In an agreement with an as-yet-unnamed U.S. energy solutions supplier, LDK Solar Co., Ltd. will deliver approximately 90MW of multicrystalline silicon solar wafers for a three-year period commencing in 2009. The ‘take or pay’ contract will see the customer supply at least 300MT of polysilicon to LDK in the form of a down payment for part of the contract value, which was also undisclosed.
In a move approved by the company’s Supervisory Board, centrotherm photovoltaics AG has taken steps to increase its share capital by €8 million to €24 million. The company has passed a resolution to integrate sister company centrotherm Thermal Solutions via a ‘payment-in-kind’ agreement with its major shareholder Hartung Beteiligungs GmbH...
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. broke ground this week on its new Renewable Energy and Technology Park factory in Salem, Oregon. The factory is scheduled to begin operating in October 2009 with the fabrication of solar ingots and wafers used in the production of solar photovoltaic cells.
The Solar Power International (SPI) conference and exhibition is the largest solar industry event in the U.S. The 2008 event is being held this week in San Diego, California, Our intrepid reporter, Tom Cheyney was impressed with the Solar Block Party(s) last night in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. However, this daily review covers breaking news from the show rather than elsewhere, in an easy to digest summary.
In conjunction with the start of Solar Power International 2008, and in the shadow of the economic downturn, the Solar Electric Power Association appealed to the U.S. electrics utility and solar industries to come together and work towards meeting an aggressive solar electric capacity growth forecast.
Signet Solar has received Final Acceptance Test (FAT) certification from SGS Germany GmbH of its ‘SunFab’ thin film production line at its manufacturing facility in Mochau, Germany. This now enables the company to fast-track its ramp of the facility to 20MW. Signet Solar has plans for a further expansion to 130MW by the end of 2009. The FAT certification is the first for Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ technology.
Harvard University spin-off SiOnyx, founded by Professor Eric Mazur and Dr. James Carey in 2006, has exclusively licensed Harvard’s portfolio of ‘Black Silicon’ patents. The 'Black Silicon' relate to a highly light-absorbent material that absorbs nearly twice the visible light of regular silicon and detects infrared light that silicon based devices cannot utilize. SiOnyx claims it is able to produce silicon detectors and photovoltaic devices that respond from 400nm to 2500nm.
TÜV Rheinland Group has entered into a private venture with Arizona State University (ASU) to offer a state-of-the-art testing and certification facility for solar energy equipment. The new venture, entitled TÜV Rheinland PTL, LLC, will be based in Tempe, Arizona and will see the extension of the ASU PTL’s testing and certification capabilities...
SAN DIEGO--As blustery Santa Ana winds kicked up on a blue-sky Southern California day, officials from Hewlett-Packard, SunPower, GE Energy Financial Services, and local and state government dedicated a new 1.1-MW solar photovoltaic rooftop power system today at HP's imaging and printing R&D facility in Rancho Bernardo.
Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide and partner, Asola, are to build a solar module manufacturing facility in Casablanca, with an initial capacity of 30MW. The company stated that Asola will hold the controlling stake in this joint venture, while both Asola and its Moroccan partner, Majdaline Holding, will implement the project.
