Solar Cells Info

By  Suhas Sreedhar /16 July 2007
Source. spectrum.ieee.org
http://spectrum.ieee.org/jul07/5370
Technique combines different photovoltaic materials to increase efficiency

Scientists in Korea and California have invented a new way of boosting the efficiency of cheap plastic solar cells, making them more competitive with traditional silicon solar cells. The key is to make the solar cells in pairs. The tandem cells, as they are called, consist of two layers of different types of light-absorbing, electron-emitting plastics, and the combination converts a broader spectrum of light into energy than either could do alone.
(more…)

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor.Electronic News, July 26, 2007
Source: EDN.com
http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6463348

Pfäffikon, Switzerland-based thin film production equipment supplier Oerlikon Solar reported today it has signed a contract with Taiwan-based CMC Magnetics Corp. (CMC) for the supply of a 40-MW peak (MWp) thin-film solar cell production plant.  Last week, news reports stated that CMC, Taiwan’s top compact disk maker, plans to set up a new firm to make solar cells and will likely list the unit in 2009, as it seeks to tap growing demand for alternative energy sources. The first components from the plant are to be shipped to CMC this year with production planned for mid-2008.
(more…)

Private equity drying up for thin film solar cell startups, says The Information Network
TIN – July 17, 2007
Source: Tekrati.com
http://www.tekrati.com/research/News.asp?id=9116

A severe shortage of polysilicon used for solar cell production led to a stampede of startups trying to enter the market using thin film technology, according to a market study by The Information Network examining opportunities in the solar cell market for thin film technology.  “We’ve literally had a hundred individuals purchasing our report to use as part of a business plan to enter the market,” said Dr. Robert Castellano, founder and president of The Information Network. “Nearly everyone asked about starting a 20MW production plant for $40 million in equipment, and the vast majority wanted to start a CIGS line.”

Private equity money is drying up, according to the report, for a number of reasons. The much ballyhooed startup Nanosolar is notable for grabbing $120 million to use CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide) technology. However, the company was started in 2002 and production is scheduled for late 2007 at a former Cisco manufacturing facility in San Jose, California. That translates to a development time of more than 5 years.
(more…)

Thin Film’s Time in the Sun : First Solar’s thin-film technology is now challenging silicon panels at large-scale solar-power facilities.
By Peter Fairley, July 27, 2007
Source: Technologyreview.com
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/19095/

The low manufacturing cost of photovoltaics that employ thin films of cadmium-telluride semiconductor have long been seen as having the potential for lifting solar power from its niche status as a very expensive power source, delivering less than a twentieth of 1 percent of U.S. electricity.  Now, after two decades in which cadmium-telluride technology was dogged by low power output and reliability problems, it’s suddenly elbowing its way into renewable-energy markets and competing with today’s dominant solar technology: silicon solar panels. The company behind this technology turnaround is Phoenix-based First Solar, which says that the technology could eventually be cost competitive with conventional fossil-fuel sources of electricity.
(more…)

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…)

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.
(more…)

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…)

17th International Photovoltaic Science and Engg. Conference
Dec 3-7, 2007
Venue: Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka, Japan

Conf. website: http://www.pvsec17.jp/

Major areas covered:

1. Novel Materials and Devices
2. III-V Materials and Devices for Concentrator and Space PV Systems
3. Crystalline Si solar Cells and Technologies
4. Amorphous & Nano/Microcrystalline Si based Solar Cells and
related materials
5. CIGS, II-VI and related Thin Films and Cells
6. PV Modules and system components
7. Terrestrial PV Systems
8. PV Programs, Industries, Market and Environment

The Solar Industry Conference 2007 (Solarpraxis)
Madrid, October 24-25, 2007

Conf. website: http://www.solarpraxis.de/index.php?id=1061

The Solar Industry Conference 2007,
Following the highly successful model of the Solarpraxis Forum – which has taken place annually in Berlin since 1998 – the Solar Industry Conference is now being established as a business meeting-point for Spain’s solar industry.  This Conference will offer players in the market the chance of a yearly exchange with representatives from the worlds of politics, finance, and the press. The talks, up-to-date, relevant and covering the full range of non-technical topics, will always be aimed at the practical application of the information. (more…)

Taiwan International Photovoltaic Forum & Exhibition 2007
October 11-12, 2007
Venue:  Taipei International Convention Center (1 Hsin-yi Rd., Sec. 5, Taipei, Taiwan)

Conf. website:   http://www.pvtaiwan.com/

Exhibit Profile :

* PV Materials & Solar Cell
* PV Module & Power Generator System
* Other Application Products, etc.

Exhibit Area :
*Materials & Solar Cells
* Module & PV Inverters
* System Applications & Processing Equipment
* Investment Consultation
* Industry Associations
* Media

press news release:  Taipei, Taiwan July 25, 2007
Blue Ocean sun to shine at October solar show :Grand opening of Photovoltaic Forum & Expo 2007

How could we miss it? The sun. Just above our leads glares down, reminding us of a way out of the energy crisis. And for the first time all the prospects, promise and technology of the Taiwan sun are brought together at the 2007 Taiwan Int’l Photovoltaic Forum & Exhibition, the first large comprehensive international professional show that combines a photovoltaic forum and exhibition.

These events which underscore new smart and clean tech approaches roll out Oct. 10th and 12th at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) are further complemented by the “2007 Taipei International Electronics Autumn Show” and the first “2007 Taiwan International RFID Applications Show” which come Oct. 9th and 13th at Exhibition Halls 1 & 3 in the adjacent World Trade Center and are co-organized by TAITRA and TEEMA (Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association)

The 2007 Taiwan Int’l Photovoltaic Forum & Exhibition is authorized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade and organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), unfolds across five sections, namely Materials & Batteries, Modules & Transformer Systems, System Applications & Production Equipment, Industry Associations, and the Media.

Altogether 62 domestic and international manufacturers have registered for the exhibition, which will use 98 booths. Among them is the world’s second largest manufacturer of silicon solar cells, the German-based Q-Cells. There’s also Abakus Energiesysteme GmbH Taiwan Branch, Dupont Taiwan Limited, and leading domestic solar-energy-related enterprises like E-Ton Solar Tech, Mosel Vitelic Inc., Gintech Energy Corporation, Green Energy Technology Inc., and Darfon Electronics Corp.

Those attending the Photovoltaic Forum will be briefed on the latest trends in the global photovoltaic industry, silicon solar cells, photovoltaic silicon, and thin film solar cells. The variety and plurality of discussions at this forum will surely attract the attention of the international photovoltaic industry and host packed participation from both manufacturers and buyers.

The coming Forum builds upon the success of the first Taipei Int’l Photovoltaic Forum last July 2006 that assisted industries in exploring business opportunities across both domestic and international markets, and facilitated technological exchanges and promoted R&D in the solar-energy photovoltaic field.