Solar Cells Info

by Energy Matters, Australia
Source:
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=255

A recent report from the European Union’s Joint Research Center Institute for Energy  shows continued massive increases in the annual growth rate of global solar cell production. Growth in production averaged 40% over five years ; peaking at 60% in 2007 when solar cell production reached 4 GWp. The solar panel sector has become an AUD $28.5 billion a year business and is expect to grow to AUD $85.5 billion in 2010, while still seeing price drops on solar panels for end consumers.  Sharp Corporation is now the number one solar cell manufacturer followed by Q-cells and Suntech. The market share of the ten largest solar cell manufacturers has eroded from 80% in 2004 to 57% in 2007 due to an increasing number of companies entering the solar cell production market, predominantly in China and Taiwan. (more…)

by Tyler Hamilton, Dec 22, 2008
Source: Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/557162

Most homeowners, it’s safe to assume, would seriously consider putting solar panels on their rooftops if it was economical and didn’t involve a massive upfront payment. As the kids might say on the drive to the cottage, are we there yet? Not quite – but we’re heading in the right direction. Ontario refunds the provincial sales tax on solar photovoltaic, or PV, equipment and under its standard offer program will pay 42 cents per kilowatt-hour if you want to feed your home-generated solar power into the grid. (more…)

TOKYO, Dec 21, 2008
Source: Reuters.com
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Tomasz Janowski
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUST26351220081221

Japan’s Kaneka Corp (4118.T) plans to spend more than $1.1 billion by 2015 to boost its solar cell production capacity 14-fold to meet growing demand, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday. As part of the expansion plan, the chemicals maker will build a $224-million solar cell plant in Europe by 2011, the newspaper said. (more…)

Washington Gas Energy Services, Standard Solar and John E. Kelly & Sons Partner to
Construct System To Power Kelly & Sons Headquarters
Washington, DC, December 3, 2008
Source: Standard Solar /press release
http://www.standardsolar.com/News-and-Events/Press-Releases.aspx

Three Washington, D.C. area companies announced plans today to construct one of Maryland’s largest solar power systems at the headquarters of John E. Kelly & Sons Electrical Construction in Prince George’s County. Nearly 9,000 square feet of solar panels will cover the building’s roof, generating enough electricity to meet more than half the needs of the 20,000 square foot office/warehouse facility. The 150-kilowatt system is being constructed at no up-front cost to Kelly, and will be owned by Washington Gas Energy Services. Kelly will purchase electricity produced by the system at guaranteed prices for 20 years under a Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”). Standard Solar is developing the project, and will design, construct, operate and maintain the system. (more…)

Source: Northern California Solar Energy Association
http://www.norcalsolar.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=154

1.  Preface

The following Bay Area Solar Installations Report is another educational effort put forth by the Northern California Solar Energy Association (NorCal Solar) towards its mission: To foster the development and application of solar energy technology through the exchange of information.

Since 1975 NorCal Solar, then known as NCSEA, has promoted solar education and fostered the exchange of information through many venues.  Today, from our website www.norcalsolar.org where we maintain a world-wide electronic ‘portal’ of resources on solar and other renewable energy technologies to our Solar Energy Resource Guide, a publication sold locally while supporting independent reports, studies and classrooms as well as many consumer information and workshops in-between.  This year NorCal Solar was a co-organizer of the American Solar Energy Association’s conference, Solar 2008, in San Diego where NorCal helped to organize more than 70 consumer workshops.  NorCal Solar also participated in the conference committee of the first ever InterSolar Conference in North America.  This conference was held in San Francisco where 13,000 visitors received the latest information about the advances of the international solar industry.  This was an amazing experience to learn about the reaches of solar into the international markets.

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Installers of solar energy systems are trying to unload megawatts worth of panels cheaply after buying too many at high prices earlier this year.
by: Ucilia Wang, December 3, 2008
Source: GreenTechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/solar-a-bust-in-spain–5297.html

Call it irrational exuberance or greed. Companies that couldn’t get enough solar panels to build power plants in Spain earlier this year are now trying to sell megawatts worth of panels at a deep discount.  Installers of solar energy systems that have purchased an estimated 1.7 gigawatts worth of panels this year were able to use only 800 megawatts of the goods before the Spanish government shrank a lucrative solar incentives program in September, said Paula Mints, principal solar analyst at Navigant Consulting at the Thin Film Solar Summit in San Francisco Tuesday.  As a result, some of these installers – Mints wouldn’t offer any names – are selling the crystalline silicon panels at around $3 per watt. When the same buyers gobbled up panels earlier this year, they also drove up the prices to as high as $4.50 per watt in Spain. In 2007, the average panel price was $3.50 per watt, Mints said. (more…)

Fontana, CA, Dec 2, 2008
Source: BusinessWeek.com
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D94QLF0O1.htm

Utility officials said the largest solar panel installation in the state has been completed — the first of some 150 solar projects planned for warehouse and factory roofs in Southern California. The 600,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of a distribution center in Fontana, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, will produce enough electricity to power as many as 1,300 homes, said Ted Craver, chairman and chief executive of energy company Edison International on Monday. (more…)

by Chris Morrison, November 26, 2008
Source: VentureBeat.com/CleanTech
http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/26/optony-shooting-for-a-leap-in-thin-film-solar-efficiency/

A common idea for making solar cells more effective is to concentrate sunlight on them with lenses and mirrors. But for thin-film solar, which is made up of cheaper materials than typical silicon-based photovoltaic cells, these focusing techniques are hardly mentioned. Optony hopes it can bridge this gap with a new technology. (more…)

By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service, 5 Nov 2008
Source: NetworkWorld.com
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/110508-sanyo-sales-up-on-strong.html

Japan’s Sanyo Electric recorded sales in the April to September period that were 4 percent ahead of its own target on the back of strong demand for its solar cells and rechargeable batteries, it said Wednesday.  The better-than-predicted results come as many of its competitors in the Japanese electronics sector are reporting lower sales because of weak demand for products and the strong Japanese yen. Sanyo said sales in the six months were ¥1 trillion (US$10 billion), which is also 3 percent ahead of last year.
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Largest CPV Deal in EU with Generation Capacity to Power City of 40,000 Residents
Mountain View, CA, November 3, 2008
Source: SolFocus.com press release
http://www.solfocus.com/news_file/20081103144613_solfocus-and-empe-solar-sign-deal.pdf

SolFocus, a provider of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar energy solutions, today announced the signing of a $103 million (€80M) agreement with EMPE Solar to install over 10 megawatts (MW) of CPV solar energy projects in several sites across southern Spain by the end of 2010. SolFocus’ CPV systems use a proven combination of high‐efficiency PV cells and advanced optics to provide high solar energy yields at competitive costs for commercial, industrial, and utility applications. This project will be the largest deployment of CPV technology in Europe, and will be capable of meeting the domestic energy requirements for a city of approximately 40,000 residents. (more…)