The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved a pre-feasibility study for the construction of the first phase of First Solar's 30MW thin-film solar power plant located in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. This phase marks the beginning of 2GW which are to be implemented in the area through 2019.
An ambitious plan, which hasn’t been without implementation issues and which has stretched the financial structure of REC Group, is finally bearing fruit according to key executives of the company. At a lengthy investor and analyst seminar being held in Singapore, coinciding with the grand opening of the company's €1.3 billion plus integrated module production facility, enigmatic CEO Ole Enger claimed REC was on track to deliver a companywide all inclusive cost of €0.97/watt by the fourth quarter 2011. Excluding equipment and building depreciation at the new plant, the cash cost target for next year would be €0.74/watt.
Tempress Systems, a solar subsidiary of Amtech Systems, has obtained US$33 million in new solar orders from numerous Asian customers. The customers, both new and existing for the company, ordered Tempress’s diffusion processing systems this past October.
Oerlikon Solar's €16.7 million research project "Pepper" will receive a €9.4 million funding grant under the Framework Programme for Research of the European Union, coordinated by the DG Energy of the European Commission. The project, which began on September 1, is aimed at demonstrating high performance processes and equipment for thin-film silicon photovoltaics modules produced with lower costs, reduced material use, and an improved environmental-friendly production process.
German machine supplier 4JET has reported a high order intake in its thin-film photovoltaics business. The company will supply laser equipment, edge deletion systems, glass drilling modules, and busbar stripping equipment to 10 different production lines for CIGS and CdTe manufacturing through mid-2011.
Innotech Solar (ITS) has now begun constructing its new solar cell production site located in the Eastern German city of Halle, laying the first foundation stone on October 27. The facility is expected to initially create 80 new jobs in the region, with plans to increase the number of employees as the site progresses. Innotech Solar was assisted in the investment process by Germany Trade & Invest and the Investment and Marketing Corporation (IMG) Saxony-Anhalt.
UPDATED: PV industry market leader First Solar reported third-quarter sales of US$797.9 million, a significant increase of second quarterly net sales of US$587.9 million, mainly due to the sale of the 60MW Sarnia Phase 2 utility project in Canada. The company noted that its CdTe thin-film module average selling prices (ASP) declined in the quarter, which impacted revenue figures.
SMA Solar Technology has founded a new sales and service subsidiary in Mumbai, India which is aims to open by the end of this year. SMA is currently the only inverter manufacturer offering modern system technology for grid-tied solar power plants in India.
Teamtechnik has inaugurated its new 1,500m2 production facility in Jintan, China. The new location is expected to increase the amount of local contacts for customers in China and to ensure short delivery times as well as efficient response from the service teams.
Ascent Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with 'The Energy and Resource Institute' (TERI), based in New Delhi, India. Under the terms of the agreement, TERI will perform testing and performance evaluation of Ascent's flexible thin-film CIGS modules as well as looking at the feasibility of including these modules for TERI's flagship program 'Lighting a Billion Lives' (LaBL).
