Solar Cells Info

14 December 2007
Source: qbr.com.au
http://www.qbr.com.au/index.cfm?storyid=33682&cp=displaystory&type=s

Central Australia will soon be home to a $3 million Solar Technology Demonstration Facility; the first site in Australia to publicly showcase such a broad range of large scale solar installations. Over 15 solar installations will be established at the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, providing a unique opportunity to compare their performance as well as provide an interactive display for the public. (more…)

New Delhi, Nov 30, 2007
Source: IANS /Yahoo India News
http://in.news.yahoo.com/071130/43/6nvsq.html

Roth and Rau, a Germany-based solar cell manufacturing solutions provider, sees India emerging as the fourth largest generator of solar energy and a key driver of its global business in the coming years. ‘Although still a small market, India is catching up fast with world majors in solar energy generation,’ Thomas Hengst, vice-president of Roth and Rau, said while speaking about his group’s plans for India in this clean energy source.
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Osaka, Dec 05, 2007
Source: Kyodo News International /TradingMarkets.com
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/886717/

Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday it will open a lab inside its Gifu Prefecture semiconductor plant in April to develop next-generation, thin-film solar cells requiring a very small amount of silicon. By utilizing the company’s semiconductor expertise, the lab, named Advanced Photovoltaics Development Center, will be used to create solar cells whose power generation costs are comparable to regular home utility rates, according to the Osaka-based manufacturer.
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New Delhi, Dec. 6, 2007
Source: United Press International
http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Energy/Briefing/
2007/12/06/ril_to_set_up_10_mw_solar_power_plant/3405/

India’s private Reliance Industries Ltd. said it plans to set up a 10 megawatt solar power plant in West Bengal state. The move would put the company at the heart of the renewable energy business. The company has sought the help of the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency, an RIL official said.
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Source: Daily Trust (Abuja) /AllAfrica.com
Misbahu Bashir, Abuja /5 December 2007
http://allafrica.com/stories/200712050712.html

The Federal Government is to set up megawatt class solar farms for the generation of electricity in the country. Minister of State for Energy (Power) Mrs. Fatima Balaraba Ibrahim gave the indication at the National Solar Energy Forum tagged ‘Harnessing Solar Energy for Rural Development’ in Abuja. She said the government would soon embark on studies towards implementing large scale megawatt class farms for integration into the national grid. “Government has recognised the benefits in solar energy and other renewable energy resources for rural development” she said.
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Bitterfeld-Wolfen, 10 December 2007
Source: Q-Cells AG press release
http://www.qcells.de/cmadmin_2_542_0.html

Q-Cells AG (QCE; WKN 555866) has concluded a supply agreement for silicon wafers with the Chinese solar company LDK Solar Co., Ltd. The agreement is a ten year “take or pay” contract covering the period from 2009 to 2018. The total volume will enable Q-Cells to manufacture cells with an overall output of more than 6 gigawatt peak (GWp) additional to current expansion plans. The agreement is based upon the conversion of silicon (43,000 tonnes) into wafers. Deliveries will start with 1,000 tonnes in 2009 and will rise to 5,000 tonnes p.a. by 2013.
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By Chen Qide, China Daily, Dec 11, 2007
Source: China Daily
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-12/11/content_6312458.htm

Nantong in northern Jiangsu Province is set to become one of China’s key thin-film amorphous silicon solar cell manufacturing bases after Nantong Qiangsheng Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd (QS Solar) announced it had launched a $400 million project.  A senior company manager said yesterday that the project, China’s largest of its kind, will be carried out in three phases within three years. The first phase, which consists of three sets of 25 MW production facilities, will see the first set put into operation by mid-January of 2008, Sha Xiaolin, chairman of QS Solar, said.
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Nuying Huang, Taipei; Rodney Chan,
Source: DigiTimes, 11 December 2007
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20071210PD218.html

Polysilicon prices in the spot market have broken the US$400-per-kilogram mark as photovoltaic cell makers from China are scrambling to stock material, according to industry sources. The sources claimed that only players from the PV industry in China have been willing to pay such high prices, while many of their Taiwan competitors think the high costs would definitely translate into inevitable losses.
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Rodney Chan, Taipei, 12 December 2007
Source: DigiTimes
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20071212VL202.html

The partnership with equipment supplier Oerlikon is expected to shorten the time thin-film solar cell maker Sunwell Technology will need to begin mass production and to raise yields, according to Robert Wong, chairman of CMC Magnetics, the parent company of the Taiwan-based solar cell maker.  Wong noted that Oerlikon, which supplies Sunwell’s production equipment, has already had experience in mass production for solar cells.  A ceremony was held on December 10 to mark the completion of Sunwell’s solar cell plant in Linkou, northern Taiwan. Sunwell will supply solar cells as well as building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).
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By Richard Dobson /Additional reporting by Baker Li
Taipei, Dec 6, 2007
Source: Reuters UK
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKTP33777420071206

Soaring oil prices approaching $100 a barrel are fueling a sleek new kind of solar technology that could some day set skyscrapers and high-rise apartment windows quietly buzzing with renewable energy production.  The emerging technology uses thin films mounted on the glass windows of skyscrapers and other surfaces to harness the sun’s power.  It’s more aesthetic and cheaper than the bulkier conventional solar cells made from polycrystalline silicon whose supplies have tightened and prices have risen as solar energy has taken off.
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