The up-and-coming solar market of India has received a boost with the news that the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) has agreed to fund a 2MW solar PV project in Gujarat. CIGS module manufacturer MiaSolé will supply the project, being developed by Universal Solar Systems, with modules for the park, which will bring India’s National Solar Mission (NSM) a step closer to its aim of establishing 20GW of grid-connected solar capacity by 2022.
South Africa’s Department of Energy has approved Soitec Energy as one of the preferred bidders under the country’s independent power producer (IPP) programme. Soitec’s first installation under this programme will be a 50MW CPV system next to the Aquila Private Game Reserve in Touwsrivier on the Western Cape.
Researchers from Fraunhofer Instituts für Solare Energiesysteme (ISE), Freiburg and the Carnot-Institut Laboratoire d‘électronique des technologies de l‘information (CEA-LETI) in Paris have been awarded the Franco-German Business award for their work on developing reusable substrates for III-V multi-junction solar cells.
Soltecture has produced the first 100W thin-film modules from its Berlin Adlershof manufacturing line. The modules have an efficiency of 13.4% and Soltecture CEO Nikolaus Meyer believes their launch is an important step in its long-term target of achieving 16% efficiency.
Fraunhofer ISE CalLab has certified a 9.8% cell efficiency for Heliatek’s 1.1cm² tandem organic solar cell, which was created with a low temperature deposition process. The company’s in-house measurements have demonstrated that scaling up its record-breaking cells to a panel with a size factor >120 produces efficiency over 9% for the active module area. Heliatek notes that its new record is the third in a row that it has set for efficiency in OPV.
As part of its long-term cost reduction goals for its turnkey Micromorph thin film silicon ‘ThinFab’ production lines, Oerlikon Solar has teamed with gas suppliers Air Liquide and Linde to provide more than a 20% reduction in total cost of all gases and precursors. As a result, its ThinFab (120MWp) lines going into full production by end of 2012 can reduce module production costs by up to 5%. The total gas budget was said to be less than €8.50 per panel.
David Brady, First Solar’s VP of Treasury is also taking over the role of Investor Relations, reporting to Mark Widmar, Chief Financial Officer. Former investor relations officer, Larry Polizzotto remains within the company, though no formal position has been chosen. Reasons for the shuffle were not given.
Verified by the Fraunhofer ISE Institute, CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenid) thin-film manufacturer, Solibro a subsidiary of Q-Cells has reported a CIGS test module has achieved a new world record conversion efficiency of 17.4%. Earlier this year Solibro produced a record full-module reading of 14.7% in series production.
Fraunhofer ISE and Azur Space Solar Power advised that the 15 year partnership for the creation of multi-junction solar cells using III-V semiconductors has been extended for another 20 years by the signing of an agreement of cooperation. Fraunhofer and Azur Space plan to work together over the next two decades to create solar cells that will be used for applications based in space.
Tata Steel and Dyesol are continuing with their progress on the production of what they hope will be the world’s largest dye solar cells modules (DSC). The team has been constructing a DSC 20m2 roof array that will be tested at the Sustainable Building Envelope Centre
(SBEC) test facility in Shotton, Wales.
