Solar Cells Info

San Francisco, CA; April 1, 2008
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=302456

MMA Renewable Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC (“MuniMae,” OTC: MMAB.PK) today announced that it has signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for 14 new solar electric systems at Macy’s stores in California. MMA Renewable Ventures arranged equity investment for the first four systems through its Solar Fund III, a financing commitment with a subsidiary of Wells Fargo (“Wells Fargo,” NYSE: WFC), under which Wells Fargo intends to fund 10-15 megawatts of solar energy projects nationwide. (more…)

By Christopher Martin  /April 16, 2”8
Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a8gyGag0QSjU&refer=news

SunPower Corp., the second-biggest U.S. solar-cell maker, may report a record profit after rising oil and gas costs increased demand for alternative energy systems from Italy to California.  First-quarter net income probably rose to $12 million, or 14 cents a share, from $1.2 million, or 2 cents, a year earlier, according to the average of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales likely soared 71 percent to $245 million, the data show. (more…)

Littletown, CO, April 15, 2008
Source: BusinessWire /FoxBusiness.com
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/energy/article/ascent-solar-icopal-sas-sign-cooperation-agreement_563438_11.html

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI), a developer of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced today the entering into of a definitive cooperation agreement with Icopal SAS of France. The agreement focuses on the development of new building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing products intended to be distributed by Icopal into the European marketplace.  Initially, Ascent Solar intends to supply Icopal with product from its existing 1.5 MW production line for the development, testing and certification of the BIPV products. The parties also envision demonstration scale projects to validate performance and develop market demand for the BIPV roofing products.
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Bangalore, April 7, 2008
Source: Thaindian.com
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/indian-solar-firm-bags-us-award-for-clean-energy_10035500.html

Solar power systems provider Orb Energy has bagged $1 million award from the US State Department for developing and deploying clean energy technologies, the company said here late Monday. The city-based Orb manufactures a wide range of solar energy solutions for the Indian market, with a view to making solar energy affordable, accessible and hassle-free to residential and commercial customers as an alternative energy. (more…)

Source: Space Energy Corp./08 Apr 2008
http://www.earthtimes.org/

Space Energy Corporation (SEC), Japan, has signed a contract with Hitachi, Ltd., whereby Hitachi sells its bi-facial photovoltaic solar cell and module manufacturing facility to SEC, and provides related technology support to SEC. The agreement consists of the sale of Hitachi’s facilities and transfer of its technology know-how to SEC. With this technological support, SEC, one of major manufacturers of mono-crystal wafers in Japan, will diversify their business into the cell and module manufacturing. (more…)

to be held during July 30 – Aug 1, 2008 at Tokyo, Japan
Conf. website: http://www.pvjapan2008.org/
Co-organized by Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) and Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), PVJapan 2008 is a new, comprehensive solar power event in Japan dedicated to all fields of photovoltaic technology and all segments of the global solar industry. The exhibition, symposium and networking events will run from July 30 – August 31 2008 in Tokyo. (more…)

Apr 4, 2008 /Nikkei Electronics Asia
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080403/149978/

LDK Solar Co Ltd has signed a ten-year contract which is a blend of “take-or-pay” linked with market-based pricing to supply multicrystalline solar wafers to India-based  Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Ltd (MBPV), a subsidiary of Moser Baer India Ltd (MBI).  Under the terms of the agreement, LDK Solar will deliver 640MW of multicrystalline solar wafers to MBPV over a ten-year period commencing in mid-2008 through 2017. MBPV will make a suitable advance payment reflecting the contract value to LDK Solar. (more…)

Nikkei Electronics Asia /Apr 11, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080411/150342/

Emcore Corp announced that it has agreed to supply concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems to XinAo Group in China. The program will start with the delivery of a 50kW CPV system to be installed in Langfang, China. The system will be used for test and evaluation purposes. Once the expected reliability and performance metrics have been demonstrated, XinAo plans to install CPV systems to provide electric power for its coal gasification project, which is estimated to have a requirement of 60MW of power. XinAo believes that Emcore’s CPV technology will provide a cost-effective solution for its energy needs.  In addition, XinAo intends to build a manufacturing plant in China, jointly owned by Emcore, to manufacture CPV systems designed and certified by Emcore for the Chinese market. (more…)

by Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics /Mar 28, 2008
Source: TechOn
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080328/149683/

Osaka University and Osaka City Research Center announced the development of a new organic solid-state solar cell with a cell conversion efficiency of 5.3%. The announcement was made at the 55th Meeting of the Japan Society of Applied Physics, which is now taking place.  The researchers reportedly succeeded in developing the solar cell with the use of extremely pure C60 crystals. The conversion efficiency of this cell is the highest in Japan for an organic solid-state solar cell (or an organic thin-film solar cell) with a p-i-n structure. It is also the second highest in the world, after Northwestern University’s record (5.2-5.6%) announced in February 2008.
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By Leanne Mezrani / 3 April 2008
source: CRN Australia
http://www.crn.com.au/News/73195,green-it-prompts-sharp-to-ramp-up-solar-panel-production.aspx

Sharp has announced plans to more than double the volume of solar cells it produces in coming years. According to Sharp, the company is predicted to increase its solar cell production to 1.7 gigawatts by 2010, an increase of 990 megawatts. The hype around Green IT and increased investment by organisations in environmentally friendly technologies prompted Sharp to invest in its solar cell sector, claimed the vendor.
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