The Chinese Treasury department has reviewed its solar program with the introduction of a new solar PV subsidy program. The move, which is a temporary measure, according to Barclays Capital Solar Energy, will offer 20RMB per Watt (~$2.90/W) incentives for systems of output greater than 50kW. The uncapped plan could prove to be a huge boon for Chinese solar companies such as Suntech, Yingli, Trina Solar and JA Solar.
The rapidly changing supply and price dynamics of polysilicon has led to PV module manufacturer Sunways AG making a string of changes to previously announced polysilicon and UMG-silicon production partnerships. In early February 2009, Sunways cancelled a wafer supply deal with Swiss Wafers that had only been signed in October 2008. This cancellation is a result of what appears to be better prices on offer from LDK Solar.
SMA America, Inc.’s Sunny Central 250U solar inverters have been used for the second-largest solar farm in Hawaii. The design/build alternative energy company and Hawaii’s largest locally owned solar integrator, Sunetric, installed a 500kW system at Wilcox Memorial Hospital on the island of Kauai.
HelioSphera’s expansion has received a boost with the news that the Greek Parliament has approved its subsidy application for €29,879,500. The subsidy will fund HelioSphera’s €180,000,000, 60MW production facility in Tripolis, Greece, which is expected to begin mass production in 3Q09.
SunPower teamed up with the Rancho California Water District (RCWD) for the development and construction of a 1.1-MW solar power system at the district's water treatment facility in Murrieta, which has now reached completion.
Atlas Material Testing Technology’s Solar/PV Center of Excellence in Phoenix, Arizona has added two further services to its portfolio. Services for solar simulator classification and I-V Curve tracing will aid solar companies to substantiate product warranty and efficiency claims.
SolarWorld will begin construction soon on a new building adjacent to its Hillsboro, OR, production plant. The 210,000 sq. ft. facility, scheduled for completion in November, will house a combination of logistics and manufacturing activities. The company said that the new structure will allow it to realign production operations to make more efficient space of the main building's full capacity.
Copper-indium-gallium-di-selenide (CIGS) thin-film start-up, DayStar Technologies has said that its auditor Hein & Associates LLP of Irvine, California included an audit opinion in its latest SEC financial filings that contained a going concern notice. The company had posted losses of approximately US$26 million in 2008 and acknowledged that it needed to raise further capital to continue development of its CIGS technology and bring the product to market.
Evergreen Solar has entered into an agreement with RMT, Inc., a renewable energy projects firm, to boost sales of its String Ribbon modules into the utility-scale solar plant market, which is expected to grow rapidly under new renewable energy strategies, recently adopted as part of the U.S economic stimulus pacts. The new agreement will see RMT handle all engineering, procurement and construction functions while Evergreen Solar will provide the solar panels.
Chalking up another milestone, First Solar has said it has now produced a combined 1GW of CdTe thin film modules since production first started in early 2002. The thin film leader expects to have a nominal production capacity of approximately 1.2GW by the end of 2009, which equates to 23 manufacturing lines from plants on three continents.
