Manufacturing

Scientists at the Empa Institute in Switzerland claim to have achieved 11.5% conversion efficiency for a CdTe solar cell by doping it with copper.

A renewable energy incentive programme has been launched in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, by the state governor, Alberto Pinto Coelho.

Having gone through a major financial restructuring, SolarWorld is starting to tackle its manufacturing competitive issues with a round of technology upgrades and new product introductions.

Major equipment supplier to the PV industry, Meyer Burger has reported a better than expected order intake in the last six-weeks, citing it as a “turning point in customer behaviour.”

The strategy to diversify its business away from dependence on sectors such as solar is proving to be a significant success for equipment supplier, Manz AG.

The former LDK subsidiary LDK Hefei is to be sold by the local Chinese government affiliate that purchased it earlier this year.

First Solar will start a 100MW manufacturing line for crystalline silicon cells for the residential distributed market from the end of next year with production scaling from 2015, it was revealed yesterday.

South Korean business conglomerate SK Group has invested a further US$19 million into Texas-based CIGS thin-film PV module manufacturer HelioVolt.

Leading PV energy provider (PVEP), First Solar, has claimed to be the first thin-film module manufacturer to have received ‘Thresher' test certification from TÜV Rheinland.

Reports suggest a deal is in the making that could see Suntech Power Holdings' bankrupt subsidiary rescued by the involvement of a rival Chinese PV manufacturer and several state-owned enterprises in Wuxi, China.