Solar Cells Info

Acquisition Accelerates Growth and Product Innovation

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov 15, 2006

Source: SunPower Corporation Press Release Nov 15, 2006
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=218726

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of the world’s highest-efficiency, commercially available solar cells and solar panels, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PowerLight Corp., a privately owned solar systems provider based in Berkeley, Calif. PowerLight is a leading global provider of large-scale solar power systems, having designed and deployed hundreds of large-scale solar systems with a total capacity of more than 100 megawatts over the past ten years. The PowerLight acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to SunPower’s non-GAAP earnings.(1)

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Leading German Solar Energy compnay Conergy to create 1,000 jobs at state-of-the-art solar factory in Frankfurt.

— Conergy is investing around EUR 250 million in production process
— World’s only fully integrated solar wafer, cell and module production in  former chip factory in Frankfurt
— Investment goal to secure cost and quality leadership on the global solar market

12.11.2006  Source:
http://www.presseportal.de/story.htx?nr=899538

Hamburg/Frankfurt, November 12, 2006 – Hamburg-based Conergy AG is building the world’s most technologically advanced production plant for solar modules on the site of the former chip factory in  Frankfurt. Conergy’s board of management has now given the green light for building to start. In the first stage of development, the company will invest around EUR 250 million in the world’s first and only fully integrated mass production of wafers, cells and modules. In the medium term, it will create more than 1,000 jobs on the site of the former chip factory.
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The global shipments of solar photovoltaic cells and modules have been growing at an average
annual rate of more than 35 percent for the past few years

By Jessie Ho, STAFF REPORTER Taipei Times
Saturday, Nov 11, 2006, Page 12

Source : Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2006/11/11/2003335905

Delta Electronics Inc, its subsidiary DelSolar Co and Geneva-based STMicroelec-tronics NV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the field of photovoltaic power generation, Delta said in a filing to the stock exchange yesterday. Under the terms of the MOU signed in Paris on Thursday, the three companies would explore ways to form a strategic partnership to increase solar cell production and develop photovoltaic inverters and power supply applications, the statement said.

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Lighting up the $1 trillion power market

Silicon Valley has changed the world once. Now, thanks to a wave of investment and innovation in solar power, it’s on to the next revolution: a massive disruption of the U.S. electricity market.

By Tom McNichol and Michael V. Copeland,
Business 2.0 Magazine October 30 2006
Source; CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/26/magazines/business2/solar_siliconvalley.biz2/?postversion=2006102610

There’s a missile-bunker vibe you get when walking into Solaicx, a Silicon Valley startup that manufactures the silicon wafers that are the building blocks of solar panels.

In one half of the nondescript Santa Clara warehouse, three men sit hunched on a wood platform 8 feet above the cement floor, their eyes locked on two monitors. The screens show data and video gathered from a 24-foot-tall steel tower. The tower begins in a squat, gourd-shaped base and tapers to a cannon-size column with a long drum spinning slowly on top. Thick power cables snake down its sides. Another sci-fi-looking tower rises up off to one side of the building.

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Sharp Expands Solar Cell Production Capacity to 600 MW Per Year, the World’s Highest

Source: SHARP press release
http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/061030.html

Additional Solar Cell Production Line to Katsuragi Plant

Sharp Corporation has increased annual production capacity for solar cells at its Katsuragi Plant in Nara Prefecture by 100 MW (megawatts) to meet burgeoning demand in Japan and abroad, and has constructed a system that will be able to enter full production by November 2006. As a result, solar cell production capacity at the Katsuragi Plant will reach 600 MW per year, the world’s highest.

Despite concerns in the photovoltaic (PV) power generating market about a shortage of processed silicon (the raw material for solar cells), PV systems are increasingly being used in Japan for industrial applications and are being installed on new residential construction in collaboration with home builders. In Europe and the U.S.A., demand is expected to expand even further in the future, centered on industrial and commercial uses thanks to the introduction of subsidies and implementation of policies mandating power buy-back programs by utilities.

To more effectively utilize raw materials, Sharp is working to make solar cells even thinner and improve thin-film solar cells which use minimal amounts of silicon, as well as establish highly efficient production systems and expand and upgrade its production lines. For the future, Sharp has set a goal to further expand its solar energy business, which holds out tremendous potential as clean energy that does not generate substances that place a burden on the environment.

• Timeframe for full-scale operation:     November 2006
• Investment amount:     Approx. 3.5 billion yen
• Annual production capacity:     600 MW

RoseStreet Labs & Sumitomo Chemical Announce Joint Venture for Full Spectrum Solar Cells

Thursday October 26

source: Yahoo Business News
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061026/lath081.html?.v=75

PHOENIX, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/

RoseStreet Labs, LLC & Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (Sumitomo) today announced a joint venture, RSL Energy, Inc., for the development and manufacturing of full spectrum solar cells for the renewable energy markets. The joint venture will be headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

RSL Energy is commercializing next-generation technology utilizing full spectrum solutions that can potentially achieve practical efficiencies above 48% in both single junction and multi-junction devices. RSL Energy has exclusive patent licenses from both Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Cornell University for unique semiconductor devices that use a significantly larger fraction of the solar spectrum compared to existing products.

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St. Louis Business Journal
23 october 2006

source:
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/10/23/daily39.html

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. said Thursday that it has an agreement with Gintech Energy Corp. to supply the Taiwan-based firm with solar grade silicon wafers.

The agreement calls for MEMC to supply solar wafers to Gintech, a solar cell manufacturer, over a 10-year period, with pre-determined pricing, on a take or pay basis beginning in the second half of 2007, according to a release.

MEMC said it would see $2.5 billion to $3 billion in revenue from sales of the wafers over the 10-year period.

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26 October 2006
source:
http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/OCT_06/SPECT_261006.htm

Spectrolab Inc of Sylmar, CA, USA, which became a subsidiary of Boeing in 2000, has produced its two millionth multi-junction GaAs solar cell as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Spectrolab pioneered this type of cell in 1983, putting it into production several years later. The company says that the development gave satellite operators the option of doubling satellite power and increasing potential revenue or controlling costs by reducing spacecraft size without sacrificing capability.

“I’d like to thank the US Air Force and NASA for their visionary support of Spectrolab and early adoption of the multi-junction solar cell technology,” said Spectrolab’s president David Lillington.

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October 18, 2006
Sion Barry, Western Mail

Source; ICWales
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300business/0100news/

Wales has secured a 300-job inward investment project pioneering groundbreaking solar power technology, which could allow consumers to recharge electronic devices as they walk.

US start-up venture G24i yesterday announced it is bringing a £60m dye sensitised solar cells manufacturing facility to Cardiff – at the site of the former Acer plant.

The company is pioneering what it claims is the world’s lightest, most efficient and least expensive solar technology. Its innovative material will initially be made to power devices such as mobile phones, handheld games consoles, MP3 players and laptop computers. It could also be incorporated into fabrics to make ‘smart’ textiles – allowing people to recharge devices while on the move.

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SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 16

Source:
http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/weather/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/3122/20061016/0821277536.htm

SunPower Corporation (SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of the world’s highest efficiency, commercially available solar cells and solar panels, today announced its newest solar panel, offering significantly higher power output and conversion efficiency than its current products. The new SPR-315 solar panel utilizes the company’s newly developed 22-percent-efficient Gen 2 solar cells and carries a rated power output of 315 watts.

“SunPower continues to lead the solar industry with its innovative technology and smart design,” said Peter Aschenbrenner, vice president of marketing and sales. “Our new SPR-315 solar panel breaks the 300 watt power barrier while offering even higher efficiency than SunPower’s previous industry-leading products.

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