The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and technology partner, Manz have achieved a small area CIGS cell conversion efficiency of 21%, verified by Fraunhofer ISE.
High-tech manufacturing equipment firm, Manz AG reported preliminary record 2014 full-year financial results while incurring a €22.5 million depreciation hit on its solar segment and shifting c-Si PV equipment operations to China.
US installer and leasing company SolarCity appears to be stepping up its move towards vertical integration, with reports emerging that the company has leased a factory formerly occupied by Solyndra.
Chinese PV manufacturer Zhongli Talesun has officially started construction of a 500MW integrated solar cell and modules assembly plant in the Thai-China Industrial Park in Rayong, Thailand.
Waaree Energies, one of India’s largest PV module manufacturers, is significantly adding capacity to meet demand. Having already expanded capacity to 500MW it now plans to double that to 1GW over the next four months.
The director of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) solar cost cutting programme has hailed the “phenomenal jobs growth rate” that the US solar industry has enjoyed in recent times.
