The nascent solar arm of electronics giant, Samsung has been shuffled into subsidiary, Samsung SDI, known originally for flat panel display manufacturing but more recently for lithium ion battery manufacturing. Samsung said that the transaction, valued at approximately US$148 million was to ‘manage the company’s resources more efficiently and focus more on its key businesses.’Samsung SDI will take over the solar cell business on July 1, 2011.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) has found that by using the Rasirc Steamer efficiency in the production of back contact silicon solar cells reached 20.2%. Fraunhofer used the steamer system to provide ultrapure water vapor for its metal wrap through (MWT) and passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) solar cell manufacturing processes.
Morgan Solar has closed the first installment of its Series B funding round with US$16.5 million. The funding will enable the company to increase its manufacturing and deployment for its Sun Simba concentrated PV module. Existing investors Inversiones Financieras Perseo, of the Iberdrola Group, and Nypro were joined by new investor, The Frost Group. Morgan Solar is in talks with strategic investors to close the remainder of the funding round.
M+W Group has taken its PV portfolio past the 10GW mark by signing a contract to build a new 1GW solar cell plant in Asia. By reaching this milestone, M+W is further consolidating its position as a market leading provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for silicon and thin-film cell and module production facilities.
Odersun has developed a new software tool, which essentially allows a user to design their own solar modules. Aptly named Solarmodule-Designer, the software lets users create solar modules that will fit an individual building project and system. Size, form, build-up and materials can all be customized by the user so that the modules can easily fit into their solar-integrated roofs and façades.
Roth & Rau has purchased a production facility from electronics firm, Possehl Electronics in, Shenzhen, China to better serve customers in the region. Financial details of the transaction are to remain confidential. As part of the deal, equipment and personnel of around 145 employees will be retained by the PV equipment supplier. Roth & Rau is being acquired by Meyer Burger.
Micromorph thin-film module manufacturer, Inventux Technologies has boosted the yield of its modules by reducing edge stripping, which is said to provide a larger effective surface area. Other improvements were achieved with the use of white coloured reflector film, leading to positive performance tolerances of -0/+5 watts. Inventux advertises its X-Series modules as achieving 10% conversion efficiencies.
The cost competitive position of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technologies, especially since polysilicon prices have continued to fall from the heights of 2008, have constrained more widespread adoption. However, a new detailed report from GTM Research highlights a brighter future for the sector should CPV companies achieve their cost reduction roadmaps. In particular, the installed cost of CPV systems need to be reduced by more than 30% over the next four years for CPV installations to reach a healthy 1GW per annum rate by 2015.
Solarion hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its CIGS thin-film solar cell and module factory in Saxon, Germany. The event was attended by company and state officials who noted that this is the company’s first production facility for mass manufacturing of its thin-film PV technology. The €40 million project will house a 129,167 square foot production facility on a 7.4-acre site at the Zwenkau-South industrial park, with a 20MW production volume at its inception in 2012.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has signed two more 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) with Soitec Solar Development, which, this time around, will total 125MW of solar energy produced in SDG&E’s service area. Just last month, the utility signed contracts with Soitec subsidiaries for three solar projects in the San Diego area that amounted to 30MW of solar PV energy. SDG&E stressed that the three previous contracts were separate contracts from those announced today.
