Solar Cells Info

Source: Connecticut Clean Energy Fund  /Press Release
January 16, 2007
http://www.irecusa.org/articles/static/1/1168970284_1018302029.html

Rocky Hill, CT, January 16, 2007— The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), Staples and SunEdison dedicated the largest solar power installation in New England at Staples’ 300,000-square-foot retail distribution center in Killingly, Conn. The solar power installation, built at no capital cost to Staples, was made possible through the collaborative effort of CCEF, which provided a $1.7 million grant for the project, and SunEdison, which financed the remaining costs of the project and designed and installed the system. Connecticut State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) spoke at the event, as well as representatives from CCEF, Staples and SunEdison.
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Binding letter of intent signed for acquisition of Discover Power Inc.

Montreal, Canada, January 17, 2007
Source: ICP Solar /Press release
http://www.icpsolar.com/4105/news_details.asp?news_id=18

ICP Solar Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: ICPR), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of solar cells and products, announced today that it has executed a binding letter of intent pursuant to which ICP Solar has indicated its intention to purchase all the issued and outstanding shares of solar pioneer Discover Power Inc., located in San Diego, California.

“Discover Power’s team features over 18 years of experience in selling complete solar solutions for off-grid and grid-tie systems. Their location in Southern California is ideal given the Million Solar Roofs initiative being put into place by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Having installed the first ever solar roof shingle system in southern California and with a nationwide installer network, the Discover Power brand and organization will be a great addition in line with our growth plans” said ICP Solar CEO and Chairman Sass Peress.  “This revenue-generating acquisition compliments our strategy for rooftop solutions and creates immediate opportunities for ICP Solar’s retailer sales network to add significant off-grid and grid-tie solutionn offerings.”
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Thermo photovoltaic, TPV Cells Produce Electricity from Heat
16 Jan 2007
Source: Spire press release
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=950469

BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 16, 2007–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.

16 January 2007
source: Prime Solar PRESS RELEASE
http://www.primesolar.com.au/

Prime Solar Pty Ltd will set up a polysilicon manufacturing facility at Bitterfeld in Germany to produce 7,000 Metric Tons of polysilicon per annum based on the conventional Siemens Technology.  Revealing the details of the project Dr Dilawar Singh, Managing Director and CEO said that “the polysilicon project will be completed in two Stages of 3,500 Metric Tons each and the first Stage will commence production in the second half of 2008. It will be a captive project producing polysilicon feedstock for Prime Solar’s wafers manufacturing facility of 765 MW per annum capacity to be set up at Thalheim, Germany.” The wafers
commonly known as silicon chips are the base components for the fabrication of solar cells and the wafers produced by Prime Solar will be used in the manufacture of silicon solar cells by a number of reputable solar cells manufacturers.
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Prenzlau/Oldenburg, Germany /15 Jan 2007
Source: AleoSolar press release
http://www.aleo-solar.de/index.php?page_id=18&language=de&mod_pressenews_id=84

Aleo Solar AG has reported firm solar module orders in Germany for 2007 of EUR 35 million. Corresponding agreements were signed with a number of companies at the end of December and take effect in 2007. Jakobus Smit, the second Management Board member of aleo solar AG, is cautiously optimistic, “At a strategic level, we are driving forward the internationalization of our business at full speed. We finished construction of our facility in Spain at the end of last year as planned, and it has now started production. Our bread-and-butter business in Germany is going well. Our total production capacity of 100 MW (Prenzlau 90 MW, Barcelona 10 MW) gives us precisely the capacity we need to service the continued market upturn.”  The current debate about the reliability of energy supplies underlines the need for renewable energies, and East Germany is turning into a “Solar Valley”.

Aleo solar AG, which is headquartered in Prenzlau, Brandenburg, has approximately 280 employees and holds a 19% stake in the thin-film facility in Brandenburg on the Havel that is currently being constructed by Johanna Solar Technology. This is scheduled to start production of its first silicon-free thin-film modules this year, with the number of employees set to rise from the current figure of 60 to 180 during the first stage of expansion alone.

Garbsen/Suhl, 15 January 2007
Source. LPKF Press release
http://www.lpkf.com/lpkf-group/press-center/press-releases-2007.htm

LPKF Laser & Electronics AG in Garbsen/Germany now sells laser systems for the structuring of thin film solar cells to enter the strongly growing photovoltaic market. First orders are already being processed. The systems are being developed in close co-operation with a subsidiary in Suhl/Germany LPKF Motion & Control. The system bears the trademark LPKFSolar.
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Source: azobuild.com  /5th January 2007
http://www.azobuild.com/news.asp?newsID=2940
http://www.placesforpeople.co.uk/resources/pressoffice/news.aspx?id=1238&r=0&t=0

Going green and installing energy efficient renewable technologies – like solar panels – should no longer be the preserve of the middle class, or for politicians to point score, the UK’s largest housing and regeneration group said today. “Places for People”, which is responsible for around 60,000 properties across the UK, warned the government that the looming threat posed by climate change could only be tackled if greater financial incentives were made available to housing groups and people on low incomes.

The call comes as the company announces a unique tie-in with leading solar panel manufacturer Viridian Solar, placing an order for up to 250 low-cost solar panels to be installed in affordable homes across the UK next year. It is thought to be the single biggest commitment to installing solar panels by a UK housing group. The installation of the first 50 solar panels will take place in Summer 2007 at McCutcheon Court – a flagship regeneration scheme in Walker Riverside, Newcastle.
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Esther Lam, DigiTimes.com, Taipei / 15 January 2007
source. DigiTimes Taiwan
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20070115VL208.html

Already billed as the as the top solar cell maker, Sharp plans to further expand both its silicon and solar cell capacity and aims to house a total capacity of 710 megawatts (MW) power annually, according to the company. Sharp announced on January 12 that it is opening a new site for its solar systems group in Toyama City, Toyama prefecture in Japan. The company plans to invest five billion yen with an approximate annual silicon capacity of a thousand tons of silicon. Production at the site is slated to start in January 2007.
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Paul Kilduff, Special to The San Francisco Chronicle  /January 6, 2007
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/06/HOGVMNCB361.DTL&hw=solarcity&sn=001&sc=1000

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to leave less of a carbon footprint on this overheated old orb of ours, no doubt you’ve considered going solar. That is, until you took a gander at the considerable costs of putting a rack of electricity-generating photovoltaic cells on your roof. After rebates for an average 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot home, it’ll cost you about $15,000. It’s enough to make you consider trading in your SUV for a used Prius instead.

But harnessing the sun’s power for your own electrical needs doesn’t have to be a solo project. As a group of homeowners in Portola Valley working with a new solar power company has demonstrated, economies of scale (i.e., getting a discount by buying in bulk) can apply to solar power installation as well. Working with SolarCity, 68 homeowners in Portola Valley signed up last month to convert their houses to solar power at a 25 to 30 percent discount over the cost of going it alone.
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Foster City, CA – January 8, 2007
Source: SolarCity Announcement
http://www.solarcity.com/spacex.aspx

SolarCity, a provider of comprehensive solar solutions, has completed phase one of a commercial solar power system for Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). The move marks the company’s entry into the Southern California commercial solar market.  SolarCity installed an initial 29 kW roof-mounted solar array at SpaceX’s El Segundo facility in only four-and-a-half days, and expects it will quadruple the system’s size in subsequent stages. The SpaceX solar system uses unique patented hardware, which mounts quickly and requires no roof penetration.
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