A survey commissioned by National Semiconductor reveals that most solar PV systems installers believe there's no such thing as an acceptable amount of shade on residential and commercial rooftop installations. In addition to the 54% of respondents sharing the no-shade stance, 41% of installers encounter shade when selling or installing a system; of those, 87% "frequently" or "always" design around shade; and another 28% "frequently" or "always" tell the owner that solar cannot be installed.
Evergreen Solar said that the first phase of construction of a landmark solar PV installation using the company's StringRibbon panels is nearing completion on the roof of a tunnel of Germany's A3 highway. The 2.8-MW system, incorporating more than 16,000 solar modules, will be one of the country's largest and the first to be located on a public highway.
Konarka’s New Bedford, Massachusetts manufacturing facility, opened in October 2008, has received a boost for its future manufacturing plans with a $5 million long-term loan. The organic photovoltaics developer secured the loan from a funding collaboration between the Emerging Technology Fund of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust’s Business Expansion Initiative.
A new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic power systems in the U.S. shows that the average cost of these systems declined significantly from 1998 to 2007, but remained relatively flat during the last two years of this period. Researchers say that the overall decline in the installed cost of solar PV systems is mostly the result of decreases in nonmodule costs, such as the cost of labor, marketing, overhead, inverters, and the balance of systems. The results suggest that state and local PV deployment programs—which likely have a greater impact on nonmodule costs than on module prices—have been somewhat successful in spurring cost reductions, according to the authors
The latest solar manufacturer to pare its financial outlook is Chinese multicrystalline wafer and polysilicon producer, LDK Solar. The company updated its numbers, estimating that revenues for the fourth quarter will be in the range of $415-$425 million, a slight drop from its previous guidance of $425-$435 million provided in early January, while the outlook for wafer shipments continues to hover between 245 and 255 MW. But an inventory-related writedown of $210-$220 million will help push LDK into the red, resulting in a negative gross margin and a resultant loss for the quarter of $135-$145 million.
Illies Renewables GmbH of Hamburg, has ordered a 50MW production line for thin-film modules based on CIGS technology for a new facility in Magdeburg-Rothensee, Germany, from centrotherm photovoltaics AG.
Trina Solar announced its estimated financial results for both the fourth quarter and the full year 2008. For the fourth quarter, the company expects total net revenues to surpass its previous guidance range of US$190-210 million, with a positive net operating cash flow at about US$60 million. They also expect their short-term debt to be reduced by about US$41-249 million and a non-cash inventory provision between US$16 and 18 million.
SunPower Corp. has completed construction of its 350kW solar power installation on the Crowne Plaza Hotel rooftop in Alice Springs, Australia, the largest roof-mounted solar power system on the continent. Invest North Pty Ltd. is the owner of the project.
"Because we know we can't power America's future on energy that's controlled by foreign dictators, we are taking a big step down the road to energy independence and laying the groundwork for a new green energy economy that can create countless well-paying jobs," said President Barack Obama after signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today in Denver. Two leading solar industry trade associations issued statements supporting the signing of the $787 billion package, citing several provisions in the stimulus program that will help the sector.
OTB Solar has ordered resonance ultrasonic vibrations crack detection equipment from RUV Systems for use with its automated turnkey solar-cell manufacturing production lines. The inspection gear will also be offered as an "extra-quality feature" of the integrated manufacturing systems.
