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.
Five of First Solar’s senior executives, using personal funds, purchased a combined total of 5,500 shares of the company stock during one of four annual open trading windows for the company’s directors and Section 16 officers. The purchases have been reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Form 4 filings where appropriate.
Silex Systems’ subsidiary, Silex Solar, revealed plans to restructure its silicon PV panel business located at Sydney Olympic Park, a facility it bought a few years ago from BP Solar. Changes will revolve around management and operations, which the company hopes will strengthen its position in the business.
As part of its strategy to supply a complete materials offering to the PV industry, Dow Corning has brought online a new 4,000MT per annum monosilane gas facility, adjacent to Hemlock Semiconductor’s polysilicon manufacturing plant in Hemlock, Michigan.
One of the prime movers in First Solar’s rapid transformation into a leading vertically integrated PV company is moving on. Jens Meyerhoff, current president of the utility systems business group and former CFO, will be leaving the firm effective Sept. 30.
Day4 Energy has signed a deal with Austrian solar module manufactuer PV Products to provide the equipment and technology to upgrade its 30MW production facility for the manufacture of solar panels featuring Day4 DNA crystalline-silicon cells. The upgrade of PVP's automated 30MW production facility to Day4 technology is scheduled to begin immediately, with production anticipated to start in early September, the companies said.
US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has greenlighted the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550MW (AC) solar power project to be developed, built, and operated by First Solar on 4100 acres of public lands in the California desert outside Joshua Tree National Park. Construction on the site could begin within days.
Three years after solar mounting manufacturer Quick Mount PV moved into its present Concord, California facility, the company revealed plans to move all company operations into a larger, 133,000 square foot home base in Walnut Creek, California. The relocation will take place during the middle of the first quarter in 2012, which, the company states, will allow it to meet the ever-increasing demands for its products.
