Solar Cells Info

Europe’s highest-volume solar enterprise intends to become Italy’s market leader
5 September 2007
Source. Conergy.com press release
http://www.conergy.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-182/271_read-8128/
The Conergy AG, a listed firm, intends to quadruple its annual turnover in Italy in 2007 to at least 40 million euros. In order to further increase its market share in one of the world’s fastest-growing solar markets, the number of persons employed in Italy is to be increased to more than 200 on a mid-term basis. Globally, Conergy is looking to increase sales by 60 percent to 1.25 billion euros, and already employs some 2,500 persons in 26 countries, in order to grow much more rapidly than the market for renewable energy systems as a whole, which has a growth rate of about 25 percent.
(more…)

Lennar Bay Area Announces Opening of 67 Solar-Powered Homes in Dublin and 87 Solar-Powered Homes in Concord
San Roman, CA, Sept 4, 2007
Source: BusinessWire.com

Lennar Bay Area Homebuilding has announced two new Bay Area solar-driven communities of single family detached homes, extending its current commitment that all new residential developments across the Bay Area will be solar powered. The first development is at Sonata at Dublin Ranch, a 67-home community, equipped with a roof integrated solar electric system from PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq:SPWR) as a standard feature. The second development is at Centre Pointe at Concord, an 87-home community, also equipped with the same style of solar electric system as Sonata. (more…)

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, September 4, 2007
Source: Environmental News Service
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2007/2007-09-04-093.asp

A new solar energy power station is being built in southeastern Pennsylvania that will be the fourth-largest facility of its kind in the country and the largest east of Arizona when operations begin next April.  Plans call for more than 16,500 solar panels to be installed on 16.5 acres, adjacent to Waste Management’s GROWS Landfill, in Falls Township, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. (more…)

Milan, Italy, Sept 04, 2007
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=262475

At the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition this week, SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR), a US-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, is launching a range of solar products and systems for the Italian residential, commercial and solar power plant markets.
(more…)

Taipei, China, August 20, 2007
Source: ChinaPost.com
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2007/08/20/119058/Taiwan-school.htm

Students from National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (NKUAS) won second place in the Dream Cup solar car race in Japan earlier this month, the best ever performance of the NKUAS team in international solar car competitions, a school source said yesterday.  The 18 member NKUAS team competed in the top division of the 16th Japanese solar car race held at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka City, Mie prefecture Aug. 4-5 and lost to the Japanese team, by eight rounds in endurance trials.
(more…)

Country committed to reductions in output of greenhouse gases
Simon Burns in Taipei, vnunet.com,  14 Aug 2007
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2196566/
pollution-boost-japan-solar

Solar cell makers are expected to increase sales in Japan as the government struggles to reduce atmospheric pollution.  Despite efforts to clean up industry and transport in the home of the Kyoto Protocol, environmental officials predicted last week that the country will exceed its original target for greenhouse gas emissions by more than 170 million tonnes by 2010.  This would mean the country missing its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol by 20 to 34 million tonnes, the government admitted.
(more…)

by Shigeru Sato and Megumi Yamanaka, Bloomberg News
Tokyo, August 15, 2007
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/15/business/sxsolar.php

Showa Shell Sekiyu, the Japanese unit of Royal Dutch Shell, will build a plant to make solar-powered cells in Japan, quadrupling its capacity.  The company plans to construct its second factory in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki, at a cost of ¥15 billion, or $128 million, to produce solar-powered cells that can collectively generate 60 megawatts of electricity annually, Showa Shell, which is based in Tokyo, said Wednesday. The new plant would be adjacent to the company’s existing 20 megawatt cell plant.
(more…)

Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES, 31 August 2007
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20070830PD222.html

The persistent shortage of polysilicon may reach an equilibrium in the first half of 2008 at the earliest, as both new comers and existing players all plan for expansion in 2008, said E-ton Solar Tech company general manager Chin-Yao Tsai.  M.Setek from Japan and DC Chemical from Korea, the two new comers in polysilicon production who are both acknowledged by industry players for their relatively strong competitiveness in the industry, both plan for new supply in 2008, Tsai said. M.Setek plans to have an annual output of 5,200 tons of polysilicon in 2008 while DC Chemical plans for 3,000 tons in annual output. More polysilicon supply is also going to be available from some China-based makers, he noted.
(more…)

* Booming demand for solar energy systems spurs photovoltaic production
* Innovative thin-film technologies on the advance
* Productronica exhibitors display technologies for the complete photovoltaic production chain from silicon to ready-to-operate solar modules in the “MicroNanoWorld” exhibition area

Source:
http://www.presseagentur.com/mmi/detail.php?pr_id=1450&lang=en

Electricity costs are increasing, and consumers are looking for alternatives. In 2005 alone, solar energy systems with an overall output of 912 megawatts (MW) were installed in roofs and in open areas in Germany compared to only 597 MW in the previous year (Source: PHOTON International). This makes Germans the world champions in matters of “green electricity”, because systems for a total of 290 MW were installed in Japan and for 100 MW in the USA in the same period, for example.
(more…)

Xinyu City, China and Sunnyvale, CA, Aug. 20, 2007
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQM08320082007-1.htm

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. , a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, announced that the company hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on August 18, 2007 to celebrate the commencement of construction on its polysilicon production plant. This event was hosted by Mr. Xiaofeng Peng, Founder, Chairman and CEO. Attending the ceremony as the key honorable guest was Mr. Xinxiong Wu, Governor of Jiangxi Province with many other honorable guests from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the U.S., Europe, India and other parts of the world to celebrate this event.
(more…)