Solar Cells Info

Designed to accommodate specific needs of residential and commercial installations
Huntingon Beach and San Francisco, CA, July 15, 2009
Source: Solar Sharp USA press release
http://solar.sharpusa.com/solar/ads_and_pr/1,2482,0,00.html

Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group, the U.S. solar arm of Sharp Corporation, a leading global provider of solar electric solutions, bolsters its NU line of solar modules with the introduction of the new NU-U230F3 and the NU-U235F1 modules.  Delivering powerful performance and enhanced aesthetics, the new NU modules are an optimal choice to meet the needs of both residential and commercial solar installations. (more…)

By Yuliya Chernova (of Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight),
New York, July 14, 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090714-708396.html

Solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) signed nonbinding agreements with four Chinese provinces and cities to develop up to 1.8 gigawatts of solar projects.  Projects resulting from these agreements could be installed between 2010 and 2012, Steve Chadima, Suntech’s spokesman, said in an email.  Suntech agreed to develop 300 megawatts in Shaanxi province, 500 MW in Shizuishan city, located in Ningxia province, 500 MW in Qinghai province, and 500 MW in the Panzhihua city of the Sichuan province. (more…)

By SiliconIndia news bureau , 19 July 2009, Bangalore
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Solar_Semiconductor_to_establish_solar_cell_plant_at_Fab_City_-nid-59511.html

Solar Semiconductor, a Hyderabad-based photovoltaic (PV) modules manufacturer has announced that it will set up a solar cell plant at its Fab City campus. The company plans to invest $100 million (Rs. 490 crore) in this plant. According to Ravi Surapaneni, Vice-President of the company, initially the plant will have a capacity of 30 Mw and subsequently it will be ramped up to 60 Mw.  At present, Solar Semiconductor has a photovoltaic module-making capacity of 200 Mw a year, including 130 Mw at the Fab City and 70 Mw at Kompally. Both the facilities are dedicated to the export markets in the U.S., Germany, Spain and Italy. The solar cells manufactured at the new plant will be utilized by the company’s PV module-making plant at the Fab City. (more…)

By Chris BryantBerlin, July 15 2009
Source: Financial Times.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb4cc69e-70d4-11de-9717-00144feabdc0.html

Q-Cells, the world’s biggest manufacturer of solar cells, yesterday blamed tough market conditions for its decision to scrap its full-year sales outlook and warned it would post a big loss in the second quarter. The update shocked investors, leaving the stock more than 14 per cent lower at €11.32 at the close after the German company revealed that an anticipated seasonal upturn in demand had not materialised. Competition from Asian producers has caused an over-supply of solar components, while financing for big projects remains in short supply. (more…)

Japanese electronics company Sharp is seeking tieups overseas, improved technology, and ramped-up business at home to boost its solar power business
By Kenji Hall, Asia /July 20, 2009,
(BusinessWeek’s technology correspondent in Tokyo)
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2009/gb20090720_163441.htm

In late 2007, not long after stepping in as president of Sharp, Mikio Katayama learned an important lesson about the energy industry. Katayama was meeting with diplomats in Japan and government officials overseas to discuss Sharp’s business producing photovoltaic solar panels. He had figured mounting evidence about global warming would be a wake-up call for countries to invest more in clean energy technologies. But instead, officials talked about solar energy in terms of national security. “That’s when we realized that it wasn’t just about saving the environment,” he recalled in a recent interview. (more…)

by Ucilia Wang,  June 25, 2009
Source: GreenTechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/
suntech-power-plans-to-start-u.s.-panel-production-in-early-2010/

The Chinese solar company is now choosing among four sites for its first, 100-megawatt factory to build solar panels in the United States, says an executive. Suntech Power plans to announce in a few weeks the site of its first factory in the United States, and expects to start production in the first quarter of 2010, said Roger Efird, president of North American sales for Suntech Thursday. (more…)

by Staff, Semiconductor International, June 25, 2009
http://www.semiconductor.net/article/295730-Ulvac_Rolls_PECVD_for_Tandem_PV_Cells.php

Ulvac Inc. (Chigasaki, Japan) has developed a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system for microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) deposition, aimed at tandem thin-film silicon photovoltaics. Ulvac, which sells turnkey lines for PV manufacturing, said the new system goes on sale next week and will be part of a turnkey line for tandem μc-Si solar cell production.  (more…)

Source: Environmental Leader.com, June 22, 2009
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/22/
toyota-tries-to-keep-wraps-under-solar-car/

Toyota reportedly is developing a car that would be charged solely by solar, reports the Associated Press. The futuristic car is years away from market, however, the report notes. From a story originally published in the Nikkei newspaper and not verified by Toyota, the automaker’s solar car would get some of its power from solar cells on the vehicle, and the rest from solar panels on the rooftop of the home where the car is parked. (more…)

By David Tan, George Town, July 4, 2009
Source: The Star Online
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?
file=/2009/7/4/business/4218713&sec=business

Companies in the northern region are now making strategic moves to enter into the solar power business, as the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) has identified solar power sector as a new source of growth for the economy.  Three public-listed companies in Penang, P. I.E. Industrial Bhd, Ire-Tex Corp Bhd, and Pentamaster Corp Bhd, have recently invested to tap into the growing market demand for solar products in the country and in the world.  The global revenue from solar panels (known also as photovoltaic panels) is expected to rise to US$17.8bil in 2010, up 38.2% from 2009. Revenue will rise by another 11.1% in 2011 and by 29.1% in 2012, according to US-based market research company, iSuppli Corp. (more…)

by Camille Ricketts, June 8, 2009
Source: VentureBeat.com
http://green.venturebeat.com/2009/06/08/solar-co-nextlight-lands-230-mw-deal-with-pge/

NextLight Renewable Power, a solar company developing 2,100 Californian acres into what will be the AV Solar Ranch — a $1 billion solar array producing 230 megawatts — has landed a power purchasing contract with Pacific Gas & Electric. The plant will break ground next year in Antelope Valley, Calif., and is expected to be fully operational by 2013. The project could ultimately generate 592 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year for up to 90,000 PG&E households in northern and central California. (more…)