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Flextronics has dedicated 1 million square feet to create a "Clean Tech Super Site" at its established facility in Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia. The electronic manufacturing services company already has a range of solar photovoltaics module production capabilities operational at the PTP location, with development plans to increase its site capacity to support 1GW of module production over the next two years.

Recently announced capacity expansion plans from the majority of major China-based PV manufacturers and polysilicon producers is having a knock-on effect in the supply chain with gases specialist Linde Group announcing a new round of long-term gas supply contracts in the country. Linde LienHwa (LLH) has secured multi-million US dollar contracts from companies including GS Solar, Parity Solar, CNPV Solar Power SA, General Solar Power and Argus Power.

Applied Materials announced last week that it has opened the newly expanded Tainan Manufacturing Center in southern Taiwan, a nearly 15,000 square-meter facility that the company says will enhance its capability to serve thin-film solar photovoltaic and flat-panel display (FPD) customers in Asia. The center employs approximately 150 people and is expected to build and ship about 100 new plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) production systems this year

Hitachi High-Technologies and XeroCoat have entered into a strategic partnership for the distribution of XeroCoat’s antireflective coating solutions for solar photovoltaic modules in Japan and China. The agreement gives HHT, through its energy and environmental solutions unit, the right to resell XeroCoat’s equipment systems and materials into the two key Asian markets. XeroCoat also told PV Tech that it has established a demonstration pilot line at an Asian glass manufacturer.

PV manufacturers can quickly reduce their costs, and increase their yields, by using SEMI standards that were originally designed to help semiconductor fabs deal with power glitches and power costs. SEMI, the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries, has two well-established electric power standards that could prove especially useful for PV manufacturing: SEMI F47, which helps equipment deal with power disturbances, and SEMI E3, which helps users understand how much electric power is used in their recipes. This paper provides a method of lowering costs and increasing yield by applying these standards in the PV manufacturing industry.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has entered into acquisition agreements with the indirect shareholders of Konca Solar Cell in which the company will indirectly acquire a controlling stake of 70.19% in Konca Solar at an aggregate consideration of RMB854.1 million (€86.1917 million).

With the start of actual construction of Hemlock Semiconductor’s new polysilicon plant, located in Clarksville, Tennessee, the largest polysilicon producer in the world has revealed both the initial production capacity of the plant as well as its future capacity capability. Initial cost of the plant was said to be US$1.2 billion and will employ approximately 500 workers when ramped. Hemlock has announced investments totalling more than US$4 billion for expanding polysilicon production over the last few years in a drive that is expected to keep the company in its leadership position.

Continued overcapacity in the upstream supply chain that includes polysilicon, solar wafers and solar cells is resulting in continued price declines and uncertainty over 2010 market demand. As a result Q-Cells is planning to hold c-Si cell production at approximately 800MW in 2009 and grow nameplate capacity to 1.1GW in 2010, on provisional market expectations for next year. However, its CIGS thin film subsidiary is expected to increase nameplate capacity to 135MW and actually ship close to 100MW in 2010, signalling the maturity of the product and potential market penetration of the technology. Solibro was said to have shipped its first products to customers in the quarter.

BP Solar saw a recovery in sales in the third quarter, reflecting a recovery in business BP reported in its latest quarterly results statement. Module sales in the quarter reached the equivalent of 73MW, compared with 47MW in the same period of last year.

Hoku Scientific and Tianwei New Energy Holdings have signed a definitive agreement that will make the vertically integrated Chinese solar company the primary shareholder of Hoku. The deal stipulates that Tianwei take a majority investment in Hoku and that debt financing by Tianwei and China Construction Bank be used to complete Hoku's Pocatello, ID, polysilicon production facility, which has faced numerous delays in its construction schedule because of financing and other issues.