Applied Solar, Inc. announced the start-up of the Solar Communities program in San Diego. This program plans to increase the number of homes using clean solar energy by getting rid of cost by eliminating the most expensive Tier 3 and Tier 4 energy purchases, which usually is at least 60% of the typical San Diego Gas & Electric customer’s yearly bill.
Solar Thin Films, Inc. and its subsidiary, KRAFT Elektronikai Zrt., announced they have acquired BudaSolar Technologies Co. Ltd. of Budapest, Hungary in the hope of increasing the customer base.
According to its 2008 Annual Report, SOLON continues to be among the fastest growing solar companies in Germany, but due to an unstable market, is expecting moderate growth in 2009.
Manz Automation AG has announced it will be cutting employee hours up to 20% due to less demand at plants in Reutlingen and Tuebingen, Germany. The company has already cut workers this year in plants in Taiwan, China and Slovakia.
Recent rumours of a business tie-up between Q-Cells and LDK Solar have come to fruition with the official formation of a Joint Venture (JV) to promote and supply PV systems for large-scale solar power plants in both Europe and China. The new business partners said that a 40MW project located in Europe had already been secured, which will see the use of solar wafers from LDK Solar and solar cells from Q-Cells, though no details were given in respect to modules.
Sputnik Engineering AG’s SolarMax string inverters have been approved for use in Portuguese solar power plants. These four devices have nominal outputs ranging from 1.8-4.6kW and have been received the official certificate from the Portuguese Government Office last February.
Oregon's loss is New York's gain, as crystalline-silicon solar cell manufacturing start-up SpectraWatt said that it will build its first factory in IBM territory in Hopewell Junction, NY. The venture-backed Intel spinoff originally chose Hillsboro, OR, as its base of operations, but suspended construction there earlier this year while it searched for another site.
While the building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market has sprung up from targeted subsidies and aesthetic appeal, it appears as though modest but steady growth will support future opportunities for innovative cross-industry services and improved products. A study by Lux Research concludes the present-day US$1.7 billion BIPV market’s lack of standardization...
With its eye on a nationwide move towards the adoption of solar power generation, Solar Energy Initiatives, Inc. has signed a $6.5 million Letter of Intent for the installation of solar panels on school buildings in western U.S. The panels, the size, capacity and manufacturer of which were not disclosed, are expected to be installed within the next few months.
Satcon Technology Corporation has entered into a supply agreement with Ecostream, a solar system provider and part of sustainable energy company Econcern, for 330MW of solar power products and solutions. The three-year agreement will include delivery of Satcon’s PowerGate Plus line of solar inverters.
