Fulfilling half of the existing 60MW sales agreement between the two companies, Canadian Solar has announced that it has been tapped for 30MW of solar modules from Systaic AG for delivery to Spain. Added to this order is company’s recent signing or reconfirming of sales contracts or extensions that bring the company’s recent sales total to 120MW.
In a political victory for President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and their allies in Congress, one of the strongest pieces of energy and environmental legislation in American history narrowly won passage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday. After a flurry of last-minute intense lobbying and political deal-making, HR 2454--the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)--passed by a close 219-212 tally, which included 44 Democrats voting against the measure and 8 Republicans voting in favor of it. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to go through some potentially major revisions and may have a tough time being approved. President Barack Obama and solar industry leaders praised the U.S. House’s passage of ACES.
With plans to achieve 12% conversion efficiencies and ramp a new 90MWp thin film plant next year, Q-Cells SE has decided to increase its share ownership in copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) start-up Solibro GmbH. Q-Cells said that it would increase its share from 67.5% to 100%, issuing new Q-Cells shares to pay for the transaction. Solibro will then become a wholly owned subsidiary.
Adding to its ever-growing list of solar projects in California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has signed off on a 92MW solar thermal deal with Alpine SunTower, LLC, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. The project builds on eSolar and NRG’s existing collaborative agreement that saw the companies agree to bring around 500MW of solar thermal energy to the U.S.
Abound Solar is looking for a new CEO, as Pascal Noronha is stepping down as chief executive while taking over the role of chairman of the board of the CdTe thin-film PV company. Current chairman John Hill will remain on the board as a founding director.
Trina Solar and Spire have both improved their financial positions by securing new or expanding existing lines of credit. Trina said it has landed new credit facilities totaling $57 million from Standard Chartered Bank (China), consisting of trade financing and defensive hedging products. Spire said it has amended its current $3 million revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank, adding another $5 million revolver, which adds up to $8 million available to the company over the next year.
Heraeus group’s PV materials sector has hired Tung Pham as research scientist for the organization; he will work primarily in the North American lab located in Pennsylvania. Under the direction of Weiming Zhang, PV research and development manager, Pham will be advancing the company’s current paste platforms and developing new PV materials.
Canadian Solar, Inc. has announced it will now offer a six-year warranty on all module materials and workmanship—an extension of four years on the previous duration. About 90% of Canadian Solar’s production volume is included, though the company's off-grid and specialty solar products may carry different warranty terms.
Sumco Phoenix Corporation is to close its silicon wafer manufacturing plant in Maineville, Ohio, USA due to the weaker than expected demand and semiconductor industry’s move to larger wafer sizes. The Ohio plant also makes solar silicon ingots, which will also be affected by the closure. Consolidating its operations, Sumco said that production would shift to its other plants in the U.S. and overseas.
High-purity metals and compounds supplier 5N Plus, Inc. has amended the materials supply contract with First Solar to run for an extra year to the end of July 2013. The companies have also agreed to increase the minimum amount of cadmium telluride (CdTe) ordered by First Solar by 50%.
