|
Online market place Spothunter: Procuration of solar components for large-scale installations
|
|
|
|
|
Spothunter procures solar components
for large-scale installations.
|
|
|
|
Solar modules have become world-wide a desired merchandise. The secure supply of large-scale solar installations developed due the high demand to a genuine challenge. By the lining
up of reduced feeding remuneration in Spain and Germany there will be a continuous boom in 2008 for the market segment of solar power plants. With "EPower Plants" the online market
place Spothunter, specialized in professional procurement of goods, offers solar components for large-scale installations of 500 kWp into the megawatt range. "We are helpful
in the procurement of components for solar large-scale installations. A network of international contacts is constant on the search for suitable contingents and production capacities",
says Daniel Köpf, General Manager at Spothunter. By world-wide contacts to manufacturers, importers and wholesale dealers attractive positions can be constantly offered, Köpf
emphasizes.
"With our knowledge of 15 years trading experience in the field of photovoltaics we accompany with treaty negotiations and help with questions to achievement, quality and completion.
Also well-known market participants could be brought in such a way in the past already successfully to each other." adds Köpf. Interested will get in contact with Spothunter by the
website for Power Plants at www.spothunter.com. Also concernung the search for smaller quantities Spothunter will help. By a call for tender buyers let sellers make the best offer for
an item they are looking for. The seller with the cheapest bid receives the award automatically by the end of the auction duration.
Spothunter is a world-wide market place for house automation and environmental technology on the internet. At the closed market place, only manufacturers, retailers, vendors and system
providers meet with installers from the electronics, heating, plumbing, solar, wind, hydro power, biogas, geothermic energy, hydrogen technology, transport and energy saving
industry.
2007-11-30 Courtesy: spotHunter Online-Marktplatz GmbH Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Spothunter.com
|
|
|
Research in the PV sector: broad approach requested
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPIA-Roundtable on PV research.
|
|
|
|
The final EPIA Round-table in a cycle of 6 debates, running since May 2007, focused on research and development in the photovoltaic (PV) sector and its impact on market development.
A few days after the publication of the SET Plan, EPIA took this opportunity to provide its comments on the new Commission communication, but also to highlight the potential impact of
the PV Strategic Research Agenda and medium term research priorities. The Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), published in June by the European Photovoltaic Technology Platform,
provides short to long term research priorities in order to support the PV sector in achieving competitiveness. It is the result of a common work undertaken by all the stakeholders of
the PV sector. With well coordinated research activities at national and European levels the industry could deliver products able to compete with retail electricity prices by 2015 in
Southern Europe and by 2020 for most of Europe. This would make a significant contribution to reaching the EU’s 2020 targets.
Private sector increasing investments in research – Budget of EU's research plan FP7 to be doubled
The private sector is currently increasing its investments in research, in the near future its contribution is expected to even surpass public funding, EPIA reports in a press release.
This share will increase further as the sector grows. The EU's research plan FP6 (2002-2006) budget for PV research reached approximately 108 million euro, representing around 20 % of
total public budgets for PV R&D in Europe. In order to implement the SRA and to provide a strategic response to the rapid growth of private sector investments, these figures should
be increased by a factor of 2 for the same period of time in the FP7. In view of the share of the EU budget in the total of PV R&D, it is clear that substantial and coordinated
efforts will also have to come from Member States.
"Solar Europe Initiative" (SEI) proposed
The Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) presented on 22nd of November considers PV as one of the key technologies to contribute to the 2020 targets. In particular, it proposes
the "Solar Europe Initiative" (SEI) towards large-scale demonstration for photovoltaics and concentrated solar power in order to realise a significant breakthrough able to raise
PV’s contribution in Europe’s energy mix. "EPIA and the EU PV Technology Platform note with satisfaction that solar has been included within the SET-Plan but would like to
stress that it is essential that the EC includes both large-scale power plants and small-scale distributed systems, in particular in the built environment, should be considered", EPIA
emphasizes in the press release. Moreover, the SEI should address both market development and technology development, since these are the pillars under the impressive progress in PV so
far and are key components for future success.. Finally it is essential that the EC closely involve involves EPIA and the EU PV Technology Platform in the design of the proposed
initiative in order to be inline with the sector’s needs and experts’ views and thus to have maximum chances of success.
