Manufacturing

The Dow Powerhouse solar shingle, manufactured by Dow Chemical, has received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety certification after passing over 50 individual tests to measure its safety and building standards. UL testing included wind and fire resistance testing as well as validating proper wiring and PV connection. The Dow Powerhouse shingle achieved UL 746, 1703, 1897, 790, 486 and 514.

The rapid capacity expansions by First Solar saw the CdTe thin-film leader scale the PV module rankings to become the number-one shipper in 2009. Although another aggressive phase of expansions has been announced, the lack of new capacity in 2010 compared to rivals, particularly Suntech and JA Solar, means First Solar has fallen to third place among module manufacturer in the third quarter, according to IMS Research.

The juwi group has established a subsidiary in India which the company has branded 'juwi India Renewable Energies.' The additional facility, which is headquartered in Bangalore, will begin working on solar power installations in India in 2011, with the aim of installing over 100MW of solar power in the next few years.

Because of expected tool deliveries and customer acceptances by year's end, solar manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger Technology Group has increased its guidance on net sales for fiscal year 2010. The company, which saw an increase in net sales of 67% to CHF356.9 million (US$363.1 million) during the first half of the year, has boosted its forecast on net sales for 2010, from the previously announced CHF730 million (US$742.7 million) to approximately CHF800 million (US$813.8 million)—nearly double the CHF420.9 million ($428 million) intake achieved in 2009.

Another solar PV company has joined the growing ranks of players attempting to bring CIGS thin film to market. India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has awarded a grant to Moser Baer India to engage in the developmental activity of copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide cells. MBI will conduct the development work from its corporate R&D facility in Greater Noida, Pradesh, with the efforts focused on developing a differentiated, indigenous, commercially viable CIGS technology.

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.

Despatch Industries has officially opened its new regional office located in Seoul, South Korea. This new office adds to the company's network of offices in locations including Shanghai, China; Berlin, Germany; Singapore; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan and its global headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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.

On hand in North Las Vegas, Nevada, Amonix was joined by state senators and representatives to break ground on a new 214,000 square foot manufacturing facility. Using the US$5.8 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act manufacturing tax credit, Amonix will be using the new site to produce CPV solar power systems for Nevada and neighboring state installations.

Solar Frontier has agreed to supply 10MW of its cadmium- and lead-free thin-film CIS solar modules to Saudi Aramco, which is building the North park office complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Solar Frontier’s modules will be used to cover the 4,450 parking spaces at the car park for the office complex. At 10MW, the panels will provide all the structure’s daytime energy needs with completion anticipated for the end of 2011.