Solar Cells Info

First solar shop opens in city – 50 more such shops in the pipeline

Express News Service, December 21, 2006
Source: Express India
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=214150

WITH the opening of the first exclusive solar equipment showroom in the city by TATA BP Solar India Limited, Lucknowites can now have a clean, silent, non-polluting and reliable energy source. Around 50 such shops will be opening shortly in the state. The equipments are lightweight, user-friendly and easy to connect and the product range includes solar cells, solar street lights, solar home lighting system, solar lanterns, road studs, solar water-heating system and lots more.

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German Regulatory Authorities Approve EverQ Partnership Agreements
Source: Press release Evergreen Solar
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=123321&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=944431&highlight=

MARLBORO, Mass.; THALHEIM, SAXONY-ANHALT, Germany & HOVIK, Norway–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dec. 21, 2006

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), Q-Cells AG (FSE: QCE) and Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (OSEAX: REC.OL) (REC) today announced that regulatory authorities in Germany have approved previously announced partnership agreements that make the companies equal partners in EverQ, which manufactures solar modules in Thalheim, Germany. Effective December 19, 2006, all three partners will share equally in the net income generated by EverQ.

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Instant insight: Nanohighway to solar cells

19 December 2006
Source: Chemical Technology of Royal Society of Chemistry, UK http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2007/01/hiroshi_imahori.asp

Hiroshi Imahori of Kyoto University, Japan, discusses electrophoresis as a means to make molecular highways for organic solar cells.

The shortage of fossil fuels and the degradation of the global environment has focused research attention on solar cells, which can convert sustainable solar energy into electricity. However, the cost of electricity from inorganic solar cells (silicon-based photovoltaics) is presently much higher than that generated by hydroelectric power and nuclear or fossil fuels. Therefore, it is necessary to develop low-cost solar cells with high power conversion efficiencies Eta). Organic solar cells would be promising candidates if they fulfil their potential, especially as they bear unique advantages over inorganic solar cells as they are flexible, lightweight and colorful.

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New compact concentrating solar panels “Heliotubes” are cheaper than conventional solar panels
Source:  New Scientist, 9/12/2006, issue 2581 p.32
Duncan Graham-Rowe

A solar panel designed to cut the cost of harnessing the sun’s energy will go on the market next year. Its trick is to focus sunlight that strikes the entire panel onto far smaller slabs of the pricey material that turns light into electrical energy.

Called Heliotubes, the panels are designed to improve on today’s solar concentrators, which use sun-tracking dishes to collect sunlight. These dishes need space in which to move, so they occupy twice the area of flat panels that gather the same amount of light. This rules them out for sites like rooftops where space is limited. They also need an external power source to keep them pointed at the sun.
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Dow Diamond Solar powers at work: When the sun warms Dow Diamond and makes fans long for hot dogs and the words “play ball,” the light from the sky will power the stadium’s scoreboard.

By Cheryl Wade, 9 December 2006
source:
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17570557&
Dow Corning Corp. and Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. have teamed up to donate 168 solar panels, located outside the right field fence and adjacent to the outfield parking lot, which are designed to generate enough energy to operate the stadium’s scoreboard. Representatives from both companies showed off the panels — mounted 30 inches above the ground to be above the snow line — to local media on Friday, which was cold but sunny. Hemlock Semiconductor makes the polycrystalline silicon that is the main component of the panels, and Dow Corning makes protective coatings for the panels.
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Solar EnerTech Announces Beta Release of Power Conditioning Software and Applauds US Federal Solar Energy Tax Credit Extension to 2008

December 18, 2006

Source: press release/Solar EnerTech Corp.
http://www.solarenertech.com/News/release.asp?numb=216

Solar EnerTech Corp. (OTCBB: SOEN) (the Company) wishes to advise that while participating at a renewable energy symposium in Beijing, Management warmly welcomed the recently passed legislation enacted by the US 109th Congress last week which is expected to significantly benefit the Company’s upcoming sales and marketing efforts. The act extends the 30% solar energy investment tax credit for homeowners and businesses for one additional year, through to the end of 2008.
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source: XsunX press release

http://www.xsunx.com/news.aspx?news=28

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Dec. 19, 2006 —— XsunX, Inc. (XSNX), developer of advanced manufacturing systems and cell structures for solar energy, submitted its annual report on December 14, 2006 to the Securities Exchange Commission for its fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2006.

CEO Tom Djokovich offered these comments in respect to the report: “Two thousand six was a year of tremendous transition for XsunX. We added cash to drive growth, tangible assets in the form of our first production prototype, key staff members to kick-start business development and manage growth, and technical marketing facilities to allow our clients an opportunity to see first hand what we offer. In 2007, we are focused on leveraging the investments we’ve made to drive growth and service the need for clean renewable sources of energy,” concluded Djokovich.

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Freiberg wafer production to double capacity to 500 MW
Dec 21, 2006
Source: Solarworld AG /ad hoc annoucement
http://www.solarworld.de/sw-eng/presse-adhoc/index.php

SolarWorld AG will consistently continue its group-wide course of expansion after the integration of the crystalline solar activities of the Shell Group. Against the background of the strong international expansion of the group business the solar technology group will now further expand its capacity for the production of modern and highly efficient solar silicon wafers at the Freiberg location from the current 250 Megawatt (MW) within the next 28 months to 500 MW. 50 per cent of this volume has already been sold until 2018 by way of long-term supply contracts with the international solar cell industry. The other half will go into the group’s internal value creation process. The solar silicon needed for the production of the 500 MW of solar wafers is secured by way of long-term delivery agreements with leading international silicon producers, the establishment of its own silicon factories and its Freiberg recycling facility.

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New Delhi , Dec. 20, 2006

Source: The Hindu Businessline
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/21/stories/2006122105070400.htm

Cypress Semiconductors Technology India Pvt Ltd said that it planned to set up a solar `fab centre’ in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of up to $50 million. Cypress has been talking with the Andhra Pradesh Government on the same. The manufacturing facility would be to produce solar cells and wafers.

The California-based chip design company has design centres at Bangalore and Hyderabad. “While we would be increasing our design engineers in Bangalore from 300 to 600 in the coming years, we would also double our headcount at our Hyderabad centre from 20 to 40,” said Mr Pidugu L. Narayana, Director, Design Centre, Hyderabad.

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Order to expand sales of UNI-SOLAR(R) products in Germany

Source: Press release /Uni-Solar
http://www.uni-solar.com/newsdetail.asp?id=188

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 20 — United Solar Ovonic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) , announced today that it has received a $15 million order from BIOHAUS PV Handels GmbH (BIOHAUS) for the delivery of UNI-SOLAR(R) photovoltaic (PV) products in 2007.  BIOHAUS, a well-known PV distributor and system integrator located in Paderborn, Germany, has successfully commissioned many installations using PV laminates manufactured by United Solar Ovonic. As one of the photovoltaic pioneers, BIOHAUS not only distributes standard systems, but it also uses its knowledge and longstanding expertise to enter into the manufacturing and development of solar modules. Under the brand name BIOSOL, BIOHAUS markets its own solar power systems and since 2001 has been the market leader in the in-roof sector.
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