Solar Cells Info

by Martin LaMonica, Jan 5, 2009
Source: CNet News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10131614-54.html

Toshiba, a company best known for making laptops and consumer electronics, on Monday said that it will enter the solar-photovoltaics business.  But don’t expect to see Toshiba-branded solar panels on a home rooftop any time soon. The company’s industrial and energy arm plans to build utility-scale solar power plants.  Toshiba’s photovoltaics business will be part of the conglomerate’s Transmission Distribution & Industrial Systems business, which makes equipment for natural-gas power plants. (more…)

The juwi group commissions the next section of the 40-MW project in Brandis near Leipzig.
Brandis/Bolanden, Germany, February 22nd, 2008.
Source: Juwi Group press release
http://international.juwi.de/information/press/
008PRGridConnectionpartIIofBrandis2008_02.pdf

The juwi group based in Bolanden in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate (southwest Germany) set yet another milestone in the development of the world’s biggest photovoltaic power station. Today another section of the Waldpolenz energy park was commissioned. Now
with more than 12.7 megawatts (MW) of production capacity connected to the electricity network, it is the biggest solar power station in Germany. Located in Brandis, east of Leipzig, the juwi group is building a 40-MW solar park based on the most sophisticated thin-film technology. The park is due for completion by the end of 2009. By now some 17,500 steel posts have been put into place and nearly 5,000 aluminum sub-structures constructed which support more than 215,000 solar modules facing south.

Upon completion the solar power station located in the Muldentalkreis
district in the eastern German state of Saxony will generate approximately 40 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, displacing about 25,000 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. “At a time when the whole world is discussing climate change we are demonstrating the capabilities of renewable energies,” says Matthias Willenbacher, co-head of the juwi group. “Solar electricity is not only good for the environment, it also builds independence from expensive energy imports and creates new jobs. Freestanding installations are an affordable segment of photovoltaics and contribute greatly to that success,” states Willenbacher.

As general contractor juwi is in charge of the planning, logistics and construction site management. The project is creating impetus for the regional and national labor market. During the construction phase up to 100 people, primarily from the region, are involved in the assembly of the Waldpolenz solar power park. Juwi employees are responsible for the operational management, service and maintenance of the park. Solar projects such as this one also create many jobs nationwide in related supplier sectors, such as the solar module, inverter and metal construction industries. Most of the 550,000 First Solar modules for this project, for instance, are being produced in Frankfurt (Oder) in eastern Germany. The inverters and sub-structures are also made in Germany.

Investment in the Waldpolenz solar park amounts to some !130 million. SachsenFonds GmbH has been offering owner’s equity of the project in the form of closed-end funds since late summer 2007. So inhabitants of the region also have the opportunity to participate in this unique project with investments starting at just  5,000. The juwi’s group philosophy is to produce solar electricity at competitive prices as quickly as possible. “With the Waldpolenz station we are demonstrating that there are no longer any limits to photovoltaics,” comments Willenbacher. The solar industry anticipates that in just 8 – 10 years solar electricity will have achieved grid parity, meaning that it will be equal in price or even cheaper than the regular
rates private consumers pay in their electricity bills. A key partner in this endeavor is world-leading thin-film technology company First Solar, which like juwi is actively pursuing speedy market penetration of solar electricity.

The innovativeness of this project is once again underscored by its selection as a designated site in 2008 in Germany’s “Land of Ideas” image campaign. “Germany – Land of Ideas” is an initiative co-sponsored by the German government and commerce and industry, represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). German President Horst Köhler is the patron of the initiative. Its mission is to convey positive arguments associated with Germany both at home and abroad and also to highlight the country’s strengths as a business location. The core message of all the campaign’s activities emphasizes “Germany’s leadership through inventiveness”. As part of the campaign juwi will host another open house at the Waldpolenz energy park on June 22nd, 2008. In all likelihood Germany’s Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development, Wolfgang Tiefensee, will take part in the event.

