Solar Cells Info

Satoshi Ookubo, Nikkei Electronics /Feb 27, 2008
Source. TechOn.com
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080227/148136/

Peccell Technologies Inc prototyped a large-size solar cell module measuring 2.1 x 0.8m. The company developed a transparent conductive dye-sensitized solar cell using a plastic substrate in collaboration with Fujimori Kogyo Co Ltd and Showa Denko KK.

With the use of plastic substrate, the 0.5mm thick module is flexible and weighs only 800g/m2. According to Peccell, it is the lightest solar cell and the largest in the world for a dye-sensitized cell. The module conversion efficiency is expected to be approximately 3%. When installed indoors, the output voltage of the module exceeds 100V.  The module is on display at the 1st International Photovoltaic Power Generation Expo (PV EXPO 2008) from Feb 27-28, 2008. (more…)

Los Angeles, CA, March 6, 2008
Source: Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN0565006420080306

Power plant builder and operator MMA Renewable Ventures, on Wednesday said it will build a solar electric system in Arizona to power a thin-film solar plant for manufacturer Global Solar.  MMA will finance a 750-kilowatt facility, which will power Global Solar’s Tucson, Arizona manufacturing plant. Global Solar agreed to buy electricity from MMA for 25 years.
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Tokyo,  Feb 27, 2008
Source: Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUST7784620080227

Japan’s Sharp Corp., which aims to become the world’s biggest maker of solar cells, is looking abroad to raise annual output of thin-film solar cells by sixfold to 6,000 megawatts after 2012 and beat silicon shortages.  Sharp aims to raise its annual thin-film solar cell production capacity “as soon as possible” after a planned new plant in Osaka, western Japan goes online by March 2010 with eventual output of 1,000 MW per year, Toshishige Hamano, corporate senior executive director, said on Wednesday.
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New York, Mar. 5, 2008
Source: Associated Press/CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23555617.htm

Makers of thin-film solar products are under pressure to increase efficiency levels if polysilicon costs fall as predicted in coming years.  Thin-film products have a leg up on silicon-based solar panels because they are relatively cheap. That’s because they are largely isolated from skyrocketing silicon costs, which have been propelled by surging demand in recent years.
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by Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam,
Source: DIGITIMES, 7 March 2008
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080307PD215.html

Amid the planned volume production of thin-film solar cells in mid-2008, NexPower Technology announced that it has signed an gas supply contract with BOC Lien Hwa (BOCLH). Under a long-term agreement, BOCLH will provide NexPower with turnkey installations for special gas supply systems and ongoing delivery of the gases essential to making of thin-film solar cells. The gases include large volumes of silane and hydrogen gas, used to deposit silicon light absorber layers on large sheets of glass, and cleaning gases used to remove silicon deposits from the process chambers.
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Source: Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal /March 6, 2008
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/03/03/daily62.html

DayStar Technologies Inc., a developer of photovoltaic products based on CIGS thin film semiconductor technology, said Thursday it signed a letter of intent with a German company that will commercialize its glass modules.  Santa Clara-based DayStar (NASDAQ:DSTI) said Germany-based juwi solar GmbH will work closely with DayStar in the early stages of production to test and evaluate modules in field installations and assist with third party qualifications required for financing large utility power plants. (more…)

By Emily Masamitsu /March 6, 2008
Source: Popular Mechanics.com
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4253464.html
Konarka has developed its affordable Power Plastic film with several manufacturing techniques, from an early proprietary printing process to a new breakthrough with inkjet printers that should dramatically reduce costs, with applications including sensors and RFID. (more…)

Thin Film Solar Technology Company Receives Funding to Advance Nanostructured Materials Surfacing
West Sacromento, CA, Feb 28, 2008
Source: Bloo Solar press release /BusinessWire

Bloo Solar announced today that is has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.  “The NSF grant will enable Bloo to demonstrate a new technique that enables the creation of ultra smooth and ultra rough surfaces on tiny wires, one tenth the diameter of a red blood cell,” said Dr. Ruxandra Vidu, Bloo’s director of R&D. “Controlling how rough or smooth we want the surface of our materials with atomic-scale precision enables Bloo to apply materials to its advanced solar cell architecture reliably and precisely, while producing greater strength, straightness and stability.” (more…)

Breakthrough Development of Manufactured Solar Cells by Inkjet Printing Positions Konarka as Emerging Leader in Printed Photovoltaics
Lowell, MA, March 4, 2008
Source Konarka Technologies Inc. press release /Business Wire
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?newsId=20080304005453

Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to energy, today announced the company successfully conducted the first-ever demonstration of manufacturing solar cells by highly efficient inkjet printing. The company discusses and analyzes the performance of highly efficient inkjet printed organic bulk heterojunction solar cells in a paper recently published in Advanced Materials, entitled, “High Photovoltaic Performance of Inkjet Printed Polymer:Fullerene Blends” by Dr. Stelios A. Choulis, Claudia N. Hoth, Dr. Pavel Schilinsky and Dr. Christoph J. Brabec, all of Konarka.
(more…)

Source:
http://www.globalsolar.com/

Global Solar has developed a proprietary process for manufacturing (“roll-roll” manufacturing) thin-film Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) photovoltaic (PV) modules. Unlike traditional solar panels that are rigid, heavy and fragile, Global Solar’s thin-film solar modules are lightweight, flexible and durable. While other companies produce CIGS on glass, Global Solar is the only company with CIGS on flexible materials. (more…)