GT Solar has received final acceptance for the design, installation, and commissioning of Solar Cells Hellas's integrated solar photovoltaic wafer and cell turnkey fabrication line in Patras, Greece--said to be the first PV manufacturing facility in the country. The multicrystalline-silicon production line has an annual capacity of 30 MW.
Timminco and Q-Cells have reached a new multiyear supply deal for solar-grade silicon, replacing the five-year agreement signed between the two companies in 2008. The new contract calls for deliveries by Timminco to Q-Cells of 100 metric tons of solar silicon for the rest of 2009.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has dedicated a 1-MW photovoltaic power station at the Robert A. Skinner Water Treatment Plant in Riverside County. The 10-acre solar field, which was built by SunPower, will generate about 2.4 million KW-hours of electricity, which will be equivalent to about 25% of the annual power needs of the facility.
The homegrown Russian solar photovoltaic industry appears on the verge of adding significant manufacturing capacity after news that that the Supervisory Council of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, Rusnano, has approved the corporation's participation in a project to build a million-module-per year, 120-MW panel factory using micromorph-silicon thin-film PV technology provided by Oerlikon Solar.
BTU International has hired industry veteran Jan-Paul van Maaren as its new VP of marketing. He will report directly to company chairman/CEO Paul van der Wansem. Van Maaren is charged with all of BTU's strategic marketing and marketing communications activities, with an initial focus on the firm's solar markets.
Spire has signed up three new companies to represent the solar equipment and turnkey line manufacturer's interests in various parts of the globe: Servo Dynamics in China, Energy Control Systems for Pakistan, and PV Middle East for the Gulf Arab States, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates."
The organisers of the International Solar Technology Awards today revealed the shortlist of nominees for the inaugural Cell Awards. The category nominees for the eight International Solar Technology Award are...
Solar-cell maker Suniva has bought a crack detection system from Ultrasonic Technologies. The Norcross, GA-based manufacturer will use the tool, equipped with fully automatic functions, for incoming quality control of silicon wafers as well as final inspection of its monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
Canadian mining company Semafo said that a partnership with the government of Burkina Faso has been established, with the purpose of conducting a prefeasibility study to explore the possible construction of a 20-MW solar power station in the West African country.
According to Samuel Yang, CEO of JA Solar, the first quarter of 2009 was the ‘most challenging quarter’ the company has faced since its formation in 2005. Revenue in the first quarter of 2009 was US$33.9 million a 79.4% decline compared to US$143.3 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2008. The company made a loss of $20.9 million in the quarter due to lower than expected sales and higher operating costs.
