Solar Cells Info

By Jon Hurdle, Philadelphia, June 9, 2009
Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5586H920090609

U.S. demand for residential solar power installations is surging despite an economic recession, thanks to government financial incentives, some easing in credit availability, and increasing public recognition of its environmental benefits, industry executives said on Tuesday.  Companies represented at the PV America solar conference in Philadelphia said the volume of their installations as much as tripled in 2008 and they see further gains this year as more people recognize that they can cut their electricity bills by at least 15 percent with an array of solar panels installed on the roof of their homes. (more…)

Source: Honolulu Advisor.com, June 9, 2009
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/
20090609/GETPUBLISHED/906090355

A Honolulu resident became the 50,000th customer of Hawaiian Electric’s residential Solar Water Heating Rebate program announced Keith Block, director of the Oahu utility’s Customer Efficiency Programs. “It’s a significant milestone for the solar industry and for Hawaii as a state,” said Block, who has been involved in the utility’s rebate program since it debuted in 1996 on Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii Island. The 50,000 systems installed under the utilities’ programs combined with previously installed solar systems brings the total statewide to more than 80,000, making Hawaii a national leader with an estimated one out of three single-family homes equipped with solar water heating. (more…)

By Katie Howell and Greenwire, June 11, 2009
Source: New York Times.com
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/06/11/
11greenwire-technology-advances-price-retreats-spur-new-so-98429.html

Technology advances and falling prices for solar technology have opened the gates for solar installations by businesses with no background in electricity generation.  Real estate managers, developers, hotels, supermarkets and others are tapping solar power alongside electric utilities and getting paid for it.  Energy generation “is not our primary business, but it’s in our best interest,” said Mike Defferding, executive vice president of Forest City Military Communities, a developer. “There’s an economic incentive to make the jump to become an energy company.” (more…)

Satcon 1 MW Solution Offers Largest Integrated Power Rating in the Industry
Boston, MA, May 21, 2009
Source: Satcon press release/BusinessWire
http://investor.satcon.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=385470

Satcon Technology Corporation (NASDAQ CM: SATC), a leading provider of utility-scale distributed power solutions for the renewable energy market, announced today the availability of the 1 MW PowerGate(R) Plus PV inverter, offering the largest power rating in the industry. The PowerGate Plus 1 MW unit is Satcon’s next generation of utility ready large scale solar power solutions and is built on a foundation of the world’s most field-tested and the proven PowerGate Plus inverter line. (more…)

Partners with SunPower and Castle & Cooke to Deliver 1.2 Megawatts on the Island of Lana’i
Boston, MA, May 28, 2009
Source: Satcon press release/BusinessWire
http://investor.satcon.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=386295

Satcon (NASDAQ CM: SATC), a leading provider of utility scale distributed power solutions for the renewable energy market, announced today that their industry leading PowerGate(R) Plus Spectrum micro grid solution has been selected to power La Ola Hawaii’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) farm and Micro-Grid on the island of Lana’i. The 1.2 megawatt (MW) installation sits on a 10 acre site in south Lana’i on the Palawai Basin and is the first solar photovoltaic power plant to be controlled remotely by a utility, Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO). (more…)

Teams with Johnson Controls to Deliver More than 1.1 Million Annual Kilowatt Hours of Solar Power to the Orange County Convention Center
Boston, MA, June 16, 2009
Source: Satcon press release/BusinessWire
http://investor.satcon.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=389898

Satcon (NASDAQ CM: SATC), a leading provider of utility scale distributed power solutions for the renewable energy market, announced today that it has installed four 250 kilowatt (kW) PowerGate(R) Plus inverters at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), the largest solar rooftop installation in the southeast of the United States. The Orange County Convention Center 1.1 megawatt rooftop monocrystalline PV system occupies 200,000 square feet and was designed and built by Johnson Controls Inc, a global multi-industrial leader in energy efficiency, sustainability and renewable energy.
(more…)

Fremont, Ca., May 21, 2009
Source: Solyndra Inc., press release
http://www.solyndra.com/News/Press-Release-052109

Solyndra, Inc., a manufacturer of innovative proprietary photovoltaic (PV) systems for commercial rooftops, announced it has signed a new long-term sales contract with solar integrator EBITSCHenergietechnik, based in Zapfendorf, Germany. The Euro-based contract, worth up to $115 million, extends through 2013 and brings Solyndra’s contractual backlog to approximately $1.8 billion. The solar panels for these contracts will be manufactured at Solyndra’s facilities in Fremont and Milpitas, California. (more…)

Toronto, ON, May 25, 2009
Source: Timminco press release
http://www.timminco.com/PressRelease.aspx?prId=994341&id=24

Timminco Limited (“Timminco”) (TSX:TIM) and Q-Cells SE (“Q-Cells”) (FRANKFURT:QCE) announced that they have reached a new supply agreement for solar grade silicon. It will replace the agreement signed in 2008 for the five-year period through 2013. The new agreement contemplates deliveries of 100 mt of solar grade silicon for the remainder of 2009. Volumes, pricing and other terms for deliveries of solar grade silicon in years 2010 to 2013 will be subject to mutual agreement by the end of 2009 and will be negotiated in the context of prevailing solar industry market conditions. Timminco will also return the outstanding deposit of approximately EUR 8.9 million to Q-Cells. The companies agreed to a repayment schedule that will commence in the first quarter 2010 and be completed by the end of 2010. Timminco will pay interest on the outstanding balance at an agreed rate. (more…)

by Mark Osborne, 26 May 2009
Source: PVTech.org
http://www.pvtech.org/news/_a/
eupd_research_2gw_of_solar_installations_expected_in_germany_in_09/

According to EuPD Research’s estimations made in the new study: ‘The German PV Market Understand the Demand – Explore the Potential,’ two gigawatts of modules will be installed in Germany in 2009, restoring the country as the largest solar market in the world.  Due to the strong private rooftop market in Germany, the market research firm believes that a total of 99GWp could be installed before saturation. The report has been issued to coincide with the largest solar event in the world, Intersolar 2009, being held this week in Munich, Germany. (more…)

Changzhou, China, April 14, 2009 /PRNewswire
Source: Trina Solar Press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=206405&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1275978

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) (“Trina Solar” or the “Company”), a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules, today announced the completion of a 4.7MW photovoltaic facility developed by ErgyCapital at the end of February, 2009.  Trina Solar was the sole supplier of PV modules to ErgyCapital used on the rooftop installation, which was carried out in the town of Serravalle Scrivia in the Piedmont region of Italy. The project is currently Italy’s largest photovoltaic facility and single roof-mounted solar system, involving approximately 38,000 square meters of solar panels. The system is expected to generate approximately 5 GW/hour of electricity per year and will benefit the environment by reducing up to 2,500 tons of CO2 emissions. (more…)