the same period in 2008, while net income went back into the black compared to the first quarter. The Chinese integrated photovoltaics manufacturer shipped nearly 31% more modules in the quarter versus the preceding three months. The company also said it expects to reach nearly 600MW in PV cell and module production capacity by the end of this year.
Solar industry veteran PM Pai has joined global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as a venture partner. Pai, who has more than 30 years of manufacturing and mass production expertise spanning several industries, will work with NEA's energy technology team. He is already on the boards of two of the VC's portfolio companies, silicon solar-cell manufacturer Suniva and Deeya Energy, an advanced energy storage developer.
Atlas Material Testing Technology, in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Institute of Laser Technology (ILOT), received the R&D 100 award for its work in developing the Ultra-Accelerated Weathering System (UAWS).
For months now we have been reporting on the global recession and how this has been negatively affecting the PV market world-wide; now, countries such as Germany and France have emerged from the recession announcing a market surge which could in turn improve the prospects for the 2009 solar market results. This surprise return to growth from the eurozone's two biggest economies boosts the hopes for the PV market, rising up from the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s. Germany has not reported a positive market growth since the first quarter of 2008.
Two organic photovoltaics development companies have taken steps forward on the road to commercialization. Ten Plextronics' test modules have been deployed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for outdoor monitoring and performance testing--the first set of OPV modules under sun at NREL--while Solarmer Energy has won a $450,000 contract from the FlexTech Alliance to design and synthesize high-efficiency donor polymer materials for OPV uses.
Shell plans to focus on biofuels and exit the solar photovoltaics business, selling its 50% share of thin-film PV company Avancis to joint-venture partner, Saint-Gobain. The German firm produces copper-indium-selenide (CIS) modules at its 20MW plant, which came online last year. Saint-Gobain said that it will "accelerate the industrial development of Avancis." Two additional production lines are being ramped up at the manufacturing site in Torgau, Saxony.
Carefully citing the longer-term demand for polysilicon from the photovoltaics industry, Tokuyama Corp. has doubled the planned capacity of a new polysilicon plant, originally announced in November 2008. Instead of a planned 3000MT capacity, the facility's nameplate will be boosted to 6000MT. Full capacity is expected in 2013. Construction of the plant is estimated to cost approximately ¥65 billion.
