Playing host to the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry, the Messe München has once again opened its doors to Intersolar Europe. Thousands of visitors and exhibitors are expected to attend this year’s event, which is estimated to see more than 2,200 companies from 47 countries showcase products and services in the areas of photovoltaics, PV production and solar thermal technology.
Showcasing its latest range of Secium and Maple solar technology, JA Solar will be exhibiting at this year’s Intersolar Europe. Developed using the company’s high-efficiency solar cell processing technology, monocrystalline Secium cells can achieve a conversion efficiency of up to 19.2%, while polycrystalline Maple cells can achieve up to 18.2%.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK has partnered with British Gas for a 4.6MW installation in Derbyshire, England. Costing a total of £10 million, the ground-mounted system will feature 17,000 Sharp 245W monocrystalline panels covering an area of 90,000m2 at Toyota’s UK-based vehicle plant.
Despite changes expected to the UK feed-in tariff that would make large-scale projects uneconomical, while retaining incentives for the residential rooftop market, First Solar has gained Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certification for its CdTe thin-film modules.The MCS accreditation applies to First Solar’s Series 3 modules FS-370 to FS-385.
Switzerland looks set to become the latest country to abolish its nuclear energy programme after its Government announced last week that it would be nuclear free by 2034. The news is a boon to solar, which will look to fill the void left by an industry that currently accounts for 39.9% of the land-locked country’s electricity production.
Module manufacturer Solvis has entered into a long-term cooperation agreement with solar system integrator Relatio, which will see Relatio market half of Solvis’ full annual capacity in Germany during 2011 by installing Solvis modules on its roof and field projects.
Centrosolar and mounting solutions provider Zep Solar have signed a license agreement that will see Centrosolar manufacture Zep compatible module at its Wismar, Germany plant. The signed agreement also calls for the distribution of Zep products throughout Europe by Centrosolar. The companies note that they have mutually modified Zep’s standard frame profile specifically for Centrosolar so that it conforms to European roof application requirements.
The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Germany was on site with IBC Solar to celebrate the groundbreaking of the company’s new Sukow Solar Park. Set to be built across 76.6-acres of the former Sukow landfill, the 11MWp solar installation is expected to be completed in August and use 48,000 PV modules to generate 10,500,000kWh of solar electricity every year.
Solarion hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its CIGS thin-film solar cell and module factory in Saxon, Germany. The event was attended by company and state officials who noted that this is the company’s first production facility for mass manufacturing of its thin-film PV technology. The €40 million project will house a 129,167 square foot production facility on a 7.4-acre site at the Zwenkau-South industrial park, with a 20MW production volume at its inception in 2012.
Bulgaria’s solar industry is facing the threat of stagnation, after the Government unveiled a new renewable energy bill that could cut industry subsidies by as much as 30%. The feed-in tariff (FiT) reductions were part of a wider set of cuts to the renewable sector, which have been introduced to help the country meet its EU 2020 targets.
