Solar Cells Info

A novel photovoltaic technology moves into large-scale production.
By Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, October 17, 2008
Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21574/

In a significant milestone in the deployment of flexible, printed photovoltaics, Konarka, a solar-cell startup based in Lowell, MA, has opened a commercial-scale factory, with the capacity to produce enough organic solar cells every year to generate one gigawatt of electricity, the equivalent of a large nuclear reactor. (more…)

IMEC and its associated laboratory Institute for Materials Research in MicroElectronics reported they have improved the composition of organic solar cells. Researchers developed conjugated polymers to stabilize the nanomorphology of the active layer.
Source: Semiconductor International, 10/14/2008
http://www.semiconductor.net/article/CA6605199.html

IMEC (Leuven, Belgium) said its associated laboratory Institute for Materials Research in MicroElectronics (IMOMEC, Diepenbeek, Belgium) has developed a method to stabilize organic solar cells, with an order of magnitude improvement in cell lifetimes.  The center, located on the campus of the Hasselt University, said the research paves the way for commercial organic solar cells with an operational lifetime of more than five years. The researchers optimized the nanomorphology of the active layer, creating a more stable mix of organic compounds that can trap photons and transport the light energy to an electrical contact. (more…)

Source: BusinessWorld /October 17,2008
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW101708/content.php?id=046

STATE-RUN Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) has entered the second phase of its solar project by buying the remaining P25 million photovoltaic inventory of Shell Solar Philippines in a bid to provide electricity to far-flung areas not covered by electric cooperatives and distribution utilities.  The company has completed the first phase of its Solar Homes Systems (SHS) project, having installed 15,100 solar home systems in off-grid villages. (more…)

By Paul Sisco, Washington, 16 October 2008
Source. VOA News.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-16-voa23.cfm

In a state that already leads the U.S. in solar electricity, a company has developed a unique solar system it touts for large commercial rooftops. The northern California is already marketing the system, which it unveiled 7 October, to companies around the world. VOA’s Paul Sisco has this Searching for Solutions report.  In California, the governor has set an ambitious goal for renewable energy, and an industry organization says the state is the top producer of solar electricity in the country.  Now a northern California company, Solyndra, is introducing a new solar panel designed for vast commercial rooftops. The collectors are quite different than tradition flat panels.  (more…)

Source: Nanotechwire.com / 19 Oct 2008
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=6773

Researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to solar power: it absorbs all the energy contained in sunlight, and generates electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.  Ohio State University chemists and their colleagues combined electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium to create the hybrid material. (more…)

Source: SolarWorld AG press release/ DGAP / 27 Aug. 2008
http://www.dgap.de/link.php?von=19970101&typ=news&isin=DE0005108401
&sprache=en&a=10&v=en&id=294596

The one hundred millionth solar cell from Deutsche Cell GmbH, the cell manufacturing division of SolarWorld AG, was today handed over to the sales and distribution people. The total number of solar cells manufactured since the start of production in the year 2002 is equivalent to the size of 270 football pitches or the area covered by the Duchy of Monaco. With the power generated by the solar cells produced in Freiberg in Saxony some 1.6 million tons of CO2 have so far been saved; over their entire service life it will be more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gases. ‘Our objective is to use our highly efficient solar technology to replace the old energy sources step by step and to protect the climate in this way’, says Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG. (more…)

Source: SolarWorld AG, press release/ DGAP /Sept 1, 2008
http://www.dgap.de/link.php?von=19970101&typ=news&isin=DE0005108401
&sprache=en&a=10&v=en&id=298578

By conferring the SolarWorld Einstein Award SolarWorld AG again pays tribute in 2008 to trail-blazing achievements around the development of
solar power technology. The solar technology group bestows this solar award carrying the highest prize money in the photovoltaic industry upon people who have acquired special merits in the development of photovoltaic technology. The award ceremony will take place on 1 September 2008 on the
occasion of the 23rd European Photovoltaic Conference in Valencia. ‘Commitment, independent thinking and innovative strength are crucial
qualities needed to advance photovoltaic technology and thus climate-friendly power generation worldwide’, says Dipl.-Ing. Frank H.
Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG. ‘With the SolarWorld Einstein Award we want to alert people to this fact’. The SolarWorld Senior Einstein
Award for outstanding lifetime achievements is being presented for the fourth time; the SolarWorld Junior Einstein Award for young generation
scientists for the third time. (more…)

Consortium of Deutsche Bank AG, Solarparc AG and Spanish Partners
Source: SolarWorld AG press release/DGAP /October 2, 2008

Together with a consortium of Deutsche Bank AG, the Spanish ecoEnergias and  Solarparc AG the SolarWorld Group created a 30 Megawatt (MW) solar park in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in the Southwest of Spain. The solar power plant located in the vicinity of the two towns of Mérida and Don Alvaro possesses a double axis tracking system to track the sun which makes it one of the largest solar projects of its kind internationally. (more…)

15 MW Power Plant Connected to the Grid in South Korea
Source: SolarWorld AG press release/ Oct 15, 2008 /DGAP
http://www.dgap.de/link.php?von=19970101&typ=news∈=DE0005108401
&sprache=en&a=10&v=en&id=342710

On behalf of its South Korean partner SolarPark Engineering Co. Ltd. the SolarWorld Group has equipped the largest solar park ever built in Asia with solar power technology. For the 15 MW (Megawatt) power plant located 350 km to the South of Seoul in Gochang in the province of Jeollabukdo the internationally leading solar technology group supplied a total of 85,000 solar modules. The connection to the power grid in South Korea is taking place today. It provides the occasion for an opening ceremony that a large number of high ranking Korean politicians, among them State President Lee Myung-Bak, are expected to attend. The Gochang solar park covers an area of 380,000 square meters and will generate 23.5 million Kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This is enough to supply 25,000 Koreans completely with environmentally friendly solar power. At the same time the emission of 15,400 tons of carbon dioxide per year is avoided. (more…)

German Company Creates 1,000 New Jobs in Oregon

HILLSBORO, Oregon., Oct 17, 2008
Source: SolarWorld AG press release /DGAP
http://www.solarworld.de/Press.30.0.html?&L=1

SolarWorld AG is opening the largest solar cell production facility in the USA today. In Hillsboro, Oregon, the German company is investing 500 million US dollars in highly advanced technology. In an integrated manufacturing process wafer-thin silicon discs, the so-called solar wafers, as well as solar cells will be produced with an initial capacity of 100 Megawatt (MW) annually. At their final destination – on the roof or in a larger power plant – this equates to the electricity requirements of 100,000 people. The company announced that the capacity will be expanded to 500 Megawatt in the next three years. (more…)