Solar Cells Info

By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, June 4, 2008
Source: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar4-2008jun04,0,1575030.story

Southern California Edison said Tuesday that it agreed to buy 245 megawatts of power from solar plants to be built in the Antelope Valley by ESolar Inc., a unit of Pasadena-based business incubator Idealab. The plants, which are expected to begin operating in 2011, will provide enough electricity for about 160,000 homes, said Stuart Hemphill, the Rosemead utility’s vice president of renewable and alternative power. “We’re excited about the promise of solar,” Hemphill said. “It’s the great untapped resource of California.” (more…)

Livermore, CA, May 30, 2008
Source: REC Solar press release/Businesswire /yahoo finance
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080530/20080530005154.html?.v=1
REC Solar to provide deep discounts on solar electric systems to Livermore residents for a limited time

Leading residential and commercial solar installation company REC Solar announced they have been selected as a preferred solar electricity provider by The Livermore Solar Electricity Group. To celebrate, REC Solar is running a special summer program offering Livermore residents deep discounts on solar electric systems for their homes and businesses. (more…)

Source: CleanTech.com,  May 30, 2008
http://media.cleantech.com/2916/
dupont-expects-to-more-than-triple-solar-sales

CEO Charles Holliday said that within five years the company’s sales in photovoltaics will be over $1 billion.  The head of Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont (NYSE: DD) said today that his company is well positioned for long-term growth in a number of fields, including renewable energy, forecasting sales in solar photovoltaics to more than triple in the next few years. (more…)

Munich, Germany, May 5, 2008
Source. QImonda AG press release
http://www.qimonda.com/about/press/releases/05_2008_Centrosolar_e.html

Qimonda AG, a leading manufacturer of memory products, and Centrosolar Group AG, a leading German solar company, today signed a contract to jointly build, equip and operate a solar cell manufacturing plant. The joint venture will produce solar cells based on silicon and will be owned 49 percent by Centrosolar and 51 percent by Qimonda Solar GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of Qimonda AG. In the planned cooperation, Qimonda will contribute its existing know-how in silicon-based mass production as well as important access to silicon supply. Centrosolar will contribute its expertise with solar systems and the sales and distribution of solar modules. The venture company which will be located on Qimonda’s existing site in Vila do Conde, Portugal is planned to initially invest Euro 70 million by September 2009. (more…)

by Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam
Source: DIGITIMES, 26 May 2008
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080523PD211.html

The price premium for see-through building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) materials over conventional BIPV materials has drawn attention among solar module companies to gear up their deployments.  Thin-film solar cells can be integrated into exterior glass walls via laser patterning. Since the processed solar modules have higher transparency compared to conventional modules, they do not necessary have to be placed on rooftops, industry players commented.
(more…)

by Nuying Huang, Tainan; Rodney Chan
Source: DIGITIMES, 28 May 2008

Solar cell maker Motech Industries expects its total capacity to reach 2GWp within three to five years, according to company chairman Simon Tsuo.  In Taiwan, Motech’s Fab 1 will have its capacity raised to 180MWp from the current 160MWp. The company has also rented extra land near Fab 1 to build another plant.  Fab 2, which currently has a capacity of 160MWp, can house a total of more than 300MWp, while Fab 5, which recently came online, also has an expected total capacity reaching 300MWp, he said.  In total, Motech’s solar cell capacity in Taiwan will reach 1GWp, the chairman said. (more…)

by Nuying Huang, Taichung; Esther Lam
Source: DIGITIMES, 22 May 2008
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080521PD213.html

NexPower Technology, a thin-film solar cell company co-established by Unimicron Technology and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), today (May 21) hosted the opening ceremony for its plant in central Taiwan. Company executives expressed confidence that the company will start to earn profits from 2009 as present capacity has already been fully booked.
(more…)

At a Greentech Media conference in Massachusetts, three venture capitalists selected the startup as the most promising of five presenting companies.
by: Ucilia Wang, May 28, 2008
Source: GreenTechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/1336-technologies-wins-solar-startup-competition-945.html

Three New England venture capitalists picked 1366 Technologies as the winner of a startup competition at a Greentech Media conference Wednesday.  The panel, made up of Jeff Andrews of Atlas Ventures, Rob Day of @Ventures and Jay Fiske of Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, named 1366 as the most promising of five solar startups that presented their technologies and business plans at the conference. Aside from being named the top dog, the Lexington, Mass.-based startup also took home a hydrogen car. A toy version, that is.
(more…)

Source: Reuters / Boston Globe, May 28, 2008
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/05/evergreen_solar_11.html

Evergreen Solar Inc., of Marlborough, expects to be profitable in the first quarter of 2009 and is considering expanding into Asia under a plan to dramatically boost capacity, its chief executive, Richard Feldt, said today.  The company last month reported a first-quarter net loss of $25,000, or break-even on a per share basis, compared with a loss of $6.2 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. (more…)

Source: AzoNano.com/ May 27, 2008
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=6476

Signet Solar, a manufacturer of silicon thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, today, announced the fabrication of the industry’s first ever Gen 8.5 (5.7 m2) silicon thin film solar PV module at its new factory near Dresden, Germany in a record setting ten months from the start of construction. After finishing construction of the 200,000 square foot production facility in only seven months, Signet Solar completed installation of equipment and started initial fabrication in less than three months. (more…)