Solar Cells Info

by Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam
Source: DIGITIMES, 7 July 2008
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20080707PD210.html

During a recent photovoltaic (PV) show in Germany, Auria Solar and Green Energy Technology secured thin-film solar module orders that exceed their available capacity, according to industry sources. Auria Solar, a joint venture between E-ton Solar Tech and Lite-On Group, secured a batch of orders for 60 peak megawatt (MWp) during the show. There were even more orders but Auria decided not to take all after reviewing its capacity and volume production schedule, the sources said. (more…)

Press Trust of India, New Delhi, 26 Jun, 2008
Source: Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Energy/
Tata_BP_Solar_invests_Rs_400_cr_to_make_solar_cells_modules/articleshow/3169219.cms

Tata BP Solar, a joint venture firm between Tata Power and BP solar, on Thursday said it has invested Rs 400 crore ($100 million) in the current fiscal to manufacture solar cells and modules.   “We have invested Rs 400 crore to manufacture 180 MW of solar cells and 125 MW of solar modules in the current financial year (2008-09),” Chief Executive Officer K Subramanya told reporters here. (more…)

Press release from Sunways AG, Constance, Germany, 12 July 2008
Source: Sunways AG press release
http://www.sunways.de/en/press/pm_overview.php?we_objectID=2085

Extended product range: the new Sunways Solar Inverter NT 8000
With an output power of eight kilowatts and an input voltage ranging from 350 to 850 volts, the Solar Inverter NT 8000 was designed especially for crystalline modules with five-inch cells by manufacturer Sunways. The device may be used flexibly: it may be installed individually in photovoltaic systems with a capacity of eight kilowatts and more as well as – thanks to the three MPP trackers – in combination with solar generators of various dimensions. (more…)

Hiroaki Kitahara (technical writer), Jun 24, 2008
Source: Tech-On
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080624/153787/

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc, Sakai City and Sharp Corp announced that they will jointly promote the Mega Solar Power Generation Plan with the aim of constructing 10MW-class solar power generation facilities on the waterfront in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. (more…)

National’s SolarMagic Technology Enables Today’s Solar Technology to Extract Significantly More Energy in Variable Light Conditions; Customer Field Trials Begin
June 30, 2008
Source: National Semiconductor Corp. press release
http://www.national.com/news/item/0,1735,1344,00.html

Building on its leadership in power management and energy-efficient products, National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:NSM) today announced that it has entered the photovoltaic market with new technology designed to increase the overall energy output of solar electric power generating systems. National’s SolarMagic™ technology extracts the maximum power efficiency of each photovoltaic panel, even when some panels in the array are compromised by shading, debris or inherent panel-to-panel mismatch.
(more…)

By Kim Yoo-chul, Staff Reporter
TAEAN, South Chungcheong Province, Korea, 6 July 2008

LG Solar Energy, an affiliate of LG Group, has completed the nation’s biggest solar energy plant here in the western coastal region and started producing electricity.  The facility, which is the result of some 110 billion won investment by teaming up with the local government on some 300,000 square meters of land, will have a 14-megawatt total output capacity, which is enough to meet the power needs of 8,000 households around the region, a company spokesman said. (more…)

San Francisco, CA and Wuxi, China, June 24, 2008
Source: Suntech Power Holdings Inc, press release /PRNewswire
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-24-2008/0004837584

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, and WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH (“WACKER SCHOTT”), a joint venture of Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT Solar GmbH, today announced they have signed a long term silicon wafer supply agreement. Under the terms of the supply agreement, WACKER SCHOTT will supply Suntech specified annual volumes of silicon wafers with a total volume of approximately 220MW over the course of the contract. (more…)

Osaka, June 23, 2008
Source: Japan’s Corporate News Network
http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=18763

Sakai City, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (Kansai Electric), and Sharp Corporation today agreed to cooperate on the Sakai City Waterfront Mega Solar Power Generation Plan in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.  Under the plan, mega solar power generation is scheduled for the following two locations:
(1) Sakai No. 7-3 District Solar Power Generation Plant (tentative name), Output: Approx. 10 MW (10,000 kW)
(2) Sakai Manufacturing Complex Solar Power Generation Facilities (tentative name), Output: Approx. 9 MW (9,000 kW) to start, with maximum of 18 MW (18,000 kW). (more…)

Source: Deutsche Welle-World.de / 22 June 2008
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3430319,00.html

A solar power plant described by its operators as the biggest in the world began generating electricity at the site of a former East German air base on Sunday, June 22, 2008. The Waldpolenz Solar Park is built on a surface area equivalent to 200 soccer fields, the solar park will be capable of feeding 40 megawatts into the power grid when fully operational in 2009.  In the start-up phase, the 130-million-euro ($201 million) plant it will have a capacity of 24 megawatts, according to the Juwi group, which operates the installation. (more…)

By Richard Weiss and Nicholas Comfort, June 19, 2008
Source: Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aIgyBySzJ3CE&refer=latin_america

Q-Cells AG, Germany’s largest solar company, is relying on new plants in Mexico and Malaysia to cut costs and boost output amid soaring demand for renewable energy, Chief Financial Officer Hartmut Schuening said.  The company, based in Thalheim, Germany, expects the facilities to speed up delivery times for products such as thin- film modules to Asian and North American clients, Schuening told Bloomberg Television at an award ceremony in Frankfurt last night. The resulting cost cuts should improve profitability in established and new markets alike, he said. (more…)