EPIA and the EU PV Technology Platform therefore request a doubling of public budgets for PV research, and as a crucial part of that, a doubling of the PV budget in FP7 compared to FP6.
Further EPIA urges the EU for a parallel development of the key PV markets in large scale power plants and distributed systems, especially in the built environment. Additional EPIA
request a close involvement of EPIA and the Photovoltaic Technology Platform in the design of the "Solar Europe Initiative" proposed in the SET plan.
Download the presentations of the event on the following link: http://www.epia.org/index.php?id=153
2007-11-29 Courtesy: Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: EPIA
|
|
|
Google creates renewable energy R&D group and supports breakthrough technologies
|
|
|
|
|
eSolar Inc. blueprint of a solar thermal
power station by eSolar.
|
|
|
|
Google (Mountain View, Calif.) on November 27th, 2007 announced a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity
produced from coal. The newly created initiative, known as "RE<C", will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and
other potential breakthrough technologies. RE<C is hiring engineers and energy experts to lead its research and development work, which will begin with a significant effort on solar
thermal technology, and will also investigate enhanced geothermal systems and other areas. In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related
investments in renewable energy. As part of its capital planning process, the company also anticipates investing hundreds of millions of dollars in breakthrough renewable
energy projects which generate positive returns. "We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers", said
Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. "We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally
significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal", Page emphasizes.
Google's goal: one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal
"There has been tremendous work already on renewable energy. Technologies have been developed that can mature into industries capable of providing electricity cheaper than coal. Solar
thermal technology, for example, provides a very plausible path to providing renewable energy cheaper than coal. We are also very interested in further developing other technologies
that have potential to be cost-competitive and green. We are aware of several promising technologies, and believe there are many more out there", Page added.
With talented technologists, great partners and significant investments, Google hopes to rapidly push forward. The company's goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity
that is cheaper than coal. "We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades." One gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco, Page exemplifies. "If we meet this goal,"
said Page, "and large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, the world will have the option to meet a substantial portion of electricity needs from renewable sources and
significantly reduce carbon emissions. We expect this would be a good business for us as well. "Cheap renewable energy is not only critical for the environment but also vital for
economic development in many places where there is limited affordable energy of any kind," added Sergey Brin, Google Co-founder and President of Technology.
Strategic Investments and Grants
Working with RE<C, Google.org will make strategic investments and grants that demonstrate a path toward producing energy at an unsubsidized cost below that of coal-fired power
plants. Google will work with a variety of organizations in the renewable energy field, including companies, R&D laboratories, and universities. For example, Google.org is working
with two companies that have promising scalable energy technologies:
· Solar Inc., a Pasadena, CA-based company specializing in solar thermal power which replaces the fuel in a traditional power plant with heat produced from solar energy. eSolar's
technology has great potential to produce utility-scale power cheaper than coal.
· Makani Power Inc., an Alameda, CA-based company developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at harnessing the most powerful wind resources. High-altitude wind
energy has the potential to satisfy a significant portion of current global electricity needs.
Ongoing Commitments
Today's announcement represents just the latest steps in Google's commitment to a clean and green energy future. Google has been working hard on energy efficiency and making its
business environmentally sustainable. Last spring the company announced its intention to be carbon neutral for 2007, and is on track to meet that goal. To this end, the company has
taken concrete steps to reduce its carbon footprint and accelerate improvements in green technology, including:
· Developing cutting-edge energy efficiency technology to power and cool its data centers in the U.S. and around the world.
· Generating electricity for its Mountain View campus from a 1.6 Megawatt corporate solar panel installation, one of the largest in the U.S.
· Accelerating development and adoption of plug-in vehicles through the RechargeIT initiative, including a million request for investment proposals
· Joining with other industry leaders in 2007 to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium that advocates the design and use of more energy-efficient computers and
servers
· Working on policies that encourage renewable energy development and deployment, such as a U.S. Renewable Energy Standard, through Google.org.
