Solland Solar is planning to start commercial sales of its ‘Sunweb’ modules, using ‘metal wrap through’ (MWT) solar cells in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company noted that it had already delivered and had installed modules to reference projects in both the UK and the Netherlands, with further projects in the pipeline for the target markets of Italy, France, Belgium and Germany.
Five buildings at US Navy base Pearl Harbor, known now as the Joint base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in Oahu, Hawaii are in the midst of a US$15 million project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Intended to increase the base’s energy independence by using renewable energy, a combined 2.4MW solar array has been installed using SolarWorld panels, which include its crystalline silicon technology, and is spread across five buildings at the historic base.
Microinverter firm, SPARQ, headquartered in Kingston, Ontario is to have its new microinverters and communications hubs for PV systems manufactured by Sanmina-SCI at its Ottawa facility, which is certified for Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, and at Sanmina-SCI's worldwide regional facilities for global distribution.
Already in evaluation as a substrate for thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si) modules and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) applications, DuPont’s colourless polyimide film, ‘Kapton’ is also being developed for cadmium telluride (CdTe) applications that open-up new markets for the technology in the fields of lightweight, flexible and high-efficiency applications. Currently, the flexible thin-film market is dominated by a-Si and CIGS-based technologies.
Syncarpha Capital has chosen Siemens Energy to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its new 3MW solar plant in Eastampton, New Jersey. Construction work on the ground-based system is set to begin shortly and grid connection is pencilled in for September.
South Korea’s biggest chemicals manufacturer, LG Chem, is planning to spend ? 491 billion (US$455 million) on its first polysilicon plant as it looks to take its first step into the PV industry. The facility, located in Yeosu in southwest Korea, will have the capacity to produce 5,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon per year. LG Chem’s board approved the construction plan on Thursday and it has penciled in a completion date of late 2013.
Martifer Solar has signed an agreement with Louroux Bio Energies, which will see the two companies working together to install 25MW of solar PV projects near Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Working in multiple phases, the project should be delivered by the end of December.
SolarBridge Technologies has appointed Bill Mulligan as its newest board member and Bill Paape as its CFO. Over fifty years of professional experience lies between the two men and the company looks forward to SolarBridge growing under their leadership.
Grupo T-Solar and Astonfield Renewable Resources have signed a long-term strategic partnership deal to develop solar PV power plants in India. Site construction is under way on the first project of the collaboration, a 5MW site in Osiyan, Rajasthan, India, which is expected to be commissioned by October.
A glut of modules and PV inverters are to revitalise the German solar market this year as prices are falling to a degree that the makes investing in solar financially attractive again. However, despite a very weak first quarter, installations are set to show strong growth through the rest of the year, peaking in the fourth quarter and exceeding installation figures of 7GW in 2010, according to the latest forecast from IMS Research.
