Q-Cells switches major wafer suppliers

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 14:06 (PV-Tech)

With crystalline silicon cell production close to 1GW in 2010, Q-Cells continued to be a major user of bare wafers. However, tight supply and rising prices had caught Q-Cells out in the past, which led to financial losses on the back of restrictive long-term supply contracts that lead to major change in its executive management team. Read more

SNEC 2011: Manz Automation to build new Chinese factory; touts c-Si, thin film advances

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 14:06 (PV-Tech)

Manz Automation will break ground later this week on a new production, technology, and training facility in Suzhou, China. The factory will manufacture equipment for the photovoltaics, FPD, and PCB industries, with 50% devoted to solar tools, said company executives during a press conference held in conjunction with the SNEC trade show in Shanghai. The building will be finished by the end of this year, with production machinery installed early next year and the initial production ramp planned for February 2012. Read more

Motech becomes a member of PV Cycle

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 13:43 (PV-Tech)

Motech Industries is the latest company to become a member of PV Cycle, showing the company?s commitment to the environmental aspects of photovoltaic manufacturing by ensuring that its modules are properly recycled in Europe when they reach their ?end-of-life.? Read more

Q-Cells produced 940MW of c-Si solar cells in 2010: revenue ?1.35 billion

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 12:54 (PV-Tech)

Strong production execution across c-Si solar sales and modules, coupled to CIGS thin-film module production increases, helped Q-Cells return sales of ?1.35 billion in 2010, up 70% compared to the previous year. Preliminary results highlight cell production increased by 84% to 1,014 MW, which included 940MW in solar cells and 74MW in CIGS thin-film solar modules Read more

Feed-in Tariffs Needed After Grid Parity

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 6:42 (Renewable Energy World)

There can be no doubt that photovoltaics (PV) has depended upon governmental support. In particular, where proper feed-in tariffs have been offered, PV has done well ? and where such policies were quickly discontinued, markets have collapsed. Read more

Unirac Selected by Westwood Professional Services for 600kW Minneapolis Convention Center Solar Project

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 22:23 (Renewable Energy World)

Unirac, Inc., North America's leading provider of infrastructure for solar power systems, today announced that it was selected by Westwood Professional Services (Westwood) to supply an ISYS Roof Mount (IRM) custom racking solution for the recently completed 600kw solar array atop the Minneapolis Convention Center. The array consists of 2,613 PV modules that produce approximately 750 MWh of electricity per year. This system is one of the largest PV solar installations in the upper Midwest as well as one of the largest commercial rooftop systems to feature a 30-degree tilt. Read more

George Holmes named VP of worldwide sales for SolarBridge Technologies

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 21:34 (PV-Tech)

George Holmes has been appointed the new vice president of worldwide sales at SolarBridge Technologies. Holmes will be able to utilize his background in global sales and strategic partnerships to further develop and manage the company?s worldwide sales. Read more

Knouse Foods installs 19-acre solar project at its Pennsylvania facility

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 21:16 (PV-Tech)

Knouse Foods has prides itself on striving to produce quality foods while maintaining an environmentally conscious manufacturing facility. Recently at its Peach Glen, Pennsylvania manufacturing facility Knouse Foods activated a 19-acre project that uses over 14,000 solar panels. The project is owned and operated by the company and is anticipated to supplant more than four million kilowatt hours of purchases electricity yearly. Read more

Canadian Solar assists in development of Baraclit?s 2.5MW SolarLAB2

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 20:56 (PV-Tech)

Baraclit, an Italian prefabricated roofing developer for industrial and commercial industries, is sporting a new 2.5MW solar installation at its SolarLAB2 open-air solar laboratory in Bibbiena, Italy.  Canadian Solar and Energy Resources partnered for the project, which aims to be a laboratory used to study the incorporation of photovoltaic technology on prefabricated roofing. Read more

Worcester Renewables donates solar VAT for local ?blossoms? campaign

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 18:38 (Solarpowerportal)

Worcester Renewables, supplier and installer of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, has launched a major project aimed at revitalising the Vale with more blossoms. For every domestic customer that orders a PV system from the company this spring, Worcester Renewables will absorb and donate the VAT to a trust specifically tasked with “Putting the Bloom Back in the Blossom Trail”. Read more

M3 Solutions purchases GeoInformation solar mapping solution

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 17:37 (Solarpowerportal)

The GeoInformation Group’s Solar Energy Mapping solution has recently been utilised by London-based Solar PV Engineering Procurement and Construction Contractor, M3 Solutions, in order to save time and effort in solar irradiance surveys. Delivered either as a detailed property report or database, the solar energy map identifies and measures building roof potential for solar panel installations. Read more

