Setting the lowest cost per watt production figures in the photovoltaics industry while ramping production past the 1GW level in 2009, should prove to be the key reasons why First Solar becomes the largest solar cell producer in 2009, leapfrogging Q-Cells and Sharp for the first time. According to market research firm, iSuppli Corp, First Solar is set to produce more than double the 503MW it made in 2008 and increase its market share as well as be responsible for nearly a third of global installations this year!
Not only has Veeco Instruments welcomed Dr. Johannes Segner as its new chief technology officer for their solar equipment segment, but the company also announced that at its solar technical seminar on September 6, 2010, at EU-PVSEC in Valencia, Spain, Segner will be presenting “Designing a Best-of-Breed CIGS Thermal Deposition Factory, Lessons Learned & Futures Considerations.” Veeco will be highlighting its solar manufacturing equipment at the September 6-9 tradeshow.
Intevac revealed that Christopher Smith will be taking over the executive vice president of emerging markets position to manage and develop the company’s capital equipment business. Luke Marusiak, who previously served in the position, will be revisiting his chief operating officer role, which sees him overlooking manufacturing, materials, customer service and corporate services.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has issued a proposed decision to launch a new renewable incentive program with the aim of driving the uptake of mid-sized renewable energy development. This next-generation feed-in tariff program will require investor-owned California utilities to purchase electricity from renewable energy systems between one and 20MW in size.
With approximately 15 entrants wanting to stake a claim in the emerging solar microinverter and DC-DC power optimization market, rapid growth is required to avoid failures. According to a new report from IMS Research, the market is forecasted to generate more than US$1.5 billion in revenues over the next five years with device shipments growing 100% per year, totalling more than 16 million units. As expected the key market will be residential, offering power output defence from shading and inverter failures, according to the market research firm.
Extending its reach and further strengthening its overseas operations, Suntech has completed a major executive reshuffle including the appointment of a new COO and three regional presidents.
Dennis Flood, a 30-year NASA veteran who developed photovoltaic power systems for space and planetary missions, has been named CTO at Natcore Technology. The company said that he will help bring its portfolio of PV intellectual property through proof of concept and into commercialization.
Calisolar has appointed Sandra Beach Lin as its new CEO, replacing the outgoing Roy Johnson. The company, which says it is shipping a megawatt a week, made the move as the latest step in building the executive team to lead it through its rapid scale-up into a high-volume, low-cost manufacturer of UMG silicon PV cells.
Having been the managing director and COO at the centrotherm SiTec GmbH subsidiary for the last three years, Frank Stubhan has been appointed CEO of centrotherm photovoltaics AG's thin film module division, effective Sept. 1. 2010. Stubhan will be responsible for the next phase in the growth of its thin-film offerings, the company said.
Tasked with managing the integration of recently acquired companies as well as being in charge of production, quality management, supply chain amongst other duties, Roth & Rau has appointed former CEO of acquired OTB, Dr. Paul Breddels as its new Chief Operating Officer.
