Abound Solar is making its entrance into the Indian market under a long-term sales agreement with Solarsis. The companies aim to promote Abound’s thin-film modules to project developers in the country’s burgeoning solar market. Additionally, Solarsis will create a test facility catering to the enhancement of balance of system (BoS) designs that center on Abound Solar’s thin-film modules. The collaboration's first project will be a 1MW ground-mount solar array in Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Specifics about the financial terms of the agreement or the amount and timing of module shipments were not revealed.
Subhendu Guha, Jeff Yang and Baojie Yan of thin-film solar module manufacturer United Solar, a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, have been granted U.S. Patent 7,902,049 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for their “method of depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials.” The patent was granted to the company just a few months after it announced that the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had conducted testing resulting in a 12% initial conversion of the nanocrystalline technology.
Just fifteen miles outside of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam’s Dong Nam Industrial Park, First Solar has begun construction on its four-line PV module manufacturing plant. The ground breaking of First Solar’s US$300 million Vietnamese plant comes one week after the company announced its plans for a second U.S. manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona. Commercial production at the Vietnam site is slated to begin during the second half of 2012.
Malaysian conglomerate Scientex and Japanese materials supplier Mitsui Chemicals Tohcello (MCTI) have signed a joint-venture agreement to manufacture and distribute ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulating materials for PV modules and other applications. A new company will be formed, MCTI Scientex Solar, in which each party holds a 50% equity interest.
Hanwha Holdings (USA) has established Hanwha Solar America LLC as a U.S. subsidiary, which will set up an advanced photovoltaic technology research and development center in Silicon Valley. Industry veteran Chris Eberspacher has been named president of HSA and will also serve as global CTO of Hanwha’s various solar businesses.
Crystalline-silicon thin-film PV company Ampulse has ordered a cell process development tool from Roth & Rau MicroSystem. The system, scheduled for delivery in the first half of this year, will be installed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Process Development and Integration Laboratory in Golden, CO.
In direct response to its high order volumes, centrotherm photovoltaics is investing in an expansion of its Blaubeuren, Germany headquarters. The current 247,569-square-foot facility’s area will be increased to 333,681 square feet with a double-digit million euro price tag. Production at Blaubeuren includes the manufacturing of tube furnaces for phosphorous diffusion and batch-type systems for anti-reflective coating of solar cells.
First Solar has selected the location of its second manufacturing center in the United States, and it’s a short drive from the company’s Tempe, AZ, headquarters. A 135-acre site in Mesa that once hosted a General Motors vehicle testing facility will see the creation of a cadmium-telluride thin-film PV module factory, a $300 million capital investment which will feature four production lines and be suitable for future expansion.
Market research firm, Solarbuzz has reported its Top 10 rankings by cell capacity in 2010. Actually, there were 12 companies in the ranking due to several companies tying on capacity. Suntech Power and JA Solar tied for the first position, followed closely by First Solar.
Natcore Technology has set up shop at MicroTech Systems Fremont, California facility in order to begin work on its first production model of its intelligent liquid phase deposition (LPD) processing station that intends to grow antireflective (AR) coating on silicon wafers. The LPD process grows the AR coating in a warm chemical bath, which is said to eliminate the need for silane, diminish energy needs and lower silicon use.
