Solar Cells Info

Exclusive two-year supply agreement calls for a minimum of 5.7 megawatts of Solar Power, Inc.’s modules with shipments to begin immediately. 
Roseville, CA, June 18, 2009
Source: Solar Power Inc press release
http://www.solarpowerinc.net/ViewPressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=71

Solar Power, Inc. (“SPI”) (OTCBB: SOPW) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with the Australian solar developer Beyond Building Systems Pty Ltd. (“BBS”) for the purchase of SPI’s 170 – 220-watt solar modules. The agreement provides BBS with exclusive access to SPI’s highly rated panels for use throughout Australia.  The two-year supply agreement calls for a minimum purchase of 5.7 megawatts of SPI modules with shipments commencing in June. (more…)

The European project known as Desertec is nothing if not ambitious.
By TOM ZELLER Jr., NEW YORK, June 21, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/business/energy-environment/22iht-green22.html?_r=1&ref=earth

It aims to harvest the sun’s energy — using a method known as concentrating solar power, or C.S.P. — from the vast North African desert and deliver it as electricity, via high-voltage transmission lines, to markets in Europe. Eventually, its backers say, it could satisfy as much as 15 percent of the European Union’s power needs.  The idea, which has been bouncing around for years, arises out of an alphabet soup of organizations, formal multinational partnerships and regional acronyms like TREC, for Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation; Eumena, or European Union, the Mediterranean and North Africa; the Union of the Mediterranean; and the Club of Rome. (more…)

Kyoto, Jun 19, 2009 
By Mayumi Negishi and Reiji Murai
Source: Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/
idUSTRE55I1EH20090619?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
 
Kyocera Corp, fighting to hold its own in a competitive solar panel market, is banking on a revival of Japanese subsidies to bolster sales, and said orders for its panels in Japan have jumped this year.  Kyocera, which has been losing market share amid price competition with rivals Q-Cells, First Solar and Suntech, has also seen a slight recovery in orders for its solar panels in Europe, its president said on Friday. Japan is also home to Sharp Corp and Sanyo Electric Co, which along with Kyocera are pioneers in solar panels, but the market remains small amid on-again, off-again state support for the technology.  “There’s a strong tailwind in Japan,” Kyocera President Tetsuo Kuba told Reuters in an interview. “This year (the strength of orders) is completely different.” (more…)

By JAMES KANTER,  June 18, 2009
Source: New York Times.com,
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/european-solar-power-from-african-deserts/

Germany has become a global leader in solar energy by building up a substantial industry at home. Can the country now repeat the feat in North Africa? Munich Re, an insurance company, is leading efforts to garner support for a vast project, dubbed Desertec, to collect energy at solar farms in countries like Tunisia and then send it to Europe in the form of electricity. Munich Re wants other companies like the giant engineering group Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and utilities like RWE and E.ON to become involved. (more…)

FRANKFURT, June 16,2009
Source: Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/
rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSL033295420090616

A consortium of around 20 companies, including Munich Re (MUVGn.DE), Siemens (SIEGn.DE), RWE (RWEG.DE) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), plans to build a 400 billion euro ($555.3 billion) solar power project in Africa, a Munich Re executive told a German newspaper on Tuesday.  The project, led by Munich Re, would use the energy from the Africa-based solar project to provide electricity to German households, Munich Re board member Torsten Jeworrek said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The consortium members plan to meet in Munich on July 13 to set up the group formally, he added.  He decline to give details on members but said they include Siemens, RWE, Deutsche Bank, the German Economy Ministry and the Club of Roome — a non-government group based in Zurich.  “We want to start an initiative that would present concrete plans in two to three years time,” Jeworrek said.

Source: Jerusalem Post Staff, June 1, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?
pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1243346524122

Sunday Energy Ltd , the leading solar energy service provider in Israel, and Ormat Technologies, one of the world’s largest geothermal power solutions companies, have announced the signing of an agreement to build a 1MW photovoltaic (PV) solar installation on the roof of Ormat’s factory in Yavne.  Once complete, the companies claim the 16,000 square meter installation will be the largest PV roof in the Middle East, and will generate over NIS 60 million from solar energy sales over the next 20 years. (more…)

by Tiernan Ray,  June 8, 2009
Source: Barrons’
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/06/08/
solar-tech-analysts-see-rising-demand-falling-silicon-prices/

Better late than never, I thought I’d mention two solar technology industry reports out today. Reports from analysts last weekfollowing an industry conference indicated demand for solar panel modules was picking up, but concerns about pricing of product has remained a concern. Today, Barclay’s Capital Research analyst Vishal Shah writes that the price of the basic ingredient, polysilicon, could decline to $50 per kilogram from the current $65 to $75 per kilogram by the end of this year as “the next phase of supply ramp” begins in the second half. (more…)

Roseville, CA, 16 June 2009
Source: Solar Power Inc press release /BusinessWire

Solar Power, Inc. (“SPI”) (OTCBB: SOPW) announced today that it has executed a supply agreement with Bayer and Raach, a German solar installation company serving the residential and commercial market segments throughout Germany and Southern Europe. The two-megawatt agreement calls for SPI to provide one megawatt of SPI’s 200-watt modules and one megawatt of modules with SPI’s proprietary SkyMountTM commercial mounting system. SkyMountTM is designed for minimal or non-penetrating commercial rooftop applications. (more…)

Source: SolarPlaza.com, June 4, 2009

RGE Energy AG is partnering with BP Solar in planning one of the world’s largest solar projects. The large-scale PV installation with over 46 megawatt peak (MWp) will be built in Koethen, Saxony-Anhalt.  Around 210,000 crystalline photovoltaic modules with an output of 220 watt peak each will be supplied by BP Solar and installed by RGE Energy AG.  Reyad Fezzani, CEO of BP Solar, and Elias Issa, CEO of RGE Energy AG, announced the news in Munich at ‘Intersolar’, the world’s largest solar exhibition. (more…)

Charlotte, N.C., June 16, 2009
Source: Duke Energy press release/PR Newswire
http://sev.prnewswire.com/null/20090616/CL3342316062009-1.html

An array of 213 solar panels will soon provide electricity to homes served by Duke Energy’s McAlpine Creek substation in south Charlotte – all part of an effort to implement new smart grid technology.  The substation’s new solar panels will provide approximately 50 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power five homes when the panels are operating. Electricity from these panels can be sent directly into the distribution lines serving the McAlpine Creek test area or used to charge a 500-kilowatt storage battery planned for installation at the substation in the weeks ahead. (more…)