Solar Cells Info

By Stefanie Haxel / Feb 5, 2007
source: bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a3TPKZ7X3_M0

Shares of Q-Cells AG jumped the most since June after the German solar-cell maker said profit more than doubled last year and growth will accelerate in 2008. The shares, today’s biggest gainer in the Stoxx 600, rose as much as 5.30 euros, or 13 percent, to 47 euros and traded at 46.14 euros at 11:42 a.m. local time. That’s the largest one-day gain since June 15. The stock has added 35 percent so far this year, valuing the company at 3.4 billion euros ($4.4 billion).
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New contracts in Spain worth €15 million and cell supply contract with Q-Cells until 2012
February 07, 2007
source: Aleo solar press release
http://www.aleo-solar.de/index.php/page_id/49/language/en/

Aleo Solar AG is launching production at its factory in Santa María de Palautordera, near Barcelona. The facility, with a total capacity of 10 MW, will handle production for the Spanish market. Jakobus Smit, member of the Management Board of aleo solar AG, commented: “Our internationalisation strategy uses a country-specific approach: we organise our local business using Spanish employees and a Spanish sales force, who know the customers and their financing partners.”
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Rolleiv Solholm
source: Norway Post
http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker?id=48547

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has grown to become Norway’s largest wholly privately owned company. The Oslo Stock Exchange reports a value increase for the company of 41 per cent since January 1st. REC Group was established in 1996 and is one of the pioneers of the solar industry. It has quickly become one of the world’s leading businesses within solar energy. The company has a presence in all parts of the industry value chain from production of raw material to solar energy products. REC has customers around the the world and over 1,100 employees. REC is the world’s largest producer of solar grade polysilicon, the world’s largest producer of wafers for solar applications, and a significant producer of solar cells and modules. The REC headquarters are located in Oslo.
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By Kamarul Yunus /February 1 2007
source: Business Times Malaysia
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/Thursday/Frontpage/BT606204.txt

FIRST Solar, a manufacturer of solar modules listed on the New York Stock Exchange, plans to invest US$150 million (RM525 million) to set up a manufacturing plant in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah. The company, in a statement posted on its website, said construction work on the plant is scheduled to begin in April and to be completed late this year. Production is planned to begin in the second half of next year. “When fully operational, the proposed plant will provide jobs to some 500 people. The project is part of the company’s expansion production plan,” First Solar said. The proposed plant in Malaysia is a new four-line solar module manufacturing plant with an expected minimum annual capacity, or nameplate capacity, of 100 megawatts (MW).
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BEDFORD, Mass.–Feb. 5, 2007
source: Spiro Corp. press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=958386

Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) today announced that it has entered into a contract to provide a 15-megawatt turnkey crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) module production line to a new European manufacturer. The production line will enable this manufacturer to enter the business of manufacturing and selling photovoltaic modules taking advantage of in country incentives.
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Thermo photovoltaic, TPV Cells Produce Electricity from Heat
BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 16, 2007
source: Spiro Corp. press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=950469
Spire Corporation (NASDAQ: SPIR) today announced that it has received a $600,000 contract from NASA’s John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio to further develop a new type of thermo photovoltaic, TPV cell that produces electricity from heat. TPV cells have potential applications for NASA to generate electricity from heat produced by radioisotope sources for long duration space missions. Commercial applications of TPV cells include electricity generation using heat from combustion.

The work will be carried out in part at Bandwidth Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spire. Bandwidth already offers GaAs concentrator PV cells for converting the sun’s energy to electricity. These TPV cells use InGaAs, a variation of GaAs. Bandwidth Semiconductor has over ten years experience providing similar TPV cells to customers for special applications. Bandwidth Semiconductor is a compound semiconductor foundry, specializing in wafer epitaxy, thick and thin film products and device fabrication for defense, biomedical, telecommunications and consumer markets.

For more information visit www.spirecorp.com or www.bandwidthsemi.com

1 February 2007
source: Semiconductor today
http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/NEWS_2007/FEB_07/HELIO_010207.htm

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic cell manufacturer HelioVolt Corp of Austin, TX has announced a joint development agreement with Exeltech of Fort Worth, TX, USA, which produces inverters for the power industry, to commercialize turnkey systems for cost-effective, reliable solar energy generation. The collaboration will draw on Exeltech’s core competencies in AC power system design and manufacture and HelioVolt’s proprietary FASST process technology, which is based on semiconductor printing for rapid, low-cost, flexible thin-film manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis. Development and manufacture of the solar energy systems will take place at both companies.
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Reports on 1st Board Meeting of Joint R&D Lab With Shanghai University

MENLO PARK, CA — January 31, 2007
source: Solar Enertech Corp / press release
http://www.solarenertech.com/News/release.asp?numb=218

Solar EnerTech Corp. (OTCBB: SOEN) (the Company) is pleased to announce it has signed a sales contract of solar modules with Fan Qie Trading Ltd. of Shanghai. The contract, for a variety of solar products, is slated for delivery over seven shipments throughout the year, and is worth a total of U.S. $9.2 million. Since the launch of test production at the close of 2006, the Company has been producing its solar cell and module products in moderate quantities as Management assesses and refines production protocols. The new sales contract requires three product categories, totaling 2 megawatts of output, and launches the company into a capacity-intensive production mode that will prove a vital step towards fine-tuning every aspect of the Company’s solar cell and module manufacturing capability.
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Source: Huliq breaking news /Feb 1, 2007
http://www.huliq.com/9079/sharp-expands-solar-module-production-in-europe

Sharp Corporation will double its production capacity for solar (photovoltaic) modules during the coming year at Sharp Manufacturing Company of U.K. (SUKM), its production base at Wrexham, North Wales. Capacity will be increased from the current 110 MW (as of February 2007) to 220 MW annually. SUKM was Sharp’s second international production base for solar modules following a facility in the US. It began operations in the spring of 2004 with an annual PV module production capacity of 20 MW. Since then, we have worked to expand production capacity to 50 MW in May 2005, and 110 MW in February 2006, and at this time, to further augment the production system to 220 MW annual capacity.
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Middelburg, 31 January 2007
source: Solland Solar Energy /press release
http://www.sollandsolar.com/

DELTA is to buy a substantial interest in Solland Solar Energy Holding B.V., based in Heerlen, The Netherlands. Solland is an international company engaged in manufacturing solar cells. DELTA will acquire 90% of Solland shares, directly and indirectly through its subsidiary, Sunergy1. The remaining 10% will continue to be held by Solland’s management.  With its acquisition of Solland Solar, DELTA will be taking an important step towards penetrating the solar energy market, where substantial growth is expected in the coming years. The acquisition is in line with DELTA’s strategy to acquire a position in all parts of the solar cell production chain.
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