June 13, 2007. Tokyo, Japan
Source: Compoundsemiconductor.com
http://www.compoundsemi.com/documents/articles/cldoc/8467.htm
Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., Honda’s wholly-owned solar cell subsidiary, has begun sales of thin film solar cells produced by Honda Engineering Co., Ltd., primarily in the Kanto area, Japan, through distributors which also provide solar cell installation service.
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Mitsubishi Electric develops practical use Multi-crystalline Silicon Solar Cell with world’s highest conversion efficiency of 18%
Tokyo, May 31, 2007
Source: Mitsubishi Electric /press release
http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/bu/solar/products/pdf/PVe_0531.pdf
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (President and CEO: Setsuhiro Shimomura)
announced today its achievement of a world record (As of May 31, 2007) photoelectric conversion efficiency rate of 18.0% in a 150mm square practical use multi-crystalline silicon solar cell (Results from evaluation by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science And Technology (AIST), a public verification agency), an improvement of 1.2% over our previous models. We plan to present our technology at the Fukuoka 17th International
Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference in December 2007.
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June 8, 2007
Source: Techshout.com
http://www.techshout.com/mobile-phones/2007/08/
Solar-powered Mobile Phone Hi-Tech Wealth, a well known telecommunication products supplier in China has developed a mobile phone that utilizes solar energy to recharge itself. The company also claims that it is the world’s first to use solar power to recharge a phone battery. According to the company, a scale-like solar panel on the top side of the clamshell-designed phone can also be recharged by light from other sources including candles.
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New sun traps start saving Earth before they’re plugged in
J. Mark Lytle, 13 Jun 2007
Source: Tech.co.uk
http://www.tech.co.uk/?articleid=1687026509
This week we just can’t get away from solar power. The latest intriguing Far-Eastern technology to cross our path is a new method for manufacturing domestic solar panels that are easy on the environment even before they’re plugged in. Honda Soltec ‘s newest take on panels – built by its more famous parent company for it to sell – are next-generation CIGS cells. (Copper, indium, gallium and selenium are their major ingredients.) They go on sale this week for ¥60,000 (£250) each.
The new class of materials enabling the world’s best solar cell has a bright future.
By Peter Fairley, June 15, 2007
Source: MIT Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18910/
A solar cell more than twice as efficient as typical rooftop solar panels has been developed by Spectrolab, a Boeing subsidiary based in Sylmar, CA. It makes use of a highly customizable and virtually unexplored class of materials that could lead to further jumps in efficiency over the next decade, making solar power less expensive than grid electricity in much of the country.
The cell, which employs new “metamorphic” materials, is designed for photovoltaic systems that use lenses and mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays onto small, high-efficiency solar cells, thereby requiring far less semiconductor material than conventional solar panels.
Source: Xinhua/People’s Daily Online / 7 June 2007
http://english.people.com.cn/200706/07/eng20070607_381987.html
A Chinese company says it has developed a mobile phone that uses solar energy to recharge itself and can provide 40 minutes of talk-time after sitting in the sun for an hour. Hi-Tech Wealth, a well-known telecommunication products supplier in China, claims its mobile phone is the world’s first to use solar power to recharge its battery. The company says a scale-like solar panel on the top side of the clamshell-designed phone can also be recharged by light from other sources including candles. (more…)
by Alison Luke on Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Source: ArabinaBusiness.com
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13428&Itemid=1
A solar waterproof membrane from Spanish-based Intemper Espanola has been awarded a product innovation prize at the Construmat 2007 Awards. The firm’s Evalon Solar waterproof membrane with photovoltaic modules was singled out for recognition in the insulation and floor and wall coverings products category. The product is a polymeric waterproofing membrane that includes flexible and light photovoltaic modules for roof-integrated photovoltaic installations. It has previously won the Batimat Gold Award for Innovation.
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New Launch expands “eco friendly” partnership
Montreal, Canada, May 29, 2007
Source: ICP Solar Technologies Inc. press release
http://www.icpsolar.com/4105/news_details.asp?news_id=26
ICP Solar Technologies Inc. today announced that it has launched its 2007 Coleman® Solar Charger programme at Wal-Mart’s (NYSE:WMT) Sam’s Club division for Samsclub.com The new range of latest generation thin-film solar panels has recently begun to hit the warehouse club’s website at samsclub.com. This Coleman line of portable solar chargers is designed for outdoor enthusiasts to provide backup or primary power for vehicles such as automobiles, boats, RVs and also for remote living applications The Coleman panels are up to 50% more efficient than competitively branded thin-film amorphous solar chargers on similar “mass merchant” retail shelves in the USA.
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Cologne, Germany & Yokohama, Japan, May 25, 2007
Source. PR Newswire
http://sev.prnewswire.com/environmental-services/20070525/3419691en-1.html
Around 70 percent of all solar module manufacturers have their products tested for durability and energy efficiency at the TUV Rheinland Group’s Cologne laboratory. As world market leader in this dynamic growth sector, the global service provider for quality and safety will invest just under 3.5 million euros in the further development and expansion of new laboratory capacities in Asia by the end of 2008. Professor Dr.-Ing. Bruno O. Braun, President and CEO of the TUV Rheinland Group, announced these plans at the opening of the newly expanded Global Technology Assessment Center (GTAC) in Yokohama, Japan. (more…)
Andrew Johnson, The Arizona Republic /May. 27, 2007
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0527biz-solar0528.html
Thin-film photovoltaic copper indium gallium diselenide is not a phrase that rolls off the tongue. It could find its way into the daily lexicon, though, if a Tucson firm has its way. Global Solar Energy Inc. is using the technology to build solar panels that can power everything from an iPod to a soldier’s tactical gear.
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