Solar Power Inc. has signed an exclusive deal to sell its crystalline-silicon solar PV modules to Australian solar developer, Beyond Building Systems. The two-year supply agreement, which calls for a minimum purchase of 5.7 MW of modules, provides BBS with exclusive access to SPI's 170-220-W panels for use throughout Australia, according to SPI.
U.S.-headquartered Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA, Inc., via its Shanghai-based wholly-owned subsidiary Shanghai Intech Electro-Mechanical Products Co., Ltd., has announced that it has dispatched its first PV module shipment in the U.S. The company has also received UL certification for its solar module products, which was required in order for the company to sell modules in the U.S. market.
Silex Systems has conditionally acquired the manufacturing assets and equipment of the Sydney Olympic Park (SOP) solar photovoltaic production facility from BP Solar, which operated the Australian fab until March. Silex has also signed a conditional lease for the building which houses the SOP plant, so once the transactions are completed, the manufacturing facility--including infrastructure and services--will be secured relatively intact, according to the company. Both transactions are expected to be completed before the end of June.
Suntech Power Holdings CTO, Dr. Stuart Wenham has received NewSouth Innovations (NSi) Inventor of the Year Award. NSi is the technology commercialization company of the University of NSW, Australia (UNSW). Dr. Wenham holds a dual position as the Director of the UNSW's ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence as well as his position at Suntech. Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO was a former senior research scientist at the Centre of Excellence.
BP Solar has reported PV module sales in the first quarter of 2009 of 15MW, down from 34MW in the same quarter of 2008. The company noted that it was experiencing continued weak demand in the solar market.
Three sales agreements that total approximately 42MW of PV module sales in Germany for delivery in 2009 have been announced by Trina Solar. One deal with Bull Solar GmbH is worth 12MW of modules, Trina said. The sales were all signed in the first quarter of 2009.
Great strides in solar cell efficiency are the name of the game as Suntech has teamed up with an Australian university to focus on the development of solar cells that boast twice the efficiency but half the cost of conventional cells. Joining research forces with Swinburne University of Technology of Melbourne, Suntech’s CEO Dr. Zhengrong Shi will lead the collaborative effort with the University’s Centre for Micro-Photonics Director, Professor Min Gu.
Suntech Power Holdings said it is "routinely" using the Pluto technology to produce solar PV cells with conversion efficiencies of approximately 19% on monocrystalline silicon cells and 17% on multicrystalline cells. The company also confirmed that third-party test results from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Germany show conversion efficiencies of 18.8% for monocrystalline cell and 17.2% for the multicrystalline cells manufactured on Suntech's 34MW Pluto production line.
Webel-SL Energy Systems Ltd. has, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, revealed it is to invest approximately 1.8 billion rupees ($35.7 million) to build a second cell and module manufacturing facility in Kolkata, eastern India. The facility will bring Webel’s annual manufacturing capacity from 12MW to 42MW.
Yingli Green Energy, a photovoltaic product manufacturer, has appointed Dr. Dengyuan Song as Chief Technology Officer, replacing Dr. Guoxiao Yao, who resigned to pursue other interests. Dr. Song will lead Yingli Green Energy’s research and development initiatives.
