In another demonstration of the rush to add new ingot production to meet demand for c-Si solar wafers, Meyer Burger has received an order worth approximately US$235 million for wire saws, cropping saws and wafer inspection systems from an unidentified customer based in Asia. Deliveries of the equipment are expected throughout 2010 and 2011.
ReneSola has made several management changes including the appointment of a new chief strategy officer, CFO, vice president of finance and vice president of wafer sales. All management appointments have been approved by the company's board of directors and will take effect as of April 1, 2010.
Prolonged time frames for weathering testing services for PV modules due to capacity constraints could be easing with the announcement of a strategic alliance between Underwriters Laboratories and Atlas Material Testing Technology. UL currently operates Photovoltaic Centers of Excellence in San Jose, Calif., and Suzhou, China, and will open two new state-of-the-art testing facilities this year: one in Germany and one in Japan. Atlas Weathering Services Group has five laboratories and over 20 outdoor exposure sites around the world in a variety of climates, including desert, subtropical, high-altitude and corrosive.
Norwegian power generator Statkraft has reached an agreement with Siemens Energy to build up to 40MW of new solar capacity in 2010. The company opened its first solar power plant in Aprilia, Italy, which will go towards this goal, on March 11. The 3.3MW Casale solar park is expected to reach the annual power production mark of 4.5GWh.
Applied Materials announced last week that it has opened the newly expanded Tainan Manufacturing Center in southern Taiwan, a nearly 15,000 square-meter facility that the company says will enhance its capability to serve thin-film solar photovoltaic and flat-panel display (FPD) customers in Asia. The center employs approximately 150 people and is expected to build and ship about 100 new plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) production systems this year
Two grants totalling US$1.5 million have been awarded to SunPower from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration (CSI RD&D) Program to explore the planning and modelling for high-penetration PV on the California transmission and distribution network. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is also partnering with SunPower on a second project to research the required hardware and software tools needed for providing bi-directional communication and management between PV systems and utility controls using advanced metering infrastructure.
SunEdison has received final approval from the Italian government to develop and construct what will be the largest solar power plant in Europe. The 72MW project will be based in Northeastern Italy, near the town of Rovigo.
Concentrated photovoltaics systems company Soliant Energy has brought Ben Jamison on board as its new VP of marketing. Jamison, who will report to chairman/CEO Terry Bailey, is a seasoned marketing executive with more than three decades of experience with leading companies in dynamic and growth markets. He will be responsible for all marketing-related activities at the Monrovia, CA-based CPV firm, including product management and field applications.
Recurrent Energy has named Patrick Caramante as its new VP of engineering and construction. In this role, he will lead the company's E&C Group, responsible for the design, installation, commissioning, and operation of Recurrent's portfolio of distributed-scale solar projects.
SPG Solar has named Chris Robine as the new company senior vice president and chief financial officer. Robine succeeds Paul McKnight who is leaving SPG Solar to pursue other opportunities.