Order Focus: JinkoSolar signs 35MW module supply contract with Payom Solar

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 16:13 (PV-Tech)

Vertically-integrated Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar has signed a contract to supply 35MW of its modules to Payom Solar in 2011. The modules are to be used on a range of Payom?s roof-top and ground-mounted projects across the U.S. Read more

SNEC 2011: Schmid to build manufacturing plants alongside Xinjiang Puxing Chengda

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 15:30 (PV-Tech)

Schmid Silicon Technology has agreed to build two solar manufacturing facilities with Chinese firm Xinjiang Puxing Chengda. Contracts for the turnkey polysilicon and the integrated cell and module factories were signed by the two firms shortly before the start of this week?s SNEC 5th exhibition in Shanghai. Read more

Israeli Solar Combined Heat and Power Provider Signs Landmark Agreement with Chinese Government

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 15:10 (Renewable Energy World)

ZenithSolar Ltd., provider of the world's most efficient combined heat and power solar system, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Energy Bureau of Gansu Provincial Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China for cooperation in the development of combined heat and power (CHP) solar stations in the Gansu province. The MOU was signed at a ceremony in the provincial capital Lanzhou. Read more

OPDE starts building 26MW portfolio in northern Italy

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 13:28 (PV-Tech)

OPDE Italia has started building work on six new solar farms in the Piedmont region of Italy. The combined capacity of the farms is 26MW and they are to be situated in the cities of Tortona, Alessandria, Pedrosa and Fosano. Read more

SNEC 2011: ENN Solar to invest in further solar farms across the globe

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 13:02 (PV-Tech)

ENN Solar Energy reveals continued extensive investment in European and American solar power projects at SNEC 2011. The company is also exhibiting its tandem junction silicon thin-film modules and will announce a 5MW thin-film project, which is already underway on a landfill in New Jersey. Read more

ACT Government includes larger-scale solar in revised FiT

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 11:51 (PV-Tech)

Australia?s Capital Territory (ACT) feed-in tariff has been expanded to include medium to large-scale solar projects in order to cater for larger commercial and industrial farms as well as community groups. According to the Australian Solar Energy Society, the gross feed-in tariff, which pays a premium for all solar energy generated, is now available for solar panel installations 30kW to 200kW. Read more

Oerlikon Solar receives order for KAI system from China?s Dong Xu

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 10:57 (PV-Tech)

Oerlikon Solar has received an order from leading Chinese photoelectric glass manufacturer Dong Xu for its KAI thin film silicon coating equipment. The fully-automated KAI PECVD system will form the central part of Dong Xu?s new thin film silicon production line. Read more

SNEC 2011: Oerlikon Solar receives order for KAI system from China?s Dong Xu

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 10:57 (PV-Tech)

Oerlikon Solar has received an order from leading Chinese photoelectric glass manufacturer Dong Xu for its KAI thin film silicon coating equipment. The fully-automated KAI PECVD system will form the central part of Dong Xu?s new thin film silicon production line. Read more

SNEC 2011: Applied Materials unveils selective emitter, wire saw innovations

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 2:05 (PV-Tech)

Applied Materials reports on a new selective emitter solution capable of raising absolute cell efficiencies by as much as 0.5% and unveils its upgraded wire-saw technology featuring high-strength structured wire at the SNEC PV Power Expo, taking place this week in Shanghai. The company also announced that its Precision Wafering Division has shipped its 2000th wire saw to the solar manufacturing industry. Read more

SNEC 2011: GT Solar debuts new STC converter, designs new service program for DSS furnace customers

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 1:33 (PV-Tech)

At the SNEC trade show in Shanghai, China, GT Solar International unveiled its next generation silicon tetrachloride (STC) converter for polysilicon production plants that use direct chlorination for hydrogenating STC. The company points out that the new STC converter is primarily for companies utilizing older, direct chlorination polysilicon plants. GT Solar claims that the new converter is an upgrade that will increase production capacity and lower annual operating costs. Each STC converter has the potential to support 2,500 tons of annual polysilicon production. Read more

Ontario Closes the Door to Offshore Wind Farms?Again

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 12:13 (Renewable Energy World)

When the Province of Ontario put a moratorium on offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes in November 2006, the Ministry of Natural Resources, responsible for releasing Crown Land to renewable energy development, attributed the decision to a lack of information about the technology and its potential environmental impacts. Read more

Looking for Wind Industry Leadership in Reducing Noise Impacts

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 11:18 (Renewable Energy World)

In recent years, we've seen a surge of noise complaints, troubling annoyance-level surveys, and widespread fear of new wind development. Read more

Still Renewable, Still Paying Good Dividends

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 - 6:35 (Renewable Energy World)

Income investors can also invest in clean energy. Read more