For more information on Google's commitment to a clean energy future, see http://www.google.com/renewable-energy
2007-11-28 Courtesy: Google Inc. Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: eSolar Inc.
|
|
|
Clean Power from Deserts: Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan presents White Paper to European Parliament
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solar thermal parabolic trough power plant.
|
|
|
|
The Former President of The Club of Rome, His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, will present the White Paper "Clean Power from Deserts - The DESERTEC Concept for
Energy, Water and Climate Security" to members of the European Parliament and hand it over to its President, Hans-Gert Prof. Pöttering, in Brussels on November 28th. The paper describes
the vast potentials of deserts to supply secure, clean and cheap power to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA). The authors of the White Paper are proposing a solar
co-operation between the technology belt and the sun-belt, between Europe and the MENA region, to fight climate change "in a way that is economically, technically and politically
feasible". "We are in the middle of a defence situation against energy shortage, water scarcity and climate change! We need a defence and recovery strategy, defence and
recovery measures, and a defence and recovery budget!", says Dr. Gerhard Knies, coordinator of the international Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) network which
developed the DESERTEC Concept in collaboration with scientists at the German Aerospace Center.
Concentrating solar thermal power plants with heat storage and low-loss high voltage direct current transmission
To resolve these problems The Club of Rome presents an international action plan. It foresees seven immediate measures to be implemented within seven years. The Club of Rome demands a
budget 10 billion Euro for an Apollo-Program like effort to implement the DESERTEC Concept. Key technologies in the DESERTEC Concept are concentrating solar thermal power plants with
solar heat storage for day/night operation and low-loss high voltage direct current transmission lines to bring clean power to Europe from the deserts of MENA.
The presentation in the European Parliament is staged by a cross-party group of four Members of the European Parliament - Matthias Groote, Rebecca Harms, Vittorio Prodi and Anders
Wijkman - and by the Club of Rome initiative TREC. As of November 29th the White Paper and the Action Plan will be available as a PDF file at: http://www.DESERTEC.org
2007-11-28 Courtesy: TREC Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Solar Millennium AG.
|
|
|
EREC welcomes Strategic Energy Technology Plan but criticizes focus on electricity
The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) welcomes the Strategic Energy Technology Plan released on 22nd of November 2007 by the European Commission. "Research is vital for the
development of new, cheaper and more efficient technologies. The faster the costs of renewable energy are reduced, the better we can fight global warming and increase the security of
our energy supply. The industry is prepared for this challenge", says Oliver Schäfer, Policy Director of EREC. "We therefore welcome the respective European Wind, Solar, Bioenergy and
Smart Grids Initiatives aimed at mobilizing the critical mass of activities and actors in the renewable energy sector", Schäfer added. EREC is the umbrella organisation of the
major European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations active in the field of photovoltaics, small hydropower, solar thermal, bioenergy, ocean & marine,
geothermal, wind energy and biofuels. It represents an industry with an annual turnover of more than 30 billion € and more than 350.000 employees.
EREC: Heating and cooling sector left behind
However EREC very much regrets that the sole focus of these European industrial Initiatives is on electricity and, to a lesser extent, on transport. "The sector of heating and cooling
is not addressed accordingly while it represents approximately half of the EU’s final energy consumption" emphasizes Oliver Schäfer. "This represents a serious flaw if the
European Union wants to address the future of the EU energy supply", he continues.
An integrated strategy to accommodate decentralised generation is needed
"Storage issues and smart grids - mentioned in the SET Plan - are both components of a broader strategy that is needed to accommodate penetration of renewable electricity generation,
EREC reminds. "Grid integration should not be addressed in a fragmented way. What we need is a far reaching integrated strategy with better tools for forecasting output, with increased
use of balancing power and long distance electricity transport using, for example, high voltage direct current. This necessity has unfortunately not been enough reflected in the SET
Plan", says Oliver Schäfer.
2007-11-26 Courtesy: EREC Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
|
|
|
Worldwatch survey: China to pass solar and wind manufacturing world leaders in Europe, Japan and North America in 2010
Beijing-based researcher Eric Martinot, a Worldwatch senior fellow, and Li Junfeng, Vice Chair of China’s Renewable Energy Society in Beijing, examined China's progress in
becoming a global leader in renewable energy. With the breakneck expansion of China’s economy and its reliance on coal, the country grapples with the far-reaching environmental,
security, and social implications of its growth. A combination of ambitious targets supported by strong government policies and the manufacturing prowess of the Chinese may enable China
to "leapfrog" so-called industrialized nations in renewable technology in the years immediately ahead, so the conclusion of the Worldwatch Institute's report "Powering China's
Development: The Role of Renewable Energy".
