Declining prices whether on the spot market or long-term supply agreements are making business conditions very tough for polysilicon producers, regardless of their market size or purity of the material they produce. According to the latest financial results of Dow Corning, its JV subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor expects overcapacity in the sector to continue throughout 2012.
US President Barack Obama has said that the US plans to strengthen its cooperation on energy issues with Japan. Obama made the comments at the White House earlier this week after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Conergy has announced that it will install PV projects totalling more than 4MW at a number of schools in Hawaii. All projects are expected to be completed by 2014.
Assurant has launched a new comprehensive insurance offering for commercial solar project developments specifically aimed to service the 100kW to 3MW solar market. The Assurant Solar Project Insurance is said to be the industry’s first warranty administration and comprehensive protection plan for all phases of commercial-sized development projects.
Hailed as one of the largest solar parks in Greece, Schneider Electric has helped complete a 4.99MW solar park at Kourtesi, which was developed by Enel Green Power and constructed by Cantreva. The solar project is expected to produce over 7GWh of electricity per year.
Representatives from SunPower and the Mount Diablo Unified School District in California acknowledged the completion of 40 solar systems installed across district schools and facilities. By the end of the year, the partnership will see a total of 51 solar systems, representing 12.1MW in capacity, installed across district sites, which will reduce the district’s electricity costs by over US$3 million per year.
Talesun Solar USA, a subsidiary of Chinese solar cell and module producer Zhongli-Talesun Solar will partner with US green-tech integrator VRDT Corp (Verdant) to develop and integrate PV management and energy storage systems. The two companies will also work together on other new projects that as yet remain unnamed.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Angola has revealed its plans to invest in around 130 solar projects. The solar installations will help power schools and health centres as reported by Agencia Angola Press. Energy Minister Joao Baptista Borges noted that solar power equipment suppliers may benefit from tax incentives.
OPEL Technologies released its financial statements for both Q4 2011 and the full 2011 fiscal year. The company confirmed that its revenue for Q4 was US$1.05 million while its annual revenue amounted to US$5.9 million. Both its quarterly and yearly revenues surpassed the amounts posted the year before by US$4.2 million in annual revenue and US$678,806 in quarterly revenue.
SolarCity advised that it is planning to organise a registered initial public offering of its common stock. The company anticipates beginning the offering after the SEC completes the review process initiated by SolarCity’s confidential submission on April 26 of its draft registration statement.
