Manufacturing

Following a continued downturn in operating results, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) will close its 650MW multicrystalline wafer plant at Herøya, Norway by the second quarter of 2012. The closure of the Herøya plant, in the south of the country, will signal the end of all REC’s wafer operations in Norway after the closure of the Glomfjord monocrystalline plant on March 20, 2012.

Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) has announced that the auction date for the sale of United Solar Ovonics (USO) will be put back to 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on May 8, 2012. The auction was previously set for 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on April 24, 2012 following the company’s entry into Chapter 11 proceedings in the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in February 2012.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has announced the achievement of 19.7% conversion efficiency for its copper-contact solar cells. The record, for a selective-emitter cell, was obtained using standard 156mm commercially available p-type silicon wafers and has been verified by Fraunhofer ISE.

Situated in Deagu, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province of South Korea, Jurasolar’s new 60MW module manufacturing facility is nearing completion and will be opened in May, according to the company. Equipped with tools including a fully automated PV module manufacturing line from German company JvG Thoma, the factory will produce the company’s ‘JvG Desert Modules’, named to reflect their ability to perform in extremely high temperatures of over 125°C.

A one-year, US$70 million R&D and supply project is underway between materials supplier, Heraeus and Yingli Green. Resources are being allocated from Heraeus’ three global technology centres to develop next-generation silver metallization pastes for Yingli’s N-type ‘PANDA’ silicon solar cells.

Updated: A severe cost-cutting exercise and manufacturing realignment is underway at First Solar as it plans to axe around 30% of its workforce, permanently close its German manufacturing operations and idle four lines at its facilities in Malaysia. Management blamed the move on the market conditions in Europe and the rapidly changing market demand dynamics within the industry for the restructuring.

The Hindu Business Line has reported that power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has made almost a US$4 million (Rs 20 crore) investment into the expansion of its PV module manufacturing division, escalating its line from a 8MW capacity to a 26MW capacity. The increase is expected to be completed by September.

In a joint venture, NYSE Euronext and research company Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) have developed three new sector indices covering solar and wind energy as well as energy smart technologies (EST). Each index is produced using the different global stock market values of 70–200 industry companies, and a minimum threshold exposure to applicable renewable energy sectors is also calculated.

Bidding for the real estate, patents and facility inventory of failed Dutch thin-film PV cell manufacturer Nuon Helianthos BV, will begin on April 16. The company announced that the pilot plant, located in Arnhem, would be closed last year after failing to reach commercial production due to lack of investment.

Big funding deals maybe a thing of the past but overall VC funding deals remain at record levels, according to the latest quarterly report of solar VC funding activity by Mercom Capital Group. Citing a slow start to 2012, VC funding in the first quarter of 2012 reached only US$329 million the lowest dollar amount recorded since Q4 2010. However, 34 deals were reported, suggesting VC’s are taking a lower risk approach to the sector, according to the report authors.