China poised to pass solar and wind manufacturing world leaders in the next three years
More than billion was invested in renewable energy worldwide in 2006, and China is expected to invest over billion in new renewables capacity in 2007, second only to Germany.
Wind and solar energy are expanding particularly rapidly in China, with production of wind turbines and solar cells both doubling in 2006. China is poised to pass world solar and wind
manufacturing leaders in Europe, Japan, and North America in the next three years, and it already dominates the markets for solar hot water and small hydropower.
Renewable energy to provide over 30 percent by 2050
China will likely achieve - and may even exceed - its target to obtain 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020, Worldwatch emphasizes. If China's commitment to diversifying its
energy supply and becoming a global leader in renewables manufacturing persists, renewable energy could provide over 30 percent of the nation’s energy by 2050. With its booming
economy and rapidly expanding energy consumption, particularly its use of coal and oil, it is imperative for China to diversify its energy supplies. China's carbon dioxide emissions are
on the rise and are expected to exceed total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions shortly, although Chinese per-capita emissions remain about one-sixth those of the United States.
Further information and order of "Powering China's Development: The Role of Renewable Energy" http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5496
2007-11-26 Courtesy: Worldwatch Institute Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Worldwatch Institute
|
|
|
SOLON AG receives major order from Italy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solar tracking system "SOLON Mover".
|
|
|
|
SOLON AG, headquartered in Berlin and one of Europe's largest manufacturers of solar modules and photovoltaic systems, has been awarded a contract to construct several large-scale
solar photovoltaic power plants in Italy. The projects will be carried out by SOLON's Italian subsidiary, S.E. Project s.r.l. on behalf of Veronagest S.A., a company located in Verona,
Italy, whose projects focus on the development, implementation, and operation of power plants using renewable resources in Italy and other European countries. The agreement covers
turnkey construction of several solar power plants in the southern Italian region of Puglia: one 2.4 MW plant by the end of 2008 and five additional plants with nominal capacities of 10
MW each in 2008 and 2009.
In addition, the agreement due to SOLON contains an option to construct a 100 MW plant between 2009 and 2011. Both tracked systems as well as fixed-tilt photovoltaic systems will be
used in the projects. The Puglia region is one of the most attractive regions in Italy for building solar power plants due to its geographic location with around 1,400 hours of sunshine
annually and the local legislation supporting the installation of photovoltaic systems.
2007-11-23 Courtesy: SOLON AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: SOLON AG
|
|
|
Sarasin Survey: Solar power will be cheaper than conventional energy in 10 years’ time
|
|
|
|
|
Bank Sarasin forecasts undamped growth of
solar industry.
|
|
|
|
Solar energy’s CO2 abatement costs will sink to almost zero by 2018, making it cheaper than conventional forms of electricity or heat. As Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd calculates
in its latest annual update on the solar industry – the fifth report in the series – solar energy could save approximately three gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2030. At the
same time, photovoltaic (PV) cell production continues to boom, up 44 % on last year, when performance was already very strong. Bank Sarasin forecasts annual growth rates of 50 % for PV
for the rest of the decade. To provide investors with access to this attractive growth market, Bank Sarasin launches the new index "Sarasin European Solar Power ".
In its latest report "Solar Energy 2007 - The industry continues to boom", Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd, a leading Swiss private bank, examines the current market situation and outlook
for solar energy, focusing on three key applications: PV, solar thermal energy and solar thermal power stations. The author of the report, Dr Matthias Fawer, pays special attention to
the key themes of polysilicon supply, price and demand trends, the growth of thin-film technologies, and the globalisation of markets. This annual industry review demonstrates the
pioneering role played by Sarasin in the area of sustainable investment and the track record of its own research experts.
High CO2 abatement potential
Given the current debate on global warming, public attention is focusing on the CO2 reduction potential and abatement costs associated with individual solar energy technologies. This
year’s Sarasin report addresses this important theme for the first time and shows that solar energy could make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. "By 2030 we
predict that solar energy will be able to prevent 20 %, or three gigatons, of the extra 14 gigatons anticipated over that period", explains Dr Matthias Fawer, highlighting the enormous
potential. The bulk of the reductions (50 %) can be made from heat generated from solar collectors. CO2 abatement costs for all solar technologies are currently much higher than the
prices at which CO2 certificates are being traded (EUR 20 - EUR 40 per ton), but the cost-reduction potential is considerable for all three types of energy. Sarasin projects that by
2018, solar thermal power, followed by PV (2021 onwards), and solar thermal power stations (2025), will no longer incur any CO2 abatement costs.
