Solar Cells Info

Source: BusinessWorld /October 17,2008
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW101708/content.php?id=046

STATE-RUN Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) has entered the second phase of its solar project by buying the remaining P25 million photovoltaic inventory of Shell Solar Philippines in a bid to provide electricity to far-flung areas not covered by electric cooperatives and distribution utilities.  The company has completed the first phase of its Solar Homes Systems (SHS) project, having installed 15,100 solar home systems in off-grid villages. (more…)

By Paul Sisco, Washington, 16 October 2008
Source. VOA News.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-16-voa23.cfm

In a state that already leads the U.S. in solar electricity, a company has developed a unique solar system it touts for large commercial rooftops. The northern California is already marketing the system, which it unveiled 7 October, to companies around the world. VOA’s Paul Sisco has this Searching for Solutions report.  In California, the governor has set an ambitious goal for renewable energy, and an industry organization says the state is the top producer of solar electricity in the country.  Now a northern California company, Solyndra, is introducing a new solar panel designed for vast commercial rooftops. The collectors are quite different than tradition flat panels.  (more…)

Source: Nanotechwire.com / 19 Oct 2008
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=6773

Researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.  Ohio State University chemists and their colleagues combined electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium to create the hybrid material. (more…)

Source: SolarWorld AG press release/ DGAP / 27 Aug. 2008
http://www.dgap.de/link.php?von=19970101&typ=news&isin=DE0005108401
&sprache=en&a=10&v=en&id=294596

The one hundred millionth solar cell from Deutsche Cell GmbH, the cell manufacturing division of SolarWorld AG, was today handed over to the sales and distribution people. The total number of solar cells manufactured since the start of production in the year 2002 is equivalent to the size of 270 football pitches or the area covered by the Duchy of Monaco. With the power generated by the solar cells produced in Freiberg in Saxony some 1.6 million tons of CO2 have so far been saved; over their entire service life it will be more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gases. ‘Our objective is to use our highly efficient solar technology to replace the old energy sources step by step and to protect the climate in this way’, says Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG. (more…)

Source: SolarWorld AG, press release/ DGAP /Sept 1, 2008
http://www.dgap.de/link.php?von=19970101&typ=news&isin=DE0005108401
&sprache=en&a=10&v=en&id=298578

By conferring the SolarWorld Einstein Award SolarWorld AG again pays tribute in 2008 to trail-blazing achievements around the development of
solar power technology. The solar technology group bestows this solar award carrying the highest prize money in the photovoltaic industry upon people who have acquired special merits in the development of photovoltaic technology. The award ceremony will take place on 1 September 2008 on the
occasion of the 23rd European Photovoltaic Conference in Valencia. ‘Commitment, independent thinking and innovative strength are crucial
qualities needed to advance photovoltaic technology and thus climate-friendly power generation worldwide’, says Dipl.-Ing. Frank H.
Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG. ‘With the SolarWorld Einstein Award we want to alert people to this fact’. The SolarWorld Senior Einstein
Award for outstanding lifetime achievements is being presented for the fourth time; the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award for young generation
scientists for the third time. (more…)

Source: ABC News, Mon Oct 13, 2008
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/13/2388882.htm

A company is planning to build a $70 million solar cell factory in Canberra which could generate more than 100 jobs.  Spark Solar Australia hopes to build the factory next year with sites in Hume and Mitchell being considered. The company has also listed possible sites in Queanbeyan and Wollongong. The factory will produce solar cells used in the manufacture of solar panels. (more…)

By Christopher Martin, October 14, 2008
Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a_4DuuzPC0gA

SunPower Corp. and Suntech Power Holdings Co., solar manufacturers that lost half their value in the past month, are counting on tax credits in the U.S. bank bailout bill to boost sales as European incentives wane.  Utilities, warehouses and retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Whole Foods Market Inc. can deduct 30 percent of a solar system’s cost from federal income taxes. The savings are part of the $700 billion legislation to bolster the banking industry, which also contained tax breaks for wind power and fuel cells.
(more…)

Elementary school education program teaches students about environmental issues and eco-conscious behavior
San Diego, CA, October 13, 2008
Source: Solar SharpUSA press release
http://solar.sharpusa.com/solar/ads_and_pr/0,2482,,00.html

Sharp today announces the U.S. launch of Sharp Solar Academy, a unique environmental education program designed to empower today’s youth with the knowledge to change and improve their environmental future. The Solar Academy is one way in which Sharp is continuing to fulfill its corporate commitment to be an environmentally advanced company and minimize its environmental impact.   “As a world leader in solar energy, an important part of Sharp’s commitment to the environment is undertaking the responsibility to educate future generations on the environmental issues they will face and the choices they can make to mitigate their impact on the earth,” said Stewart Mitchell, Chief Strategy Officer, Sharp Electronics Corporation. “Our Solar Academy teaches children about topics such as climate change, energy conservation, recycling and renewable energy, so that they are armed with the knowledge to make smart, eco-conscious decisions. “ (more…)

By Simon Clark, Sept. 24, 2008
Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aESker8lE5B4

As the sun rises over Seville in southern Spain, its blinding light bounces on a field of 624 mirrors surrounded by sunflowers.  The moving mirrors reflect sunbeams onto a 115-meter-high white tower that uses the concentrated heat to boil water, making steam that spins an electric turbine 97 times a second. This is Europe’s first commercial solar-thermal-electricity plant, at the forefront of a growing movement for green power. (more…)

To avoid repeating the wafer fab fiasco for solar PV too, government policies to promote it must be realistic
by Dev Gupta, CTO, APSTL
Scottsdale, USA & Bangalore, India, September 23, 2008
Source: CIOL.com
http://www.ciol.com/Semicon/Solar/PV/News-Reports/
Solar-PV-industry-in-India-Strategy-for-success/23908110718/0/

Nearly four years since promoters first descended on India to hawk multi-billion dollar wafer fabs for semiconductor chips and for nearly as long since local booster associations (composed mostly of software/design types with rather thin credentials in expertise e,g. physics or materials science, critical to semiconductors) jumped on the bandwagon to advocate wafer fabs, not a single new fab has come up anywhere in India! (more…)