Solar Cells Info

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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Submits proposal to Govt; investment at Rs 30,000 cr  – Kamal Narang
New Delhi, April 3, 2008
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/04/04/stories/2008040452360100.htm

Marking the largest-ever project under the new semiconductor policy, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has approached the Government with plans to set up a semiconductor wafer fabrication plant and solar PV module unit, at a total outlay of over Rs 30,000 crore.  With this, the Government has now received a cumulative investment commitment of almost Rs 63,000 crore from six companies, under the scheme to promote semiconductor fabs and other micro and nano technology units. (more…)

Dublin, Ireland, Mar 30, 2008
SOURCE: Research and Markets /BUSINESS WIRE
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c87079
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/energy/article/2008-deep-research-report-global-china-film-solar-cell-industry-available_539086_11.html

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c87079) has announced the addition of 2008 Deep Research Report on Global and China Thin Film Solar Cell Industry to their offering.  In 2004, as the German government subsidized the solar industry, the subsequent huge demand brought about high profits for global polysilicon manufacturers. And in 2007, the great success of US First Solar brought a new era for thin film solar cells. Low cost–1.3$/W; high efficiency–almost 11%, meanwhile, a large number of orders from EU and North America regions and abundant raw materials in large-scale production promoted First Solar to achieve revenue expectations with high profits, revenue and reliability. This also meant the world had entered into the golden age of thin film solar. (more…)

An ambitious cross-subsidy scheme has given rise to a new industry
Source: The Economist  /Apr 3rd 2008 7ERFURT AND WOLFEN
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10961890

Q-CELLS, based in Wolfen, just north of Leipzig, is the world’s biggest maker of the photovoltaic cells used in solar panels. It overtook Sharp of Japan last year and announced big jumps in sales (up 59%) and profits (up 69%) on March 27th. Germany, which is not known for being sunny, seems an unusual place to find this industry leader. But the country leads the world in its installed capacity of renewable energy sources (see chart), and is the third-biggest producer of solar panels, after China and Japan. (more…)

part 2 of a 2-part series look at the leading photovoltaic players
by David Appleyard
Source: Renewable Energy World
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reworld/story?id=52027

In this, the second of our two-part look at the world’s most influential PV players, the good news continues with a largely positive outlook among the world’s leading PV companies. David Appleyard reports. Although some supply chain issues have arisen in the solar photovoltaic sector with regard to raw materials such as silicon, the market continues to boom. Indeed, these supply constraints have been caused entirely by the fact that the market, and consequently demand, has accelerated at such a phenomenal pace that it has left the supply chain infrastructure lagging behind. However, this situation is expected to be rectified over the coming year as new silicon supply sources come on stream. This situation is inevitably reflected by the major players, some of which have struggled to expand as rapidly as the market would allow.
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