Market now driven by demand rather than supply: vigorous expansion of production capacities
In 2006 global solar cell production has again increased from 1.74 gigawatts (GW) to more than 2.5 GW (+ 44 %). The PV industry is therefore evolving from a demand-driven to a
supply-driven market. Successful companies such as Q-Cells, Suntech Power, First Solar and SunPower will register high growth rates of their respective production capacities this year
compared with 2006. The share prices of solar energy companies have matched the growth in PV cell production with the PPVX Index, comprising 30 solar stocks, which has risen by 95 % in
the first three-quarters of 2007. The prospects for the global solar market have continued to improve now that various obstacles, such as the bottleneck in the silicon supply or the
lack of subsidy programmes, have been removed. For 2010 Bank Sarasin predicts newly installed global PV capacity to reach 8.25 GW on the back of annual growth rates of 50%.
Chinese PV producers experience teething problems
Over the last two years we have seen new Chinese companies enter the PV market. Some of them (Suntech, Yingli Green Energy and LDK Solar) were quick to complete IPOs, thereby raising
the capital they needed to invest in the latest equipment for capacity expansion. However, none of the Chinese companies finished in the top 10 of Bank Sarasin’s strategic ratings
of solar companies yet. The lack of know-how is evident in poor product quality. These companies are therefore not yet able to fully exploit the advantages of their location, and
securing a reliable supply of silicon is still a challenge for them. In terms of new PV installations, those countries achieving higher than average growth rates compared with last year
include the US, Spain, Italy, and Korea, while the pace of growth has eased in Germany and Japan.
China installs 74% of all solar collectors
In 2006 roughly 24 % more solar collectors were installed than in 2005, with a total thermal energy of 17 GW. Around three quarters of this capacity was installed in China.
Europe’s solar thermal power market has also developed well, growing by 45 % in 2006. The market leaders are currently Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain, and France. The
Swiss market grew 33%, and should finally be able to gather fresh momentum following this year’s parliamentary approval of a feed-in tariff that covers costs for all forms of
renewable energy. By 2010 Bank Sarasin predicts global annual growth to reach 25 %, driven mainly by China and developing countries.
Attractive investment
To provide investors with a convenient, diversified investment in solar companies, Bank Sarasin is launching the "Sarasin European Solar Power Index". Europe is world leader in solar
technology and the index therefore comprises the top eleven European solar companies, each with an equal weighting. The index covers all three application areas for solar energy, i.e.
photovoltaics, solar collectors and solar thermal power stations, and embraces the entire value chain for these technologies, from the solar-grade silicon through to the wafers, cells
and modules, and the operation of solar energy systems.
Strategic positioning of PV companies
Bank Sarasin studied the 26 biggest listed companies in the global PV industry using four central strategic criteria. A maximum of 10 points were awarded for each criterion. Using this
scoring method, the company that came out top was REC, with 32.5 from a maximum of 40 points, scoring especially well in the areas of critical mass, technical know-how and reliable
supply of raw material. Its original business of polysilicon production makes it particularly attractive at the moment, but its increasing downstream integration makes it ideally
positioned. Q-Cells is in second place with 30 points.
Sarasin’s long-term forecast for the global PV market
After relatively subdued growth in 2006, large quantities of solar-grade silicon came onto the market again in 2007 and the availability of all the intermediate products, up to the
finished modules, improved significantly. The supply bottleneck in the solar-grade silicon market will therefore ease both this year and next. Based on this scenario, Bank Sarasin
expects newly installed global PV capacity to increase to around 8.25 GWp by 2010.
Please find the full size chart of Sarasin’s long-term forecast for the global PV market
|
|
|
|
|
Applied SunFab: production line for
thin film modules
|
|
|
|
XinAo Group (Heibei; China) announced its entry into the solar electric energy market with its plan to establish China's leading photovoltaic (PV) module production line. As part of
this strategy, XinAo has signed a contract with Applied Materials, Inc. for an Applied "SunFab" Thin Film production line with state-of-the-art PV technology using 5.7 m2 glass
substrates. With an optional tandem junction upgrade, the line will be capable of producing modules to generate more than 50 MW of electricity, as the first phase of a planned 500 MW
capacity plant in China. XinAo celebrated the signing of this contract at an event on November 13, 2007, attended by Mr. Wang Yusuo, chairman of XinAo and Franz Janker,
executive vice president of Applied Materials.
