Evergreen Solar, Inc., developers and marketers of the low-cost silicon wafer manufacturing technology String Ribbon solar power products, has announced high ratings in two significant performance tests.
Independent renewable power producer Fotowatio has acquired the core U.S. solar power assets of MMA Renewable Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC. MMA became well known for its 14MW PV installation at Nellis Air Force base. Upon completion of the deal, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures will be one of the largest solar development companies in the United States.
Loss making concentrating photovoltaic and thermal (CPVT) technology firm, Entech Solar has initiated a workforce reduction of approximately 40% (33 employees) in an effort to reduce losses and preserve cash. Entech plans to close its California locations by mid-2009 and has also stopped using a number of consultants, the company said.
A 16-year veteran of the renewable energy industry, Jean M. Wilson has joined the SunPower team as Vice President and General Manager of the company’s utilities and power plants. This new role will include running SunPower's North American utility and power plant division, supervision of all project development and overseeing utility and Independent Power Producer partnerships, as well as marketing, EPC and component sales.
One of the earliest of potential customers of Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ thin film production lines, looks close to securing the necessary funding that would see it establish the first of three planned production facilities. Genesis Solar, a subsidiary of Genesis Energy Investment Plc has recently announced that it has a Letter of Intent from an unidentified U.S. investor to inject US$42 million into its Spanish subsidiary, Genesis Solar España S.L., which has a partially completed production facility designed to house Applied’s ‘SunFab’ thin film line in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain.
Dow Corning majority-owned subsidary Hemlock Semiconductor will not be affected by the parent company's plans to cut 800 jobs, or 8% of its 10,000-strong worldwide workforce. The company offered no further details on the specific regional impacts of the layoffs, other than to say that reductions will occur at all of Dow Corning's global sites.
Photon Consulting may have recently projected the PV industry to reach the US$1 per watt manufacturing cost threshold in 2012, but First Solar has ignored such projections and reached this important milestone in the 4Q08, with a cost per watt of US$0.98. Not prepared to sit back and wait for competitors to catch-up, First Solar expects further reductions in the coming years that could see a cost per watt below US$0.65 by 2012 or earlier.
Air Products has begun supplying bulk and specialty gases to Taiwan-based Green Energy Technology's new thin-film solar photovoltaic production facility. The deal calls for the long-term supply of nitrogen and silane as well as the accompanying gas delivery equipment and piping.
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.
