During Intersolar Europe 2012, KACO new energy signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung SDI, which will see both companies support each other in defining optimal energy storage systems. Sangjin Park, CEO of Samsung SDI and Ralf Hofmann, CEO of KACO new energy both signed the MOU.
Sunsolar recently advised of its plans to construct a 30MW solar PV manufacturing plant in Oldbury with a US$7.85 million (£5 million) grant from the Government fund backed by Sandwell Council and the Regional Growth Fund. Sunsolar will provide an additional US$7.85 million for the factory’s development, with plans to open the facility’s doors at the end of October.
The industry-renowned Intersolar Europe 2012 has presented Schott Solar and Schmid, Solon and Isra with the award for innovative photovoltaic technology.
A report from BBC News has advised that German company Kronos Solar is considering developing a 25MW solar farm on Lower Wheatley Farm, north of Launceston in Cornwall. The project would be constructed across 120-acres and would be the largest solar farm in the county. The report points out that the local authority notes that Kronos is one of various firms currently pondering over constructing a solar farm in the area between 20-30MW.
Soitec has connected the largest Italian CPV plant to the grid, the company has announced. The company completed construction of a 1.17MW CPV plant in the municipality of Belpasso in Sicily. 74 Soitec CPV trackers have been installed, each equipped with 168 Concentric CPV modules and two 500kW inverters. The plant is owned and operated by Soitec and the energy will be sold to Enel.
Hanwha SolarOne is cooperating with Italian Assoimprese after the association added PV modules to its portfolio. The association has chosen Hanwha as the preferred supplier for its approximately 600,000 members and installers who are network members can purchase Hanwha modules at special rates.
Thin-film manufacturer Masdar PV has reached 10% efficiency with its micromorph technology thin-film modules, the company has announced. Masdar’s research and development department collaborated with the Helmholtz Zentrum in Berlin, focusing on the optimization of materials used for the production of the modules.
IBC Solar has signed an agreement with South Korean chemical company LG Chem that will see the development of advanced lithium-ion storage solutions for solar energy. As a result of this collaboration, IBC has added to its power storage systems range with the new IBC SolStore 6.3 Li battery.
Chint/Astroenergy has completed a 50MW PV plant in Bulgaria, the company has announced. Once in operation, the plant will generate 1,858.548,000kWh of energy over a span of 25 and the energy will be fed into the local grid under a fixed FiT.
Recently adding another 1.2MW module order to its books, Upsolar has announced that its Greek activities have seen the shipment of 33MW of its PV modules to projects in the country since it first entered the market in March 2010. The 1.2MW order comes from RSEnergy Hellas Solartechnik, a Greece-based EPC firm that has several ground-mounted and industrial rooftop projects planned for the country.