Mr. Wang commented: "Photovoltaic module manufacturing is a very important part of our strategy to provide clean energy to China and other countries of the world. We are leveraging our
history of innovation and experience in energy production and utilization to develop this renewable alternative energy solution at competitive pricing. We have selected Applied
Materials as a key contributor to this project because of its leadership in ultra-large area processing and its successful 23 year history of providing systems and support to
China’s semiconductor manufacturers."
"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with XinAo on their first solar project and we value their trust in our ability to help make this new venture a success", said
Janker. "Since the Applied SunFab Thin Film Line uses 5.7m2 substrates that are four times bigger than today’s typical solar modules, XinAo can use efficiencies of scale to lower
both manufacturing and installation costs. These large substrates will accelerate the development of a cost-effective solution for clean renewable energy", Janker added.
2007-11-19 Courtesy: Applied Materials, Inc. Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Applied Materials
|
|
|
PG&E and Ausra Announce 177 Megawatt Solar Thermal Power Agreement
|
|
|
|
|
|
Solarfeld mit Kollektoren von Ausra.
|
|
|
|
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (SAN FRANCISCO, California) on November 5th 2007 announced that it has entered into a 177 megawatt solar thermal power purchasing agreement with
Ausra Inc. (Palo Alto, CA ). The 177 MW project, to be located in central California, is being developed by Ausra Inc., the company reports in press release. "Today's agreement between
PG&E and Ausra highlights how clean energy will create jobs in California while delivering a reliable source of renewable energy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I'm pleased to see California companies rising to the challenge of AB 32, California's historic initiative to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Clearly, California
continues to lead the nation in clean energy research, development and generation." The plant, to be located in San Luis Obispo County (Calif.) is expected to begin generating power in
2010. Ausra has filed its Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins. "Solar thermal
technology provides our customers with a reliable source of clean renewable energy that is ideally suited to meet peak energy loads," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy
procurement, PG&E. "By partnering with Ausra, we are taking another significant step in providing our customers with some of the cleanest energy in the nation."
177 megawatts of capacity will use only one square mile of land
Ausra projects that the power plant will create over 350 skilled jobs on-site during construction, and an additional 100 permanent jobs in the area. The plant will burn no fuel, use
minimal water, and have no air or water emissions. At 177 megawatts of capacity, the project will use only one square mile (640 acres) of land due to the exceptional area efficiency of
Ausra's collector technology. "This 177-megawatt plant is the first manifestation of Ausra and PG&E's shared vision of competitively priced, large-scale solar electric power," said
Glen Davis, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Ausra. "We're excited to be partnering with PG&E to deliver clean power at hours of peak demand."
1,000 MW of solar thermal power scheduled up to 2012
At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September, PG&E and Ausra announced separate commitments to build and purchase 1,000 MW of solar thermal power over the next five
years. The agreement filed today with the California Public Utilities Commission is the latest example of PG&E's commitment to solar thermal technology. PG&E currently has 553
MW of solar thermal power under contract and is seeking regulatory approval of these purchasing agreements. PG&E's solar thermal commitments are part of the company's broader
renewable energy portfolio. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program.
PG&E continues to aggressively add renewable electric power resources to its supply and is on target to exceed 20 percent under contract or delivered by 2010. On average, more than
50 percent of the energy PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating sources that emit no carbon dioxide, providing among the cleanest energy in the nation. California's
RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by one percent of load per year to achieve a 20 percent renewables goal by 2010.
The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California's Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.
2007-11-16 Courtesy: Ausra Inc. Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Ausra Inc.
|
|
|
Suntech Supplies Solar PV Modules to 3 MW Project in South Korea
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, on Nov. 9th 2007 announced the completion of the first stage of a 3MW solar energy system for
WEPCO (Korea Western Power Co., Ltd.). WEPCO is a subsidiary of KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation), South Korea's largest power company. The opening ceremony for the initial 2MW
installation of WEPCO’s new solar energy system was celebrated in Samryangjin, South Korea on November 6th, 2007. Power and Industrial Systems Performance Group of Hyosung
Corporation, a leading energy solution provider in South Korea, designed, managed and installed the solar energy system. Suntech will deliver a further 1MW of PV modules to be installed
in the second phase of the project in early 2008.
