Solar Cells Info

Glen Allen, Virginia / August 6, 2007
Source: Nanomarkets.net
http://www.nanomarkets.net/news/pr_detail.cfm?PRID=215

The world thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market is forecast to reach $7.2 billion by 2015, compared to just over $1.0 billion today, according to a new report that is being released this week by NanoMarkets LC, an industry analyst firm based here. Additional details are available on the firm’s website at www.nanomarkets.net. Accredited press may request an Executive
Summary of the report. (more…)

Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, July 9, 2007
Source: First Solar Inc. press release
http://www.firstsolar.com/story?id=219

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) announced that the Company’s new solar module manufacturing plant in Frankfurt
(Oder) is to be formally inaugurated by Germany’s environment minister Sigmar Gabriel and Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar.  “As the world’s largest solar power market, Germany is the ideal location for our production facility. The First Solar location in Frankfurt (Oder) is testament to the successful environmental and economic policies in Germany. The favorable investment climate was made possible by the consistent promotion of environmentally friendly energies through the renewable energy act (EEG),” explained Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar.
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Phoenix, July 9, 2007
685 Megawatts of Additional Long Term Module Supply Agreements Totaling $1.28 Billion;
120 Megawatt Annual Nameplate Production Capacity Expansion
Source: First Solar Inc. /press release
http://investor.firstsolar.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=252638

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) announced today that it has entered into five agreements for the manufacture and sale of solar modules totaling 685 Megawatts. These new agreements are expected to allow for sales of approximately $1.28 billion at an assumed exchange rate of $1.30/EUR1.00, over the period of 2007 to 2012. Included in the new agreements are long term agreements with EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN), a renewable energy producer specializing in wind, hydro, biomass, and solar power plants; and Sechilienne-Sidec, a renewable energy producer specializing in thermal, wind, and solar power plants. As part of the new contract volumes announced today, First Solar and the Juwi Group have also agreed to increase volumes under an existing long term supply agreement. These customers are targeting development of solar projects with First Solar modules in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal. Also included in the new agreements is a long term agreement with RIO Energie GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of the Stadtwerke Mainz AG utility company and the Juwi Group with a focus on the development of solar power plants in the utility service region of the Stadtwerke Mainz AG and its subsidiaries through 2012. These new long term agreements are structured on terms similar to First Solar’s existing long term supply contracts.
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Changzhou, China, July 10, 2007
Source: United Press International
http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/07/10/trina_solar_announces_european_contracts/2513/

China’s Trina Solar Ltd. announced four new photovoltaic supply contracts in Europe with an estimated aggregate output of up to 99 megawatts.  Trina Solar is an integrated manufacturer of solar power products based in China. The new accounts in Europe are for the next two to three years with initial shipments already made on each of the contracts.
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By PAUL BURKHARDT, Associated Press Writer
FREIBURG, Germany/ July 19, 2007
Source:
http://www.onelocalnews.com/chandlernews-dispatch/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=134900

Rolf Disch has harnessed the sun in his city of Freiburg, starting with his own house.  Hanna Lehmann, Disch‘s wife, says she doesn‘t mind these features but admits she‘d like to have a freezer, except that it would eat up too much electricity for her husband‘s liking.  Disch and his city are pioneers in energy-saving, and a growing number of eco-tourists flock here to admire his house, known as the Heliotrope, from the Greek words for “sun” and “turn.” Across the city, solar panels are on everything from the soccer stadium to entire neighborhoods with homes that produce more energy than they use.
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Madrid, Spain  August 3, 2007
Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49537

Phoenix Solar S.L., the Spanish subsidiary of German Phoenix Solar AG, has secured contracts worth around EUR 20 million. The contracts cover the construction and turn-key completion of photovoltaic (PV) plants with a peak power of 4 megawatts (MW) in two locations in Spain.  The Spanish feed-in law offers attractive framework conditions, particularly for large-scale PV plants. The feed-in tariffs for plants of a size of 100 kW up to 10 MW are currently 41.75 ct/kWh and will be paid for 25 years. After this period, the feed-in tariff will be 80 % of what it was before.
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Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters News Agency,
Bonn, Germany, July 31, 2007
Source: GlobeandMail.com
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070731.IBSOLAR31/TPStory/Business

It rains year round in Germany. Clouds cover the skies for about two-thirds of all daylight hours. Yet the country has managed to become the world’s leading solar power generator. Even though millions of Germans flee their damp, dark homeland for holidays in the Mediterranean sun, 55 per cent of the world’s photovoltaic (PV) power is generated on solar panels set up between the Baltic Sea and the Black Forest. (more…)

Round Rock, Texas, July 31, 2007
Source: UPI
http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/07/31/miss_ny_schools_win_solar_car_race/8341/

Teams from Mississippi and New York have won in the Texas-to-New York Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge. The Solar Car challenge required students’ solar cars to use only the sun for power.  The Newton County Solar Team from Decatur, Miss.; the Houston Solar Car Team from Houston, Miss.; and the Newburgh Free Academy team from Newburgh, N.Y., won their respective divisions. The nine-day, 2,020-mile race began July 16 at Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, and finished in Newburgh, N.Y. Nine teams from six states took part in the race.
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Charlotte, N.C., July 31, 2007
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/88759.html

North Carolina-based SPX Corp. signed a $40 million contract to supply solar equipment to Norway’s NorSun AS. SPX’s Kayex business will design and manufacture crystal-growing equipment for NorSun’s production mono crystalline ingots and wafers. Shipment of equipment is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2007.
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By James W. Crawley, Jul 27, 2007
Source: scnow.com
http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-07-27-0022.html

Calling all inventors: Build a better power source for soldiers and the Pentagon will beat a path to your door. And, pay you a cool $1 million.  To lighten the heavy load of batteries carried by troops to power radios, night-vision goggles, satellite navigation units, laptops and other electronics, the military is offering prizes for building the best wearable power pack. Oh, and it has to supply the juice for four days and weigh less than 9 pounds.
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