Solar Cells Info

Solar panels in Australia following German shades.  Sunburnt country has few solar panels.
Peter Hannam /March 5, 2007
Source: Theage.com
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/solar-panels-in-german-shades/2007/03/04/1172943275976.html

SOLAR power may score near the top of any carbon-correctness measure but its potential to ease Australia’s looming electricity shortages is its main selling point, according to BP Solar, the country’s biggest producer of photovoltaic (PV) panels.  “The uncaptured value of solar PV is in peak electricity with the additional benefit that it’s carbon-free,” said Mark Twidell, regional director of BP Solar Australasia.  Peak load demand is now growing at four times the pace of base, or average, demand in some states, according to BP Solar, driven by the wider use of air-conditioning and warmer summers. Federal government estimates put the peak load investment needs at $25 billion, Mr Twidell said.
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Calgary, Alberta, March 5, 2007
Source: Sustainable Energy Technologies press release
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=638738

Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:STG), www.sustainableenergy.com reported its financial and operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2006. The Financial Statements, Management Discussion and Analysis can be found with the Company’s public documents on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Product sales revenues for the quarter ending December 31, 2006 were $321,300. While less than anticipated, the shortfall was, however, made up during January and February of this year, and total sales for the 4-month period ending February 28, 2007 are approximately $1 million.
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By New Mexico State University, 5 March 2007
Source:  Las Cruces Sun News
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_5357794

New Mexico State University’s Institute for Energy and the Environment recently completed installation of a data acquisition system and information kiosk at PNM’s new Sunflower solar panel array at Algodones.  The 23-kilowatt photovoltaic generating facility is located near Interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The location was chosen to increase public awareness that a clean alternative, renewable energy resource is being used by the state’s largest utility. The array was designed to resemble environmentally friendly sunflowers.
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By Andy McSmith /03 March 2007
Source:  Independent Newspaper UK
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2323404.ece

Ministers who imposed a cap on the number of homes that qualify for grants for “green” energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines following a sharp rise in consumer demand have come under pressure to scrap the monthly limit. The cap on grants was imposed last December as ministers became alarmed by the rising cost, pushed up by the willingness of home owners to spend money to reduce global warming.
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Source: judythpiazza at gmail.com
U.S. Renewable & Alternative Energy News
http://newsblaze.com/story/20070220004920tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

With the global-warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” hot at the box office and a recent report by the U.N. laying the blame for climate change and rising sea levels at humanity’s feet, renewable energy sources are getting a fresh look. In particular, the spotlight is falling on solar power, which is expected to gain ground in Europe thanks in large measure to government support.

Generally seen pitched atop roofs, solar panels will soon be catching rays in myriad other ways: replacing windows and providing extra power to cars and vending machines, to name a few.  “We believe the solar power market has the potential for long-term growth . . . mainly led by strong demand in the European Union,” said Takashi Tomita, general manager at Sharp Corp.’s solar group.
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Peter Clarke , EE Times Europe / Feb 21, 2007
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197007587

LONDON — ErSol Solar Energy AG has agreed to supply monocrystalline silicon cells to Silicon Valley Solar Inc. in support of the development of Sol-X2 internal flat-plate concentrator solar photovoltaic modules.  ErSol (Erfurt, Germany) has agreed to supply cells with between 16.26 percent and 17.47 percent efficiency. Initially ErSol will be supporting development and preproduction. ErSol is also expected to provide a sufficient quantity of cells to support SV Solar’s initial mass production ramp.
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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DigiTimes.com, 27 February 2007
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20070227PD206.html

E-ton Solar Tech anticipates improving power conversion efficiency to over 17% for both mono- and multi-crystalline solar cells amid the latest collaboration with the University of New South Wales (NUSW) in Australia. The solar cell maker expects to see a meaningful improvement in power conversion efficiency ratios in the second half of 2007.
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Taipei Times Staff writer, with CNA / Mar 01, 2007
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2007/03/01/2003350563

The total production value of the nation’s solar cell industry is estimated to reach NT$20 billion (US$605 million) to NT$25 billion by 2010, a four-fold expansion compared with the present value, academic sources said yesterday.

Officials at the Hsinchu-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said that thanks to a complete upstream-to-downstream production capacity, the solar cell industry had a good opportunity to engage in fast expansion along with the surging global demand for clean, renewable energy.
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Kulongoski hails plans for Hillsboro solar-cell factory
By Associated Press /Mar 03, 2007
Source: The Daily News TDN, Longview, Washington
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/03/03/biz/news02.txt

SALEM — A German company’s plan to turn a Hillsboro factory into a major producer of solar cells and wafers is a big boost not just for Hillsboro but also for the state’s economy and for its commitment to clean energy, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said Thursday. Germany’s SolarWorld AG announced it will invest $397 million in a newly acquired factory in Hillsboro, and up to 1,000 jobs could be created.
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Golden, CO, February 28, 2007
Source: PrimeStar Solar /press release
http://www.primestarsolar.com/documents/finalCRADA1_000.pdf

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and PrimeStar Solar, Inc. announced today that they have signed an $870,000 cooperative research and development agreement to transition NREL’s leading cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) technology to commercial module production. This technology has been used to produce the world record cadmium telluride photovoltaic cell efficiency of 16.5% by NREL’s Professor Xuanzhi Wu and his
colleagues.  In this agreement, Professor Wu is the principal investigator for NREL while Dr. Joe Beach and Dr. Fred Seymour are the principal investigators for PrimeStar Solar.

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