Strong demand for green energy
"As a subsidiary of South Korea’s largest power supplier, WEPCO has an exceptional capacity to influence the growth of the domestic PV industry and we are delighted to collaborate
with WEPCO on the development of this initial solar project", Suntech’s Chairman and CEO Dr. Zhengrong Shi stated. With strong demand for green energy, Suntech looks forward to
building it's relationship with Dr. Zhengrong Shi and supporting their efforts to broaden the application and use of solar energy in South Korea, Dr. Shi added. WEPCO commended the
performance of Suntech's PV modules and the accelerated delivery schedule to meet tight project deadlines. "We believe it is important to support the advent of clean and renewable
energy resources such as solar, and WEPCO will continue to develop PV projects in South Korea. In fact, we currently plan to develop up to 5MW of new solar projects next year", A WEPCO
spokesperson said.
feed-in-tariff for PV installations above 30kW of more than US${CONTENT}.70/kWh
South Korea offers among the strongest solar incentive programs worldwide with a feed-in-tariff of more than US${CONTENT}.70/kWh over a 15 year period for installations above 30kW. South Korea
has set impressive targets for PV installations with a goal of 1.3GW of installed capacity by 2011. This growth plan will rank South Korea among the world’s leading countries for
PV installations.
"South Korea’s progressive solar incentives set a very positive example for nations both in Asia and worldwide. Within a very short period, Suntech has rapidly established itself
as a leading supplier of PV modules in South Korea with sales this year growing over seven-fold from 2006. We believe that these solar incentives set a strong foundation for enormous
growth in Suntech’s sales within South Korea", added Dr. Shi.
2007-11-15 Courtesy: Suntech Power Holdings Co. Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
|
|
|
PV-Producer SOLON AG raises forecast for 2007 following strong third quarter
|
|
|
|
|
"SOLON-Mover": solar PV-tracking system
by SOLON AG.
|
|
|
|
On the back of positive results for the third quarter of 2007, Berlin-based SOLON AG für Solartechnik is once again raising its forecast for the year as a whole. The photovoltaic
company's management now expects to see a year-on-year increase of around 40 percent in both revenue and profit for the SOLON Group. The company's continuing strong growth can be seen
in the figures in the interim report for the period ending September 30th 2007, that was published on November 13th.Group revenue increased by 53 percent to EUR 333.9 million in the
first nine months of 2007 (2006: EUR 218 million). Its EBITDA rose by 64 percent to EUR 32.7 million (2006: EUR 19.9 million), while EBIT increased by 73 percent to EUR 26.8 million
(2006: EUR 15.5 million). Net profit attributable to the Group improved from EUR 9.5 million in the first nine months of 2006 to EUR 20.2 million for the comparable period in
2007, resulting in earnings per share of EUR 2.09 (2006: EUR 1.04). Excluding non-recurrent items, net profit attributable to the Group for the nine-month period was EUR 15.3 million,
with earnings per share of EUR 1.59.
New orders for projects in Spain with a combined volume of more than 100 megawatts
At the end of the third quarter of 2007, the SOLON Group employed 649 people, an increase of 20 percent on the previous year. The strength of the Spanish business contributed to the
positive results for the third quarter of 2007. Spain is currently the world's fastest growing market for solar technology and has seen a further acceleration in growth. There has been
particularly strong growth in demand for turnkey, multi-megawatt power station projects. This has enabled SOLON AG to register new orders for projects in Spain with a combined volume of
more than 100 megawatts in the past quarter alone. The management of SOLON AG anticipates further growth in demand during 2008, both in the Spanish and German markets, and is
forecasting a year-on-year increase of around 75 percent in both Group revenue and profit for the year 2008.
