Solar Cells Info

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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Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Unveils Energy Independence Strategy to Save Consumers $10 Billion Over 10 Years, Reduce Reliance on Foreign Fuels

Source: Press release Posted :01 Feb 2007
Author : Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,54090.shtml

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Citing the urgent need to cut energy costs, move toward energy independence and stimulate the economy, Governor Rendell today released his Energy Independence Strategy. The plan will push Pennsylvania into the top tier of states taking steps to cut consumer energy costs, and significantly expand the alternative fuel, clean energy and conservation sectors. “This plan will cut Pennsylvanians’ energy bills by $10 billion over the next 10 years,” said Governor Rendell. “It will give us the ability to produce enough homegrown fuel to replace every gallon Pennsylvania currently imports from the Persian Gulf.

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source: U Hartford Informer /Feb 1, 2007
http://media.www.hartfordinformer.com/

As many students may have noticed, the University has recently installed solar panels that track the sun near Lincoln Theater. What many students may not have known is that there have already been solar panels on the roof of Lincoln Theater since May of last year. So far, these solar panels are estimated to produce about 10 percent of the buildings consumed power. In real figures, it would be between 17,000 and 18,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. While 10 percent may not seem that much, an average person living in Connecticut pays 16 cents per kilowatt-hour. When the math is done, the amount of money spent equals roughly out to about $2800. Another promising feature is that the electricity production is 10 percent higher than predicted. These estimates have yet to include the newly installed tracking solar panels which are 2.8 kilowatts in power.
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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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LORRAINE PRICE /01 February 2007
Source: EADT 24 /suffolk & Essex online
http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=news&itemid=IPED31%20Jan%202007%2017%3A43%3A04%3A713

RATHER cold, often draughty and with a touch of damp in the atmosphere is the typical image of the conditions in our historic churches. But a tiny Suffolk parish is rallying against that view by harnessing the power of the sun using 10 state-of-the-art solar panels to warm its congregation and light up its services. Renewable energy is still relatively rare in everyday life but yesterday St Mary’s at Lidgate, near Newmarket, embraced the modern idea thanks to churchwarden and keen environmentalist Michael McEvoy. After 18 months of planning, the church became the oldest in Britain to have solar panels installed, and the first church in Suffolk.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan, January 29, 2007
Source: Delta Electronics Press release
http://www.delta.com.tw/press/press_detail.asp?sid=1&id=214

At a ceremony held today at the Sheraton Taipei, Delta Electronics’ Chairman Bruce Cheng endowed his alma mater, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), with NT$100 million to construct the Y.S. Sun Green Building Research Center. Commemorating Y.S. Sun, one of Taiwan’s most admired statesmen, the new center will promote research into green architecture. NCKU President Chiang Kao also announced at the ceremony that NT$40 million will be allocated to equip the building for research into solar power, energy and environmental monitoring, and green building research.
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