The world’s largest solar power station at a glance:
Peak power:  ca. 40,000 kilowatts
Module area:  ca. 400,000 m²
c. 550,000 First Solar  thin-film modules
Annual production:  ca. 40 million kWh
(enough to serve more than 10,000 homes)
CO2 savings:  ca. 25,000 t/year
Investment sum: ca. EUR 130 million

The Top Ten solar power stations in the  world:
– Jumilla, Murcia,  Spain; 20 MW
– Beneixama, Andalusia,  Spain; 20 MW
– Nellis, Nevada,  USA; 14 MW
– Salamanca,  Spain; 13.8 MW
– Brandis, Saxony,  Germany; 12.7 MW*
– Lobosillo, Murcia,  Spain; 12.7 MW
– Arnstein, Bavaria,  Germany; 12 MW
– Serpa, Alentejo,  Portugal; 11 MW
– Pocking, Bavaria,  Germany; 10 MW
– Milagro,  Spain; 9.5 MW
Source:  www.pvresources.com
(*: under construction)

Bolanden (Germany), March 12th, 2008.
Source: Juwi Solar GmbH press release
http://international.juwi.de/information/press/
08-03-PMjuwiSolargoesInternational20080312.pdf

This month juwi solar GmbH based in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany is taking great steps toward expanding its international activities.
Whereas the solar business of the juwi group have been predominantly in Germany so far, an increasing number of projects in southern Europe are now poised to be launched. For instance, building work is due to soon begin at a large-scale, free-standing power station near Lecce in the region of Apulia in southern Italy.

Another free-standing project (1.7 megawatts) will go up near Vittoria, a town in the province of Ragusa, in the island region of Sicily. “Altogether we intend to install more than 20 megawatts in Italy this year,” says Bolzano branch manager Erwin Mayr. Due to the abundance of projects juwi solar GmbH will open two more branches in Verona and Bari.

The juwi group’s solar experts are also increasing their involvement in Spain. Construction of the Cortijo El Cura solar park in the municipality of Antequera in Andalusia has begun. This two-megawatt free-standing project in the Spanish province of Málaga was developed jointly with the Ansasol S.L. company and is due to go on line in summer 2008. Juwi solar has also founded a branch in Valencia to facilitate its presence on the Spanish market.

Juwi solar GmbH aims to install photovoltaic stations amounting to more than 2,000 megawatts of power production capacity by 2012 in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, the Czech Republic, the United States, Rwanda, South Korea and many other countries. Project development is underway and to support these sizable plans juwi is expanding its network of branches abroad. Juwi korea Co., Ltd. was recently founded in Seoul; juwi solar Hellas
is currently taking shape in Greece; and juwi S.A.R.L. has its center of solar activities for southern France in Aix-en-Provence.

“We are systematically conveying our quality and competence abroad. This entails many interesting vacancies to be filled at our headquarters in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and also at our foreign offices around the world,” says Lars Falck, managing director of juwi solar GmbH.

Background information
…on the renewable energies market
In recent years the proportion of cleanly produced power in the electricity supply has grown constantly. In Germany wind, hydro, solar and bio sources now generate nearly 15% of the national supply. The German federal government’s sustainability strategy aims at a 50% share of renewables in the middle of the century. In Germany the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) is the core instrument for implementing this strategy. It has become an essential building block for securing and creating jobs. The German renewable energies sector employs about 250,000 people.

…on solar energy
2007 was a record-breaking year for the German photovoltaic sector. According to the German Solar Industry Association (BSW), the number of solar power installations, predominantly on German rooftops, increased by around 130,000, bringing the total to 430,000 installations. Some 1,100 megawattspeak (MWp) of solar electricity capacity newly joined the grid last year in Germany, more than ever before in a single year. Benefiting from that are domestic manufacturers, suppliers and skilled workers. Sales figures of German photovoltaic makers increased last year by 23%, amounting to around EUR 5.5 billion. According to the BSW the total number of employed
in the sector is now 40,000.

The organization also says that there are now solar electricity installations totaling 3,800 megawatts of capacity installed in Germany. The three billion kilowatt-hours of electricity they produce is enough to power all the homes in Hamburg, the second biggest city in Germany. In 2005 and 2006 respectively, 850 MWp were newly installed; in 2007 some 1,100 megawatts of photovoltaic production capacity was installed, making Germany the world’s leading solar market.

…on the juwi group
The juwi group ranks among Germany’s leading renewable energy companies. In addition to photovoltaics and biomass, wind energy is its strongest mainstay. With about 250 staff juwi is involved in the entire value creation chain. By the end of 2007, PV stations installed by the company
numbered more than 650; their total capacity amounting to some 80,000 kilowatts – an investment value of approximately EUR 400 million. Some of last year’s showcase projects include several megawatt-scale rooftop installations and in South Tyrol one of the most powerful PV installations in Italy. In Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, juwi was commissioned by Stadtwerke Mainz AG (city of Mainz public utility company) to build a 250-kW plant, the largest PV installation in Africa.

