Solar Cells Info

Los Angeles, CA, Nov. 29
Source: www.chinaview.cn
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/30/content_10433372.htm

U.S. researchers have taken one step closer to creating high-efficiency solar cells using cheap plastic with a dash of silicon, it was announced on Saturday.  The solar cells, being developed by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), have significantly greater sunlight absorption and conversation than previous polymers, the university said in a press release on its website.  The researchers want these easy-to-use plastic solar energy cells to be sold at local hardware stores, and then hung like posters on the wall, said the release.
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Current financial crisis could speed up consolidation in PV industry
by: Edwin Koot, CEO solarplaza, 31 October 2008
Source: SolarPlaza.com press release

The global solar energy market in 2008 is expected to grow by 50% compared to 2007. The Chinese solar PV industry is growing rapidly and will soon be the biggest producer of solar cells and modules in the world. There are now over 100 Chinese solar module manufacturers, and even more new market players are expected in the short term. The question is: what might the current credit crisis and pessimistic economic forecasts mean for the PV market and industry in 2009? With solar modules becoming a commodity product, China will definitely be playing a key role as a major producer of solar cells and modules. However, if we look at the maturity of the PV industry right now, and what has happened in other industries, an imminent consolidation phase seems likely. That could mean that fewer producers, and only the bigger ones among them, will survive. So which companies are likely to be the winners, and be reliable business partners for the long term? (more…)

By Tom Cheyney, 08 October 2008 |
Source: PVTech.org
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/
neo_solar_power_inks_five_year_deal_to_supply_solar_cells_to_pv_module_make/

Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer Neo Solar Power and Italian photovoltaic module producer Solarday have entered into a five-year sales contract worth $210 million. The new deal adds to an existing three-year agreement, bringing the total contracted amount between the two companies to $320 million.  “NSP continues to expand in geographic coverage and further increase market share in the European markets,” said Quincy Lin, chairman of NSP. “Italy is expected to become the next focal point of the solar industry, indicating a market size equivalent to the Spain market in 2009. Ranked among top three solar module manufacturers in Italy, Solarday has been a strong partner for NSP. We are very pleased to further extend and broaden our partnership with Solarday.
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New Delhi, Oct , 2008
Source: PTI /The Hindu Online
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200810051031.htm

A group of students from a city based institute, who have developed a solar car, are representing India at The South Africa Solar Challenge, a unique competition in solar-powered cars.  The car has been developed by a group of 20 students from Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) here. The car of NSIT is the cheapest model in the competition, which has participations of teams from all over the world. (more…)

by Donald Melanson, Oct 17, 2008
Source: Engadget.com
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/17/
chinese-made-solar-powered-car-gets-150-kilometers-on-a-30-hour/

It may not attract the same sort of glances as a Tesla, or a Volt, for that matter, but this solar-powered car built by China’s Zhejiang 001 Group is pretty impressive in its own right, both for its price (just $5,560), and it’s efficiency. That latter bit is a result of some rather un-integrated solar panels, which absorb 95% of the solar energy they take in and convert it to electricity at between 14 and 17% efficiency, which is actually pretty impressive as far as solar panels go. According to the company, that should let you travel about 150 kilometers on a 30-hour charge, though you’ll only be able to go five kilometers on a one-hour charge. No word on a release outside of China, as you might have guessed, but the company has apparently already produced ten of ’em for sale inside the country, with more presumably on the way. (more…)

By: Irma Venter, 24 Oct 08
Source: Creamer Media’s Engg News
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=145203

A car powered by the sun is such a novel idea to South Africans that the Kokstad traffic police stopped the participants in the country’s first solar car race, demanding to know where “they are taking these solar panels”.  However, says race organiser Winstone Jordaan, it also epitomises everything this race is about: exposing South Africans to alternative technologies, and educating the public about solar energy specifically.
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Taipei, July 22, 2008
Source Everphoton press release
http://www.everphoton.com/hcpvpowerplant.htm

LED companies Everlight and Epistar are collaborating with Yee Fong Chemical and EVERPHOTON to set up the first HCPV power plant in Asia by the end of 2008, with the plant to have an estimated initial capacity of 1MWp.  The project is lead by EVERPHOTON, a company located in Taiwan and dedicated itself to HCPV industry and engaged in developing and manufacturing of high efficiency modules, high concentration Fresnel lens, sensors & controller, and tracker. It offers a total solution of high-efficiency HCPV solar power system as well. (more…)

U.S. Company To Increase Export Of Polysilicon Production Equipment To South Korea
Merrimack, N.H., September 2, 2008
Source. GT Solar, press release
http://www.gtsolar.com/news/shownews.php?id=209

GT Solar Incorporated, a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, announced that on July 11, 2008, it signed a $173 million contract with DC Chemical Co., Ltd., a leading Korean chemical company. The signing of the contract has previously been disclosed.  Under the terms of the agreement, GT Solar will provide DC Chemical with state-of-the-art polysilicon CVD reactors, which are used to manufacture polysilicon, a key raw material utilized to produce solar cells. This latest agreement marks the third contract between the two companies since GT Solar began offering CVD reactors and related equipment in 2006. (more…)

Merrimack, N.H., October 16, 2008
Source: GT Solar International Inc, press release
http://www.gtsolar.com/news/shownews.php?id=219

GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, today announced that its subsidiary, GT Solar Incorporated, has signed its first contract with Top Green Energy Technologies, Inc., a Taiwan-based producer of high-quality solar cells. The agreement, valued at $46.8 million, is GT Solar’s most comprehensive polysilicon production equipment and services agreement to-date, and the company’s first sale of its products to a customer based in Taiwan. (more…)

by Grace Lee, Taipei; Adam Hwang
Source: DIGITIMES, 20 October 2008

Compound Solar Technology (CompSolar), the first Taiwan-based producer of glass-based high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) thin-film solar cells made from Gallium arsenide (GaAs), has been developing flexible GaAs HCPVs based on various kinds of flexible substrates which will form the basis for the company’s business operation in 2009, according to company president Jeffery Lin. (more…)