Calisolar is making its move to become high-volume low-cost silicon solar wafer producer with plans to build a 16,000MT silicon production facility in Lowndes County, Mississippi at an estimated cost of US$600 million. A pioneer of enhanced UMG-based wafers, Calisolar is bring silicon material production in-house to significantly lower costs and have greater control over material quality. When fully operational, the plant is said to employ 951 full-time workers.
Following the successful implementation of fluorine technology at Schüco TF’s 40MW Osterweddingen site, the company has signed a significant long-term supply contract with Linde Gases for the delivery of onsite fluorine (F2) to its new thin-film module mass production site in Großröhrsdorf, eastern Germany.
The US Export-Import Bank will provide First Solar with $455.7 million of loan guarantees to construct a pair of solar PV power projects in Ontario, Canada. The bank will guarantee a $236.7 million loan for a 50MW plant to be built near Amherstburg, Belmont, and Walpole townships, and another $219 million loan for a 40MW farm slated for construction in St. Clair. The debt will be repaid over 18 years.
Serious issues over the viability of thin-film technologies and the companies using them were brought forward with the shutdown and looming bankruptcy of Solyndra this week. However, at EU PVSEC on Tuesday, September 6, at 11:30 am, CIGS turnkey equipment provider Manz is holding its CIGSforum, which is open to register for attendance.
Inventux Technologies has extended its product warranties for its micromorph-silicon thin-film PV systems from five to 10 years. The offer includes system components such as modules, inverters, and mounting systems and is being provided at no additional cost.
A significant leap forward in advanced screen-printing for solar cells has been touted by Applied Materials, which will be showcased at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Hamburg, Germany from September 5-8. The new dual-lane ‘Baccini Pegaso’ screen-printer is said to enable novel, high-efficiency cell designs to be brought into mass production, effectively ‘future-proofing’ the platform due to its modular architecture. Early customer adoption includes Gintech Energy.
Cylindrical CIGS thin-film manufacturer Solyndra has announced that it has suspended its manufacturing operations, immediately laid off its 1100 full-time and temporary employees, and intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Fremont, CA-based company cited "the negative impacts of global economic and solar industry market conditions" as the reason for the actions. The firm also said it is evaluating its options, which could include "a sale of the business and licensing of its advanced CIGS technology and manufacturing expertise."
Ubbink East Africa, Centrotec Sustainable's Dutch subsidiary, has opened East Africa's first PV module factory in Naivasha, Kenya. Ubbink plans to produce around 30,000 modules a year, with the majority of these being used to cater for the growing number of small-scale systems in Africa.
Avancis PowerMax copper indium selenide (CIS) thin-film PV modules have been certified for higher reimbursement entitlements in Italy. Because the panels are made in Germany, Italian system operators who purchase the products can be eligible for a 10% higher feed-in rate that will apply for 20 years.
Schott Solar advised that it had achieved 20.2% efficiency on its monocrystalline screen-printed solar PV cell; a feat that was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). The 4.92W cell uses an industrial sized 156mm x 156mm wafer, which led Schott to maintain that this is the first PV cell of its size to reach this efficiency.
