Solar Cells Info

By Heather Hansman, June 29,2007
Source: Freeskier magazine
http://www.freeskier.com/freeskier/news.php?news_id=1114

The unfortunate truth is that without winter there would be no skiing. Most major ski resorts are beginning to grasp that concept and, in turn, are working towards the sustainability of the ski industry. Aspen Skiing Company, owner of 4 resorts in the Aspen area, has always been at the forefront of the green movement. They run an Environmental Foundation, which is internally funded and operated, all of their snowcats run partially on biodiesel, and half of their electricity is generated by wind power.
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Cypress Provides Solar Panels to Power MIT’s Coral Rehabilitation Project at the Sagay Marine Reserve, Philippines

San Jose, CA, June 28, 2007
http://www.cypress.com/press release
The Cypress University Alliance and MIT Partner to Re-Grow Coral Damaged by Global Warming and Environmental Degradation

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY) today announced that it has donated six 90-watt solar panels supplied by its subsidiary, SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), to power MIT’s First-Step Coral reef rehabilitation project in the Sagay Marine Reserve in the Philippines. The solar panels are powering an innovative coral reef rehabilitation process called BioRock™ which is capable of increasing coral growth rates by up to five times and improving coral survival by over 20 times during bleaching (higher than normal water temperature) events.
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June 27, 2007
http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/06/pge-signs-solar.html

Greenvolts_carousol California utility PG&E today announced deals with San Francisco solar startups GreenVolts and Cleantech America to build photovoltaic solar power plants. The projects are relatively small-scale – 2 megawatts for GreenVolts and 5-megawatts for Cleantech America – but represent a move by a major utility to use solar power stations close to urban areas to supply green energy during peak demand. To date, utilities like Southern California Edison (EIX) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE) have tended to contract for massive megawatt solar thermal power plants to be constructed in the Mojave Desert far from the cities they will supply. That often means billion-dollar transmission lines must be built or upgraded.
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Reuters News / Houston, June 27, 2007

The Electric Power Research Institute said on Wednesday it will launch a project to study the feasibility of “concentrating” solar power to increase its efficiency at the request of a number of western U.S. electric utilities.

Unlike conventional flat-plate solar or photovoltaic panels, concentrating solar power uses reflectors to generate electricity more efficiently and in larger amounts, EPRI said in a release. The institute said the project will study the feasibility of building a solar power plant in the 50- to 500-megawatt range, much larger than traditional solar installations.
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Harrisburg, Pa., June 27, 2007
Source: United Press International -Energy briefing
http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/06/27/6313/

The Pennsylvania Legislature may soon increase its solar power mandate for utilities.  Lawmakers are working on legislative action that would mandate a 1,250 percent increase in the solar requirements provided by electric utilities over the next 15 years.  The proposed legislation is raising alarm bells for some in the energy sector. The estimated price tag for the additional requirement for power distribution companies could conservatively increase generation costs by $172 million and up to as much as $426 million, according to some industry analysts.
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Vancouver, B.C., June 26, 2007
Source: Xantrex Technology Inc. /press release
http://www.xantrex.com/web/did/1706/readnews.asp

Xantrex Technology Inc. (TSX:XTX) today announced the launch of the Xantrex XW System, the first fully-integrated, battery-based system, designed for residential and commercial solar and backup power applications. Engineered using a complete systems approach, Xantrex has designed the XW System to stand out from its competition, with a reliable, clean, compact design and integrated balance-of-systems components.
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San Francisco, June 27, 2007
Source: PG&EC press release
http://www.pge.com/news/news_releases/q2_2007/070627.html

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today it has entered into agreements with two developers of utility-scale photovoltaic solar power: Cleantech America LLC and GreenVolts, Inc. The agreements will deliver up to seven megawatts (MW) of utility-scale renewable solar energy for PG&E’s customers throughout Northern and Central California.
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by Andrew Leonard, June 29, 2007
Source: Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/06/28/german_solar/index.html

Call it a classic Silicon Valley globalization play. Signet Solar, a renewable energy startup headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., has already broken ground on a R&D facility in Dresden, Germany, and announced this month that it would it would build three manufacturing plants in India. By combining its own proprietary intellectual property with “thin solar” manufacturing equipment from Silicon Valley’s semiconductor tools giant, Applied Materials Inc., Signet hopes to grab market share by selling lower-cost photovoltaic panels for large industrial applications. (Thanks to The Indic View for the tip.)
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Alzenau, Deutschland, 22.06.2007
Source: Schott Solar press report
http://www.verivox.de/News/ArticleDetails.asp?aid=54681&pm=1

As of June, 2007, SCHOTT Solar has signed up with the experienced agency for marketing and communication Saatchi & Saatchi. The objective is to further improve the image of the brand and overall perception of the company based in Alzenau.   The marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi was founded in London in 1970 and ranks among the world’s most respected firms. In the past, Saatchi & Saatchi has already helped turn successful traditional companies into internationally leading brands. Now, Saatchi & Saatchi will be adding its expertise to SCHOTT Solar’s brand campaign.
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Alzenau, Germany, 21.06.2007
Source: SCHOTT Solar GmbH press release
http://www.schott.com/english/news/press.html?NID=2047

One of the world’s largest solar electricity installations has been located in Neustadt an der Weinstraße since January of 2004.  SCHOTT Solar GmbH is seeking to strengthen its position as one of the world’s technology and market leaders in the field of Photovoltaics. To achieve this, the company will be quadrupling its production capacities by 2010. SCHOTT Solar GmbH will be investing 100 million euros over the course of the next six months alone. For the most part, production of wafers, cells and modules will be expanded in both Germany and the Czech Republic. Research and development and sales activities are to be extended on a global basis.
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