Schneider Electric is to purchase Xantrex Technology, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $412 million. Xantrex is a top 3 global player in the solar and wind inverter market and number 1 in the U.S. As a condition to the sale, Xantrex will divest its programmable power business to AMETEK, Inc. for $120 million in cash.
Sempra Generation has selected First Solar to provide a 10MW turnkey thin-film PV energy plant near Boulder City, Nevada. The project started in July and is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. The modules to be used at this ground-mount project will come from First Solar’s manufacturing facility in Perrysburg, Ohio, the company said.
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. has selected Spire Corporation’s ‘Spi-Sun Simulator’ 4600 Single Long Pulse systems for photovoltaic module testing operations in both the United States and China.
Pevafersa Group has selected Praxair to supply its new 120MW solar cell manufacturing facility in Toro, Spain with on-site gases, gas equipment and gas management services. Initial production is set for early September, 2008.
Conergy AG has announced its plans for an increase of approximately €450 million in the company’s equity base. The financing will be prepared by Credit Suisse and Dresdner Kleinwort, with major investors expected to contribute at least €125 million. The company will discuss the capital increase with shareholders at its AGM in Hamburg on August 28th, 2008.
Linde has signed a long-term contract with Sodiff Advanced Materials for the supply of electronic-grade silane. The agreement, the duration and cost of which were not specified in the announcement, will see the delivery of the silane from Sodiff’s facility at Youngju, Korea, which comes on line in the second half of 2009. This contract will account for a large proportion of Sodiff’s 2,000-tonne silane production output.
Dyesol Ltd. has agreed to provide a turnkey R&D laboratory and comprehensive training in Dye Solar Cell (DSC) development with Korea-based Acrosol, a Korean University spin-out company. The €600,000 agreement will see the companies collaborate on the commercialization of Acrosol’s DSC technology and products via materials supply and technical co-operation.
The second long-term supply order for IBC SOLAR over the past few days brings the company’s total spend this week to approximately $2 billion. The company has placed an order with ersol Solar Energy AG for the supply of crystalline silicon solar cells over the next 10 years, an order that is worth over €500 million. The $2 billion total also takes the company’s recent $1.2 billion order with Evergreen Solar into account.
Oerlikon Solar has announced that it has received an order for two end-to-end thin film silicon production lines from Sunwell, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMC Magnetics. The first 60MW delivery will be to Sunwell’s Taiwan facility, while the remaining 120MW will be for Sunwell’s new site that is currently under construction.
MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. has announced the signing of an agreement for the supply of solar wafers to the value of over $3 billion to Tainergy Tech Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based solar cell manufacturer. The agreement, which will see MEMC provide Tainergy with solar wafers for the next ten years, will commence in the third quarter of 2008. The price of the wafers has been pre-determined, allowing for an estimate of the value of the deal.
