PV Tech - News

Enfinity wins 10MW project in China

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:18:39 GMT

PV-Tech’s report on Enfinity’s winning a 10MW PV plant development project has been confirmed. Dubbed the Dunhuang PV Project, a new initiative to construct a 10MWp solar power plant in the Dunhuang region of China will see the investment of 200 million yuan (€27 million). Enfinity, as project leaders, will oversee the installation of PV tracker panels on the site and will confirm the contract once it has established the Dunhuang joint venture company.

DuPont, DOE join forces to develop moisture-barrier materials for flexible thin-film PV

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:17:09 GMT

DuPont and the U.S. Department of Energy will collaborate in a $9 million solar research program to develop ultrathin moisure-barrier material solutions for flexible thin-film photovoltaics. Some $3 million of the funding for the three-year effort comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with DuPont contributing the remaining $6 million.

Outlook update: LDK Solar sees growth in wafer shipments in 2Q, secures $146M in loans

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:19 GMT

In an updated second-quarter outlook, LDK Solar estimates its shipments of solar wafers will be in the 220-230MW range, up from its previous guidance of 200-220MW. The company also said it expects quarterly revenues to come in between $215 million and $225 million. LDK also secured two loans worth a combined total of RMB 1 billion (about $146 million).

Newport’s Irvine PV lab gains ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:32:50 GMT

Photonic solutions company Newport Corp. has received ISO/IEC 17025 certification for its Photovoltaic Laboratory at Newport’s Technology and Applications Center (TAC-PV Lab), located in Irvine, California. The accreditation was awarded by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

NV Energy seeks approval of One Nevada transmission line

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:27:32 GMT

NV Energy has announced that it will file with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) its Integrated Resource Plan for the company's southern territory.

SMA Solar opens CO2-neutral inverter factory; takes capacity to 4GW

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:00:17 GMT

SMA Solar Technology AG has inaugurated its new 18,000 square meter solar inverter factory, which takes its annual production capacity to 4GW. The facility is also claimed to be the first of its kind to be CO2 neutral. The electricity and heat demand is covered by renewable energy sources that include a 1.1MW integrated PV system and a combined heat and power plant fueled with bio-gas generates CO2-neutral electricity. The company obtains additional power for the facility from other renewable sources.

Solarvalue returns to the drawing board over UMG silicon viability

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:08:10 GMT

UMG silicon hopeful Solarvalue AG has cancelled its upgraded metallurgical grade silicon (UMG-Si) supply contract with Moser Baer Group. Their UMG-Si method was to be expanded into full-scale UMG production at its Slovenian manufacturing site, but Solarvalue has not been able to achieve required purity levels in laboratory tests. In addition, UMG and polysilicon prices have declined substantially, making current production processes economically unrealistic.

Yingli Green Energy PV module supplier on 10MW plant; announces overallotment option

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:55:12 GMT

Yingli Green, a vertically integrated PV manufacturer, is set to start providing modules on a 10MW on-grid solar plan with SDIC Huajing Power Holding in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. The provincial Development and Reform Commission in Gansu and the State Development and Investment Corporation have approved the project.

Updated: Suntech plots three-phase 500MW project in Panzhihua, China worth US$1.2 billion

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:33:38 GMT

Update July 2nd: Suntech's press office has confirmed the news of a planned 500MW project for Panzhihua, China. The deal is "a non-binding strategic agreement similar to our agreement with the Qinghai government," said our source, and could potentially lead to the Chinese PV market becoming much bigger than expected in the not-too-distant future.

QuantaSol reaches high efficiency levels in move toward multijunction world record

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:25:51 GMT

Independent designer and manufacturer of strain-balanced quantum-well solar cells, QuantaSol Ltd., a spinout from Imperial College, London, has announced what it believes to be the most efficient single junction cell ever manufactured, achieving efficiency levels of 28.3%.

CPV company Pyron Solar sells assets to Ellis Energy Investments

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:14:18 GMT

Ellis Energy Investments has acquired the assets of CPV company Pyron Solar, adding to a company acquisition portfolio that includes Sierra Process Systems and Global Mastics. Ellis will look to furthering the marketing of Pyron Solar’s CPV power generator, the Pyron Solar Triad, a patented and powerful solar concentrator that harnesses the sun’s energy with high-energy conversion and unlimited scalability.

