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.
Power-One has begun shipping central inverters from its Chinese manufacturing and design facility in Shenzhen. By the end of 2011, the site will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 1GW.
Two of Japan’s leading solar companies are to donate ¥600 million to the relief fund for the Sendai earthquake. Mitsubishi Electric and Kyocera will give ¥500 million and ¥100 million respectively to help victims and the rebuilding process.
Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan was said by experts to be the largest to hit the country in over a century. A massive10-metre (33-foot) high tsunami battered coastal towns and cities across the northeast coast with Sendai, north of Tokyo affected the most by the disaster. As for the events' impact on the solar PV supply chain, initial reports indicate the effects have been minimal.
Delta Energy Systems’ inverter lines have been certified for compatibility with First Solar’s latest FS-Series 2 and FS-Series 3 thin-film modules. First Solar’s System Design and Application certification covers both Delta’s Solivia 2.5, 3.0, 3.3 and 5.0 EU G3 string inverters and its central inverter line.
