Optomec has received significant orders for its Aerosol Jet Solar Lab system, which was introduced earlier this year. The Solar Lab is a process development platform that lets customers define and develop improved collector line patterns for current and next generation high-efficiency solar cells by printing much finer collector lines than is presently possible with traditional screen-printing methods.
Hoku Materials said it has signed a supply agreement for hydrochloric acid with BHS Acquisitions. The deal is Hoku's second trichlorosilane primary materials agreement in a week, following the announcement of its metallurgical-grade silicon contract with Polymet.
Suntech Hawaii completed its largest PV system to date: a 223kW high-efficiency PV installation at D. Otani Produce in Kalihi, Hawaii. The Honolulu Advertiser reports that the project consists of 1,275 panels, which took seven weeks to install and is expected to produce enough energy for around 40 homes for one year.
ICP Solar Technologies, Inc. is to begin shipping its new and patented Sunsei GreenMeter. The initial customer is an education products company that will establish the GreenMeter in 30 high schools throughout North America, which will make scientific training stations available for labs within a curriculum that focuses on renewable energy.
BioSolar, Inc. has announced that it plans to begin commercial production of its BioBacksheet over the next few months and is currently getting ready for pre-production runs. The company’s announcement comes after a news reports states the Bio Solar has filed a comprehensive patent application to ensure BioSolar’s full protection on the BioBacksheet.
The North Face, a supplier of outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear, announced its completion of a 1MW solar electricity system at its West Coast distribution center in Visalia, California. The new system will power between 25 and 30 percent of the facility’s energy needs. It was designed, engineered and installed by Suntech Energy Solutions, while financed, owned and operated by Recurrent Energy. 100 percent of the electricity will be sold to The North Face under a power purchase agreement from Recurrent Energy.
BP Solar’s 50MW photovoltaic cell and module manufacturing plant in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia is to close at the end of March 2009, as the company focuses production at larger scale facilities in other parts of the world. Approximately 200 jobs will be affected by the closure, but BP Solar said it would continue to market and sell its solar systems in the country.
Solyndra has signed a long-term sales contract with Carlisle Energy Services, a newly formed division of Carlisle Construction Materials, to supply its proprietary cylindrical-tube-based copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide (CIGS) solar panels for rooftop applications. The multiyear sales contract--said to be worth up to $320 million-- brings Solyndra's total announced order backlog to more than $1.5 billion.
Centrotherm photovoltaics said it is buying Michael Glatt Maschinenbau, a 74-year-old Bavarian manufacturer of industrial pressure containers and apparatus, from previous owner Büechl Handels-und Beteiligungs for a purchase price said to be in the single-digit millions of euro.
Silicon Genesis Corporation (SiGen) and NorSun AS have endorsed an equipment development and supply agreement. NorSun will assess SiGen’s PolyMax “kerf-free” substrate samples and work together in optimizing the high-volume manufacturing equipment design that can process silicon ingots into kerf-free wafers of 150?m thickness and below. Their new agreement also contains commercial terms for the supply of HVM production equipment to NorSun.
