Solar Cells Info

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Jun 17, 2009
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090617/171858/

LG Display Co Ltd has announced plans to focus its R&D capabilities on a thin-film type solar cell and nurture it as a future growth driver. With an investment of 50 billion won, the company plans to build a pilot line within its Paju display complex in Korea later this year and build an outdoor test power generation facility. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Jun 19, 2009
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090619/171971/

Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, a crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer based in China, has opened what it says is China’s first PV module testing laboratory to be awarded the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Witness Testing Data Program (WTDP) certificate.  The PV module testing facility is said to be the largest in China, with 1400m2 of indoor testing space and 7000m2 of outdoor testing space. Located at Suntech’s headquarters in Wuxi, the PV module testing facility features test equipment includes pulse and continuous solar simulators, walk-in climate chambers, mechanical load and hail testers, electroluminescence testers, and high precision infrared cameras to evaluate all aspects of module quality and performance. All the equipment and testing procedures accord with the stringent standards of UL1703, IEC61215 and IEC61730-2. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Jun 24, 2009
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090624/172196/

National Semiconductor Corp announced that West Holdings has become its first Japanese photovoltaic (PV) business partner. In addition, the company announced that it has started shipping its SolarMagic power optimizers in Japan. West Holdings is Japan’s leading company in environment-compatible home remodeling and improvement businesses such as photovoltaic systems, all-electric home appliances and house insulation services. West Holdings began selling SolarMagic power optimizers on June 22 through House Care, one of its member companies. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Jun 24, 2009
Source. TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090624/172197/

Shimane Sanyo Electric Co Ltd said it will start up an HIT solar cell production line, in anticipation of an active demand for photovoltaic systems worldwide stimulated by economic packages as represented by the Green New Deal. The production line will be installed on the second floor of Factory Building No.3 and is scheduled to begin operation in April 2010. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad, Jun 24, 2009
Source. TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090619/171931/

An environmentally-friendly mobile phone debuted in Japan, which is now enjoying an “eco boom.” It is Sharp Corp’s “Solar Phone SH002” released by KDDI Corp as one of its summer 2009 models of the au brand mobile phones.  The SH002 is equipped with a solar cell module on the back of its chassis. The solar cell module can be used as an auxiliary power source when the remaining battery level is low or zero. Though Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc announced handsets with similar concepts at Mobile World Congress 2009, which took place in February 2009, Sharp is the first company that released such a product in Japan. (more…)

Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics, Jan 26, 2009
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090126/164568/

Nippon Oil Corp (Eneos) and Sanyo Electric Co Ltd established Sanyo Eneos Solar Co Ltd, a joint company for producing amorphous Si thin-film solar cells and marketing power generation systems, Jan 23, 2009.  The investment ratio is 50:50. Panasonic Corp, which became the parent company of Sanyo, has not made any direct investment at this point.  For the joint company, Sanyo will take charge of the development of manufacturing technologies for thin-film solar cells as well as the production of cells and modules. And Eneos will be responsible for the construction of large-scale power generation systems using the modules as well as the distribution and sale of the products. Eneos will also provide material technologies for gases (eg, hydrogen gas) required in the cell production, the company said. (more…)

Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics, Jun 26, 2009
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090626/172294/

A number of “tandem-type” amorphous silicon thin film solar panels were exhibited at PV Japan 2009, an exhibition of photovoltaic technologies that is running from June 24 to 26, 2009, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.  A tandem-type panel consists of different kinds of solar cells and can convert light in a wider wavelength range to electricity. The exhibited tandem-type panels were composed of amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon and expected to be used for industrial photovoltaic systems. (more…)

Seoul, Korea Jun 16, 2009
Source: Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE55F19B20090616

 Flat-screen maker LG Display Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would invest 50 billion won ($40 million) in a pilot line and testing facility for solar power cells, aiming for commercial production in 2012.  LG Display, the world’s No. 2 maker of liquid crystal display screens, is one of many technology firms broadening their business to the high-potential renewable energy areas. (more…)

Central News Agency, 21 June 2009
Source: Taiwan News
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?
    id=982331&lang=eng_news&cate_img=35.jpg&cate_rss=news_Business

A ceremony was held yesterday in southern Taiwan to inaugurate the country’s first commercial-grade high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar power system, which will have a total installed capacity of one megawatt once the construction project is completed.   The inauguration marked the first-stage operation of the system, located in the Liuying Environment Science and Technology Park in Tainan County. At present, it can generate 100 kilowatts of clean electricity per hour. (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…)