Solar Cells Info

by Matthew L. Wald, July 8, 2008
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/08/business/solar.php

A Michigan company, Energy Conversion Devices, planned to announce Tuesday that it would provide the solar electric system for what it says will be the world’s largest rooftop array, on a General Motors assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain. The project will be 12 megawatts, a huge number in a field where most arrays are measured in kilowatts.  Solar cell arrays on houses are commonly a handful of kilowatts, or thousandths of a megawatt. On big commercial buildings, installations of one or two megawatts have become common. A one-megawatt installation will run about 1,000 window air-conditioners simultaneously, at least as long as the sun is shining. (more…)

Press Trust of India, New Delhi, 26 Jun, 2008
Source: Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Energy/
Tata_BP_Solar_invests_Rs_400_cr_to_make_solar_cells_modules/articleshow/3169219.cms

Tata BP Solar, a joint venture firm between Tata Power and BP solar, on Thursday said it has invested Rs 400 crore ($100 million) in the current fiscal to manufacture solar cells and modules.   “We have invested Rs 400 crore to manufacture 180 MW of solar cells and 125 MW of solar modules in the current financial year (2008-09),” Chief Executive Officer K Subramanya told reporters here. (more…)

Konarka’s Flexible Photovoltaic Solar Cells Packaged with Commercial, Low-Cost Materials Demonstrate Outstanding High Lifetime under Accelerated Conditions
LOWELL, Mass. June 24, 2008
Source Konarka Technologies Inc, press release
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080624005191&newsLang=en

Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to energy, today announced that the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has verified that the company’s flexible organic based photovoltaic (PV) solar cells demonstrate outstanding high lifetime after comprehensive environmental testing under accelerated conditions, including high temperature storage and prolonged illumination. (more…)

By ANRICA DEB, Leewarden, Netherlands (AP), Jun 23, 2008    Source: Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iXCfnzzTRbDj68vvvtfcpw_KHBRwD91G0P200

Forty boats sped off silently Monday in what is billed as the world’s largest race for solar powered watercraft. High winds capsized several boats during a time trial qualifying round Sunday, and technical problems with the launching crane pushed back Monday’s start. But all 40 qualifiers finally departed under fair skies, spokeswoman Christel Pieper of the Frisian Solar Challenge said.  The six-day race covers a 135-mile course on a network of canals, rivers and lakes in the north of the Netherlands. Speed limits on narrow waterways have been temporarily waived for the boats, the fastest of which can go nearly 19 mph. (more…)

Why is it so expensive? What subsidies are available? And answers to other questions for the perplexed.
By YULIYA CHERNOVA, June 30, 2008
Source: The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121432258309100153.html

The idea of solar power sounds so simple. And it seems like it should be cheap compared to other sources of energy. After all, the sun is there, and it’s free.  But despite federal and some state government subsidies that have helped push up demand, solar power still accounts for less than 1% of power generation in the U.S. That’s because even with subsidies, solar power remains expensive compared with energy based on traditional fuels like coal and natural gas. (more…)

Source: PVTech.org / 04 July 2008
http://www.pv-tech.org/thin_film/article/oerlikon_solar_gains_two_new_thin_film_customers

Oerlikon Solar has secured business from two new thin-film start-ups. Spanish firm Gadir Solar SA has ordered a complete turnkey a-Si thin film production line, capable of producing over 300,000 panels per year and China-based Chint Solar, has ordered Oerlikon’s ‘micromorph’ R&D line and first-phase production equipment. The equipment will be delivered in 2008 with ramps expected in 2009. “By securing both contracts, Oerlikon Solar enlarges its share in important growth markets. This further strengthens our market leading position as provider of proven thin-film silicon PV solutions,” says Jeannine Sargent, CEO Oerlikon Solar. (more…)

Commentary: Intel, H-P and IBM are making bets, but payoff likely years away
By Therese Poletti, MarketWatch
San Francisco, CA, July 3, 2008
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/tech-giants-try-revolutionize-solar/
story.aspx?guid=%7BC03FEA26-8456-46E9-A80F-22A06340B2CF%7D&dist=msr_1

As companies like Intel Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have made moves in the solar power space, many have wondered if these high-tech heavyweights could use either their manufacturing or intellectual muscle to push down costs and thereby lower the price of solar power. Perhaps eventually, but not quite so fast. (more…)

by Mami Akasaka, Tech-On! Jun 26, 2008
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080626/153907/

Intellectual Property Bank Corp (IPB), a company engaged in consulting related to intellectual property in Japan, has announced its “Applicant Highest Score Rankings” based on the company’s proprietary method to evaluate the quality of solar cell-related patents.  IPB evaluates patent quality by creating indices for actions concerning the patents made by applicants, examiners and rivals, it said. This time, the company released rankings of the patent that has won the highest score among the patents owned by each applicant. As a result, Sharp Corp, Hokkaido University and Canon Inc topped the rankings. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia, Jun 24, 2008
Source: Tech-On
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080624/153764/

Worldwide investments in the production of photovoltaic (PV) cells will rise to the same level as those for semiconductor manufacturing by 2010, due to booming demand for solar energy, according to iSuppli Corp. Global production of PV cells is expected to rise to as much as 12GW by 2010, up from 3.5GW in 2007. By 2010, as many as 400 production lines in the world that can produce at least 1MW of PV cells per year will be in place, representing a 4-fold increase from about 90 to 100 production lines in 2007. Factories capable of 1GW annual PV production also will be established to ensure continued strong delivery of PV cells to the market. (more…)

Hiroaki Kitahara (technical writer), Jun 24, 2008
Source: Tech-On
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080624/153787/

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc, Sakai City and Sharp Corp announced that they will jointly promote the Mega Solar Power Generation Plan with the aim of constructing 10MW-class solar power generation facilities on the waterfront in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. (more…)