GT Solar advised that it had received orders from two new customers based in Asia for the company’s polysilicon production equipment. Together the two customers’, who remain anonymous, orders amounted to US$81.7 million and called for GT Solar’s hydrochlorination equipment for TCS production and other polysilicon production equipment. The orders will be included in the company’s backlog for its first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, which ended July 2.
The photovoltaics division of Heraeus Materials Technology has completed construction on its new Singapore facility, which will produce the company’s silver metallization paste for use in crystalline solar cells. The site will also house the unit’s R&D, sales and technical service operations, all of which began operation in June. The R&D lab was the facility’s most recent completion, having been finalized in July. It plans to have qualification samples ready for customers in the coming weeks. The site’s official opening ceremony will be held in November.
Having 8 facilities within the Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Co service areas, Kyocera has increased the size of the rooftop solar power system at its Tanagura manufacturing plant in Fukushima Prefecture, to meet energy reduction targets of 15%, due to the power consumption regulations dictated after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster.
KLNE has increased its manufacturing capacity in China by opening a new facility and research and development centre in Changzhou. The 100-acre site was officially unveiled on June 29 at a ceremony attended by the company’s sales director, Wison Qi, and marketing director, Paul Nicholson, as well as dignitaries from the Changzhou local government and staff representing the Wujin Economic Development Zone.
SolarWorld advised that with the sale of its shares in the South Korea joint venture module plant, the company would be focusing on expanding and improving its module production sites in Germany and the US. Financial details regarding the sale of its shares were not released, but the company advised that its Saxony, California and Oregon production facilities are undergoing expansion in order to meet growing demands. Combined, the three plants are expected to have a total production capacity of more than 1GW by the end of the year.
TecnoSun Solar Systems’ US Division, TecnoSun Solar USA, is settling into its new US headquarters at the University of Toledo’s Nietzsche Commercialization Complex in Ohio. The site will be the home base for the company’s marketing, sales, manufacturing, installation and servicing of its 1 and 2 axis solar tracking systems in North America.
While Barack Obama may have reneged on his promise to put solar panels on the roof of the White House by the end of spring, the US Government shows no sign of backtracking on his other solar commitments, with further evidence of this seen last Thursday as Energy Secretary Steven Chu paid a visit to Amonix’s new production facility in Las Vegas.
Solar Frontier is set to strengthen its presence within the growing Middle Eastern solar market by opening a new office in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The office, which opens on July 1, will help Solar Frontier to liaise with its partners in the region and offer more hands-on support for its projects in Saudi Arabia.
Stringer system specialists teamtechnik has expanded the global reach of its production base by forming two new subsidiaries in Asia. The subsidiaries, located in the Chinese cities of Suzhou and Jintan, enable the Freiberg-based firm to provide shorter delivery time, quicken service response and forge a closer relationship with its clients.
Cited as one of its largest single investments in manufacturing facilities in the long history of the company, Bosch is planning to invest over €520 million in a new fully-integrated solar module manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan, Penang, Malaysia. Construction is expected to start by the end of 2011 with production scheduled to have begun by the end of 2013. When fully ramped in 2014, capacity is expected to reach a combined 640MW. The company noted that it still expects sales to pass the €1 billion level this year.