At the end of April 2007 construction work began on the world’s largest PV installation in the Waldpolenz energy park. Located in Brandis, east of Leipzig, this 40-MW solar park is being built at a former military airbase. It is due for completion by the end of 2009. At the end of 2007 more than 13 MW were already in place.

Baoding, China – January 5, 2009
Source. Yingli Solar, press release
http://ir.yinglisolar.com/e/print_content.php?itemid=00098

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) (“Yingli Green Energy” or the “Company”), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (“PV”) product manufacturers, today announced that it has entered into a sales contract with GOLDBECK Solar GmbH (“GOLDBECK Solar”), a leading German PV system specialist company for PV applications on industrial buildings. Under the terms of the contract, Yingli Green Energy is expected to supply a minimum of 15 MW of PV modules to GOLDBECK Solar in 2009. In addition, the contract provides a framework for GOLDBECK Solar to purchase up to an additional 58 MW of PV modules from Yingli Green Energy in 2009. (more…)

Baoding, China – December 19, 2008
Source: Yingli Solar, press release
http://ir.yinglisolar.com/e/print_content.php?itemid=00095

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (“Yingli Green Energy” or the “Company”), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (“PV”) product manufacturers, today announced that it has entered into sales agreements with two leading German PV system integrators, City Solar Kraftwerke AG (“City Solar”) and Wirsol Deutschland GmbH (“Wirsol”). (more…)

Factory Ships 8.5 Megawatts in the Fourth Quarter
Marlboro, MA, Jan 5, 2009
http://www.evergreensolar.com/

Evergreen Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of String Ribbon(TM) solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer technology, today announced that it shipped 8.5 MW of products from its Devens factory and an additional 3.7 MW from its Marlboro pilot manufacturing facility, during the fourth quarter of 2008, in line with its announced expectations in October. (more…)

Recent IEC certification opens European doors to Roseville, California-based SPI for first shipment of 200-watt panels to be used in Germany.
Roseville, CA, January 6, 2009
Source: Solar Power, Inc. press release
http://www.solarpowerinc.net/PressReleaseID=47

Solar Power, Inc. has completed its first sale to a prominent German solar integrator of its photovoltaic (“PV”) solar modules for use in the integrator’s Germany-based installation projects. An initial supply of SPI’s 200-watt panels was shipped to the integrator at the end of December 2008. The transaction follows IEC certification in early December 2008 of SPI’s family of solar modules by VDE laboratories located in Main, Germany. The IEC certification, similar to a UL listing in the United States, affirms the solar modules’ quality and performance characteristics for use in Europe for commercial and residential applications. (more…)

JA Solar commits to sell up to 60 megawatts of polycrystalline photovoltaic cells to Solar Power, Inc to meet growing demand for its modules and systems.
Roseville, CA, January 5, 2009
Source: Solar Power Inc, press release
http://www.solarpowerinc.net/PressReleaseID=45

Solar Power, Inc.  has entered into a one-year supply agreement with JA Solar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JA Solar”). JA Solar has committed to supply up to 60 megawatts of its 6” polycrystalline photovoltaic (“PV”) cells based on monthly requirements from SPI. Based in Hebei, China, JA Solar is one of the world’s top producers of high-performance solar cells. The cells will be used for the ongoing production of SPI’s solar modules and to meet growing demand for the company’s products in Europe, Asia, and for turnkey systems in the United States. Supply to SPI begins immediately. (more…)

by Richard Read, The Oregonian, January 07, 2009
Source: OregonLive.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/
solarcell_maker_halts_construc.html

SpectraWatt Inc., an Intel spinoff that planned to make solar cells in Hillsboro, may leave Oregon because it can’t find financing to build a plant.  Andrew Wilson, SpectraWatt’s chief executive, confirmed Wednesday that the company had suspended construction plans and was searching inside and outside the state for an existing building to retrofit for less money. (more…)

by Mark Osborne, 08 Jan2009
Source: PVTech.org
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/
suntech_celebrates_1gw_production_milestone_and_new_hq/

Suntech’s new HQ Suntech Power Holdings has celebrated realising its stated goal in 2008 of reaching its production target of 1GW in both solar cell and module capacity, claiming to be the first to achieve both milestones. Suntech also announced the opening of a new Headquarters in Wuxi, China, its centre for manufacturing, which employs what it claims is the largest building integrated solar façade, producing a grid-connected 1MW. (more…)