PV module encapsulants supplier, STR Holdings posted 2010 sales to the solar sector of US$259.2 million, an increase of 73.4%, compared to sales of US$149.5 million in 2009. Management noted that the increase in sales was due to increased market share gains with its current Tier 1 Chinese customers as well starting to supply a large Asian module manufacturer in the year.
Tenaska Solar Ventures has chosen Soitec’s Concentrix concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology to power its new 150MW Imperial Solar Energy Center (ISEC) West plant in Southern California, with local utility SDG&E agreeing to buy the power generated from the site under a 25-year PPA. The company also announced plans to build a 200MW capacity CPV module manufacturing facility in the San Diego area. The ISEC West project has applied for a DOE loan guarantee as well.
Energy Smart is raising the profile of solar energy in the Baltics by building a 100kWp pilot plant in Kurenurme, Estonia. Foundations for the system’s 11 tracker towers were laid last week and, when completed, they will each hold 42 solar panels.
Shams Power has closed financing on its 100MW Shams 1 concentrated solar power (CSP) project in Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates. When completed, Shams 1 will be one of the largest CSP systems in the world, with investment coming from 10 major financial institutions and totalling US$600 million.
BlueChip Energy has bought a large plot of land in Lake County, Florida for the development of a 40MW solar farm. When completed, the ground-mounted system will be the largest in the state and generate around 64-million kWh of electricity per annum.
Commemorating the opening of what has been deemed the world’s first hybrid solar power plant, Florida Power & Light was joined by state senators, public officials, business leaders and Florida’s Governor Rick Scott on the site of their 500-acre Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Martin County, Florida.
Dow Corning has named Samaro, a French specialty chemical product supplier, as the distributor for its silicon-based solar product solutions in France. The French company will be a technical resource and production base for Dow Corning’s solar division while delivering Dow Corning’s solar silicon products to local customers. Samaro has acted as Dow Corning Electronics’ French distributor and will additionally undertake the delivery of Dow Corning’s Molykote brand lubricant applications in North Africa.
Bridgestone is to add a new ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) production line to its factory in ?arów, Poland. An investment of US$58 million will be used to fund the installation, with manufacturing scheduled to begin during the first half of 2013.
China-based polysilicon producer, Daqo New Energy, has reported its first financial year results as a public company, listed on the NYSE. Polysilicon shipments for 2010 were 3,650MT, module shipments were 3.5MW, after starting volume production in the fourth quarter. Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2010 were $81.9 million, an increase of 29.6% from the third quarter of 2010. The increase was mainly due to higher average selling prices for the polysilicon.
