Solar Cells Info

Source: EU Research Info. Center / 20 Nov 2008
http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?
id=/research/headlines/news/article_08_11_20_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=9033

Researchers at the Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) announced that they have succeeded in improving the efficiency of solar cells, which are designed to convert available light into electricity. The quantum electronic phenomenon called the photovoltaic (PV) effect makes this possible. The team said the effectiveness of III-V semiconductor multi-junction solar cells, used in PV concentrator technology for solar power stations, has been increased by 2.1% to 39.7% — a new European record. The work, which is funded to the tune of EUR 8.34 million, is part of the EU project FULLSPECTRUM. (more…)

North East, MD, November 5, 2008
Source: Blue Square Energy.Com press release
http://www.bluesquareenergy.com/Default.aspx?DN=848bda84-29d7-4bd6-b19b-3ca06a9b08a0

Blue Square Energy, a developer and manufacturer of low-cost silicon solar cells, today announced that it has produced a 14.6 percent efficient solar cell with its patent-pending Bright Point technology.  BSE’s efficiency result is one of the highest in the world on upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) silicon and has been verified independently by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Nov 21, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20081121/161631/

JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd of China and BP Alternative Energy Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of BP plc, have announced their intention to jointly develop and market part of their solar photovoltaic (PV) product portfolio over the next five years. The definitive commercial agreement is expected to be entered into before year end. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Nov 26, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20081126/161869/

Emcore Corp has announced its first deployment of a concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) system in China with the XinAo Group, one of China’s energy companies. As part of an earlier agreement, the 50kW test and evaluation system is fully installed and operational, and is producing power in accordance with specifications. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Nov 28, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20081128/162044/

Tokuyama Corp plans to build its second polycrystalline silicon manufacturing base at the Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. The company has decided to start drafting the basic design of the facility. The basic design, scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2009, will be created through a partnering agreement with Chiyoda Corp. (more…)

By Julie Steenhuysen, Chicago, Nov 6, 2008
Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4A583S20081106

Researchers have developed some of the tiniest solar cells ever made and said on Thursday the organic material could potentially be painted on to surfaces.  So far, they have managed to pull 11 volts of electricity from a small array of the cells, which are each just a quarter of the size of a grain of white rice, said Xiaomei Jiang of the University of South Florida, who led the research.
(more…)

By Tom Cheyney, Nov 04, 2008
Source: PV-Tech.org
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/
suniva_begins_production_announces_plans_for_second_solar_cell_line/

Suniva confirmed that it has successfully begun production on its 32-MW monocrystalline solar-cell production line in Norcross, GA. The company also said that it plans to install a second fab line next year with double the manufacturing capacity of the first line and will continue its turnkey partnership with centrotherm photovoltaics.  Once the new line is completed in mid-2009, the company will have a total cell-production capacity of 96 MW-peak, with both of the initial lines combining centrotherm integrated equipment and Suniva’s proprietary fabrication techniques. The cell manufacturer said it plans to push the capacity in its first factory to about 175 MWp by early 2010. (more…)

Richard Swanson, SunPower’s President, says there is no equivalent of Moore’s Law in solar, but other things work in the industry’s favor.
by: Ucilia Wang, November 26, 2008
Source: GreenTechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/
the-long-and-winding-solar-road-qs-dick-swanson-5277.html

Solar CEOs like to complain these days about the lack of capital and the difficulty of getting their companies off the ground.  They should talk to Richard Swanson. As a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford in the 70s and 80s, he emerged as a leader in solar research. He co-founded SunPower back in 1985 to capitalize on the growing interest in alternative energy. Still, the company lived from project to project until Cypress Semiconductor invested $150 million into the company in 2002.
(more…)

New Facility to Increase KYOCERA’s Global Output to 650 Megawatts Per Year by March 2012
KYOTO, Japan, Nov 14, 2008
Source: Kyocera Corp, press release/BUSINESS WIRE
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/KYOCERA-Announces-Construction-New-Solar/story.aspx?guid=%7B5273C543-7F20-494D-9435-97617222A9F9%7D

Kyocera Corporation (President: Makoto Kawamura) today announced plans to build a new large-scale solar cell manufacturing facility. The new plant, located in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, will be the Kyocera Group’s largest manufacturing facility in Japan.  Construction of the plant is planned to start in early 2009 and be completed by year’s end, with production scheduled to begin in the spring of 2010. Combined with Kyocera’s existing Yohkaichi plant, the new facility will permit the company to more than double its annual production of solar cells aEUR- from this year’s projected output of 300 megawatts (MW) to 650MW by March 2012. The new plant will manufacture Kyocera’s new back-contact cell, which yields 18.5% energy conversion efficiency. (more…)

Source: ScienceDaily, Nov. 26, 2008
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081126133435.htm

Currently, solar cells are difficult to handle, expensive to purchase and complicated to install. The hope is that consumers will one day be able to buy solar cells from their local hardware store and simply hang them like posters on a wall.  A new study by researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has shown that the dream is one step closer to reality. Reporting in the Nov. 26 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Yang Yang, a professor of materials science and engineering, and colleagues describe the design and synthesis of a new polymer, or plastic, for use in solar cells that has significantly greater sunlight absorption and conversion capabilities than previous polymers.
(more…)