Solar Cells Info

by Martin LaMonica, Jan 14, 2009
Source: GreenTech
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10142451-54.html

Imagine a manufacturer that took back its products after 25 years of use.  That’s exactly what watchdog group Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is recommending that the solar industry do in a white paper released on Wednesday.   Solar is a renewable source of energy, and solar panels don’t pollute when they are generating electricity. But the upstream process of making solar panels involves a number of toxic chemicals.  Most solar cells are made out of silicon, the same material embedded in billions of electronic chips. As a result, the burgeoning solar photovoltaics (PV) industry faces an electronic-waste problem. (more…)

by Martyn Williams, IDG News Service, Jan 18, 2009
Source: PC World.com
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157924/
lg_to_sign_340m_solar_wafer_deal_with_norways_rec.html

South Korea’s LG Electronics will sign a five-year deal this week to buy silicon wafers for solar panels from Norway’s REC Wafer, it said Sunday. The contract, which will be signed on Thursday in Seoul, is worth at least US$340 million and supply will begin in limited quantities next year. Supply will increase over the contract period from 2010 to 2014. (more…)

Seoul, Korea, October 21, 2008
Source; LG Electronics press release
http://www.lge.com/ir/news_ir/

LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, decided at its board of directors meeting held on October 20 to convert its A1 plasma panel-manufacturing line in Gumi, Korea, into solar cell production lines. LG plans to invest KRW 220 billion by 2010 to establish two production lines. The company expects that the first line will be able to begin mass production from the first quarter of 2010, with the second line beginning full operations in the first quarter of 2011. Both lines will manufacture crystalline silicon solar cells and modules with a capacity of 120MW each. (more…)

Source: Frauenhofer Inst. for Solar Energy Systems, press release, 14 Jan 2009
http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/press-and-media/press-releases/
press-releases-2009/world-record-41.1-efficiency-reached-for-multi-junction-solar-cells-at-fraunhofer-ise/view

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have achieved a record efficiency of 41.1% for the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is concentrated by a factor of 454 and focused onto a small 5 mm² multi-junction solar cell made out of GaInP/GaInAs/ Ge (gallium indium phosphide, gallium indium arsenide on a germanium substrate).  “We are elated by this breakthrough,” says Frank Dimroth, head of the group “III-V – Epitaxy and Solar Cells” at Fraunhofer ISE. “At all times the entire team believed in our concept of the metamorphic triple-junction solar cells and our success today is made possible only through their committed work over the past years.” (more…)

Source: ScienceDaily, Jan. 18, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090115164518.htm

Inexpensive solar cells, vastly improved medical imaging techniques and lighter and more flexible television screens are among the potential applications envisioned for organic electronics.  Recent experiments conducted by Greg Scholes and Elisabetta Collini of University of Toronto’s Department of Chemistry may bring these within closer reach thanks to new insights into the way molecules absorb and move energy. Their findings will be published in the journal Science on January 16. (more…)

Solar Photovoltaic Cell Market Report – 2008 Edition (Koncept Analytics)
Published Date: 01/12/2008

Summary: High oil and gas prices and improving regulatory support for solar power are driving solar photovoltaic (PV) cell market. Other drivers include increasing popularity of “green” energy, rising electricity costs and emergence of more efficient solar PV technologies. (more…)

Osaka, Kyodo, Jan 8, 2998
Source: JapanTimes.co.jp
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20090108a4.html

Sharp Corp. will begin operating its new solar battery plant by the end of this year, earlier than spring 2010 as originally planned, to meet fast-growing demand, company officials said Wednesday.  The ¥72 billion plant is now under construction in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, to produce thin-film solar batteries at an annual pace of 480 megawatts initially, they said. (more…)

Source: Aleo Solar AG Press Release/ 19 Dec 2008
http://www.aleo-solar.de/en-presse/
aleo-solar-has-already-signed-contracts-for-more-than-25-megawatts-for.html

Aleo Solar AG today announced that it has already signed contracts with a total volume of more than 25 megawatts in Europe. Agreements for the delivery of aleo modules were signed with a number of specialist dealers, installers and solar technology specialists in the European core markets. The customer base of aleo solar AG currently includes more than 400 specialist companies throughout Europe. (more…)

China Sunergy to Provide 22MW of Solar Cells to the German Module Manufacturer
NANJING, China, Dec. 10, 2008
Source: China Sunergy Co Ltd, press release

China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: CSUN), a specialized solar cell manufacturer based in Nanjing, China, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Solarwatt AG, a leading manufacturer of solar modules in Germany, to provide 22MW of solar cells over the course of 2009. (more…)

Source: China Sunergy Co. Ltd press release /Dec 18, 2008
http://www.chinasunergy.com/press/detail_eng.asp?nid=47

China Sunergy Co., Ltd., a specialized solar cell manufacturer based in Nanjing, held an opening ceremony for the 3rd stage production lines of China Sunergy at its Nanjing production base on December 18. Four high-efficiency SE solar cell production lines were officially put into production. So far, China Sunergy has a production capacity of up to 320 MW, and has ten solar cell production lines: five for high-efficiency SE solar cells, four for HP solar cells (upgraded from common P-type monocrystalline silicon solar cells), and one for common P-type multicrystalline silicon solar cells. (more…)