Tool order: Bruker receives first order for 263GHz EPR Spectrometer from Helmholtz-Zentrum in Berlin

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:21:30 GMT

Bruker BioSpin is celebrating its first order for an Elexsys E780 system, dubbed the world’s first commercial mm-wave 263 Gigahertz (GHz) EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectrometer. The order was received from the Helmholtz-Zentrum in Berlin and will be used for researching new EPR applications in solar energy technology. It marks the first step in a collaborative research partnership between the two companies on EPR probe development for electrical detection.

LDK Solar teams with Italian integrator on multiple 1MW projects

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:05:24 GMT

LDK Solar would seem to be pushing on from its initial deal with Q-Cells to facilitate solar energy projects, with a separate deal signed with Italian systems integrator SAEM Srl. The new agreement is for five 1MW PV energy plants to be built in the Apulia region of Italy by November 2009. LDK Solar will supply the required number of wafers for the projects, while SAEM handles the engineering, procurement, and system integration services. Financial details were not disclosed.

Roth & Rau unit acquires MES supplier Romaric

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:55:55 GMT

Solar Holding Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Roth & Rau, is buying 100% of the shares of Romaric Corp., a manufacturing execution systems company based in Salt Lake City. In addition to boosting its presence in the U.S. market, Roth & Rau said it hopes to use Romaric's extensive experience in the field of software automation for semiconductor and other highly standardized manufacturing companies to extend its own products and services offering to its customers in the solar photovoltaic sector.

Dynamic Engineering to provide polysilicon services to GCL Solar unit

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:32:26 GMT

Dynamic Engineering has signed a comprehensive polysilicon services contract with Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development, a subsidiary of China-based GCL Solar. The services being provided by DEI to GCL Solar include the upgrading of trichlorosilane purity and purification capacity, optimization of existing CVD reactors, and elimination of waste DCS through conversion to TCS in DEI's patent-pending DCS conversion process.

juwi and First Solar bag 1.7MW rooftop project in Verona, Italy

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:02:48 GMT

The juwi group has been chosen to design, build and operate one of Italy’s largest PV power plants on the rooftops of the great market halls of Verona. Armed with 22,200 First Solar thin-film modules, the plant will cover a surface area of 16,000 square metres. juwi has signed a 20-year lease agreement with Veronamercato, the hall’s operator, for the use of the market hall roof.

Tool order: Umicore selects Eyelit’s MES suite for germanium wafer production

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:26:52 GMT

Eyelit, Inc. has shipped one of its integrated manufacturing execution software (MES) suites to materials technology company Umicore for production of germanium wafers at its Olen, Belgium-based Electro-Optic Materials Business Unit. The company intends to roll out the system to Quapaw, Oklahoma in the second half of this year.

Greentech Media: Solar VC funding falls in Q2 2009

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:18:31 GMT

Although there was a mild rebound in cleantech venture capital investments in the second quarter of 2009, reaching US$1.2 billion in 85 deals, compared to US$836 million in 59 deals in the previous quarter, the latest quarterly report from Greentech Media shows that VC funding in the solar sector has declined for the fourth successive quarter in a row. VC investment in solar was US$333.4 million in 17 deals, down from US$836.1 million invested in Q109 from 14 separate deals, approximately a 60% fall in funding.

SPG Holdings closes $13M equity financing, plans to expand U.S. solar operations

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:41:59 GMT

SPG Holdings has closed a $13 million equity financing through the Global Environment Fund and Robeco. SPG Holdings includes systems integrator SPG Solar and solar product designer/manufacturer Thompson Technologies Industries.

Perpetual Power installs 1MW PV system for Limoneira agricultural water system

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:43:18 GMT

Perpetual Power has completed the design and installation of four solar-powered deep-water wells at Limoneira's Ducor Ranch in California's Tulare Country.The quartet of 250kW (AC) solar PV arrays are comprised of 6400 high-efficiency Mitsubishi crystalline-silicon PV panels, which are positioned on ground-mounted, single-axis tracking systems.