Solar Cells Info

Multiple Solar Cell Assembly and Module Testing Machines to be Provided for Production Ramp Up
Bedford, MA, August 6, 2008
Source: Spire Corp. press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1184250

Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide, today announced that it has received a contract from ChengDu Tianwei New Energy PV Module Co. Ltd. (Tianwei) to provide multiple systems for stringing and tabbing solar cells and performing the critical end of line test and certification.  Spire will provide Tianwei with multiple Spi-Assembler(TM) 6000 systems to fully automate the soldering of individual solar cells into strings ready for busing. (more…)

Bedford, MA, July 30, 2008
Source: Spire corp., press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1181252

Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year, multi-system contract to provide key module line equipment to Trina Solar Limited (Trina Solar) of the People’s Republic of China. Spire will provide Trina Solar with multiple Spi-Sun Simulator(TM) 4600 Single Long Pulse (4600 SLP) systems. (more…)

Product Delivered Will Be Deployed In Commercial Rooftop And Utility Scale Installations In The United States
Albuquerque, NM, August 5, 2008
Source: Emcore Corp. press release
http://www.emcore.com/news_events/release?y=2008&news=204

EMCORE Corporation, a leading provider of semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber-optic, satellite and terrestrial solar power markets, announced today that it entered into two new supply agreements for solar cells and receivers with a total value of over $40 million. The larger of the two purchase contracts is a multi-year supply agreement for solar cells, to be delivered over four years. The product to be delivered will be incorporated into concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) systems developed for commercial rooftop installations as well as utility-scale solar farms. The customers placing these orders are targeting CPV deployments in the United States with a particular focus on the California market. Production for these orders has commenced and approximately $1 million of product is expected to be shipped in the present quarter. The award of these purchase agreements affirms EMCORE’s position as the leading supplier of the enabling CPV engine, and further diversifies our terrestrial CPV component backlog. (more…)

Source: WEBWIRE, Tokyo, August 05, 2008
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=71567

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) announces that it has completed construction of the Shiga Plant at its Shiga facilities (Ohtsu City, Shiga Prefecture) which was constructed for the assembly of HIT solar cell modules as part of continuing plans to expand and develop its Solar business.  The Shiga Plant will have an initial production capacity of 40 MW, and SANYO will consider expanding the production capacity of the factory upon further review of market trends and demand. (more…)

Changzhou, China, July 14, 2008
Source: Trina Solar Ltd /PR Newswire press release

Trina Solar Limited (“Trina Solar” or the “Company”), a leading integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products from the production of ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of PV modules, founded in 1997, today announced a cooperation agreement with LISA Airplanes for the building of the Hy-Bird, a solar and hydrogen powered airplane that is set to be the first to fly around the world using only renewable energies as fuel. (more…)

The Integrated System from Honeywell will Help Polysilicon Plant Jumpstart Production; Will Control Equipment Producing 3,500 Tons per Year
Phoenix, AZ, July 29, 2008
Source: Honeywell /Hoku Materials press release
http://www.shareholder.hokuscientific.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=324930

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced it will design and install the core process and safety systems for a new plant under construction by Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. that is planned to produce polysilicon, a key material needed to produce solar panels. The solar power market is currently estimated to be a $10 billion business, with realistic potential to expand to $30 billion by 2010. Serving as the Integrated Main Automation Contractor (I-MAC) and sole automation equipment supplier, Honeywell will engineer a tightly integrated solution that will help the Pocatello, Idaho plant produce 3,500 tons of polysilicon per year. The system will include distributed control, batch management and safety technology. (more…)

Hoku Updates Plant Financing Strategy, Reports Polysilicon Production Fully Allocated
Pocatello, ID and Shanghai, China, July 30, 2008
Source: Hoku Materials Inc, press release
http://www.shareholder.hokuscientific.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=325104

Hoku Materials, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU), established to manufacture and sell polysilicon for the solar market, and Jiangxi Kinko Energy Company, Ltd., a manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers and related products in China, today announced the signing of a definitive contract for Hoku’s sale and delivery of solar-grade polysilicon to Kinko Energy over a ten-year period beginning in late-2009. (more…)

Kapolet, Hawaii and San Francisco, CA, July 22, 2008
Source: Quamnet /Xinhua PR Newswire
http://www.quamnet.com/newscontent.action?articleId=899964

Hoku Solar, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOKU) and designer, engineer and installer of photovoltaic (PV) power systems, and Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.(NYSE: STP), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, today announced the completion of a 254-kilowatt PV solar power system at the Oahu warehouse and distribution headquarters of Paradise Beverages, Inc. The system uses more than 1,540 individual Suntech modules to produce an estimated 525,000 kilowatt-hours of clean solar power each year. It is the third of three solar projects totaling 358kw of power the Hoku-Suntech team have implemented for Paradise Beverages. (more…)

287 kilowatt solar carports can generate enough electricity to power 80 San Francisco homes
San Francisco, CA, July 24, 2008
Source: SolarCity press release/PRNewswire
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/solarcity-completes-largest-commercial-solar/
story.aspx?guid=%7B10CF0771-A535-492D-886A-972FEBFB57CA%7D&dist=hppr

SolarCity, a leading provider of solar power financing, design, installation and service, announced it has completed the largest commercial solar installation in San Francisco for British Motor Car Distributors, Inc. The dramatic, 287 kilowatt installation includes two rooftop carports comprised of 1,606 solar panels.
“I commend SolarCity and British Motors for building the largest commercial solar installation in San Francisco,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “Private sector efforts such as this, in combination with our GoSolarSF incentives, will make San Francisco an international leader in solar installations.”  SolarCity designed and installed carports atop two British Motors’ buildings on the 900 block of Van Ness Avenue. British Motors’ historic showroom building at 901 Van Ness Avenue — a designated San Francisco Landmark — originally opened in 1927 and was designed by Bernard Maybeck, the nationally-renowned architect who also designed San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. (more…)

by Praveen Bose & Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore July 28, 2008
Source: Business Standard
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=329781

Bangalore City-based public sector undertaking (PSU), Bharat Electronics (BEL), said it is planning a major investment in the solar energy space in a tie-up with another PSU, Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel).  BEL is in the process of setting up a greenfield facility to produce 2,500 tonnes of polycrystalline silicon (also known as polysilicon), the main raw material for making solar panels, at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. This translates into 250 mw of power. This will be the first major facility for manufacturing a raw material for solar panels by BEL, which is a leading manufacturer of solar panels in the country. (more…)