SOLON AG's full interim report for the period to September 30, 2007 can be downloaded from the company's website
2007-11-13 Courtesy: SOLON AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: SOLON AG
|
|
|
SunPower to build three solar power plants in Spain totaling 21-MW
|
|
|
|
|
|
SunPower-Solar-Tracker " T20".
|
|
|
|
SunPower Corp., a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, on November 08th 2007 announced that its Spanish subsidiary will
engineer, procure equipment for and construct three solar electric power plants totaling approximately 21-megawatts (MW) in the Castilla La Mancha region of Spain. Corporate affiliates
of The Naturener Group, a Spanish-based company, will own the three solar power plants located in Tinajeros (Albacete), Manzanares and Almuradiel (Ciudad Real), just southeast of
Madrid. They are expected to be financed by a Spanish bank syndicate. SunPower will utilize its proprietary SunPower Tracker solar tracking system at each of the three sites,
covering a total of approximately 90 hectares. The SunPower Tracker due to the company is an industry-leading solution for deploying large-scale solar electric systems and is today's
most reliable and proven solar tracking technology. Its unique design enables solar panels to automatically follow the sun throughout the day to maximize energy generation - delivering
up to 25 percent more power output than traditional fixed systems.
"We are pleased that the Spanish market continues its rapid adoption of solar power and that Naturener has chosen SunPower's innovative solar tracker technology as part of our turnkey
solar solution," said Marco Antonio Northland, general manager of SunPower's European operations. "The SunPower Tracker solar power system is a proven and reliable solution for
maximizing the highest energy delivery, while optimizing land use and reducing related costs." With the signing of the construction contracts, Naturener will consolidate its solar power
projects in Spain. "We anticipate that these three solar power plants will be in operation by the summer of 2008 and will add them to our existing renewable portfolio of hydro and wind
generation," said Rafael Sanchez-Castillo, CEO of Naturener Group.
SunPower now has an aggregate of approximately 140-megawatts in SunPower tracker technology under contract or previously sold in Spain, the company reports in a press release.
2007-11-13 Courtesy: SunPower Corporation Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: SunPower Corporation
|
|
|
PV module producer First Solar quadruples quarter revenues and decouples net income
Photovoltaic producer First Solar, Inc. (Phoenix, USA)) on November 7th 2007 announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 29th 2007. Quarterly revenues due
to the company were 9.0 million, up from .2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 and up from .8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2006. Net income for the third
quarter of fiscal 2007 was .0 million or ${CONTENT}.58 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared to .3 million or ${CONTENT}.06 per share on a fully diluted pro-forma basis for the third
quarter of fiscal 2006.
Ramp of German production facility completed ahead of schedule
"The third quarter of 2007 concludes another important milestone in our mission towards grid parity. We successfully completed the ramp of our German production facility well ahead of
schedule, which afforded us with highly leveraged growth during the quarter and provided our customers with additional production volumes in a continued robust demand environment," said
Mike Ahearn, chief executive officer and chairman of First Solar. First Solar, Inc. manufactures solar modules with an advanced thin film semiconductor process that significantly lowers
solar electricity costs. By enabling clean renewable electricity at affordable prices, First Solar provides an economic alternative to peak conventional electricity and the related
fossil fuel dependence, greenhouse gas emissions, and peak time grid constraints.
2007-11-13 Courtesy: First Solar, Inc. Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
|
|
|
Solar electricity: a part-solution in combating poverty and climate change in developing countries
|
|
|
|
|
|
solar electricity project in Senegal
|
|
|
|
The 5th EPIA Round-table in a cycle of 6 debates, running until December 2007, focused on the EU development policy and how photovoltaic energy can provide cost competitive, tailor
made and sustainable technological solutions for rural electrification. 1,6 billion people have no access to electricity in developing countries. With adapted tools within the EU
development policy, photovoltaic electricity could contribute rapidly to reduce this figure, EPIA emphasizes. Up-to-date, solar electricity has largely developed in Europe thanks to
active policies in favour of renewable energy. As a result, the PV sector is currently in the position to bring equipment, expertise and specialist knowledge to the developing world, in
order to increase the electrification rates. Access to energy has been identified as one of the priority areas of the European Development Policy in order to fight against
poverty in developing countries. The European Commission has recently put in place programmes in order to trigger investment in sustainable energy projects in developing areas, such as:
COOPENER, ACP-EU Energy Facility and the up-coming GEEREF (Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund).
photovoltaic technology is one of the best solutions for rural electrification
It is however still unclear, EPIA reminds, to what extent these programmes have succeeded, or will succeed, in financing the relatively small scale projects needed to increase rural
electrification rates "The photovoltaic technology has proven to be one of the best solutions to bring flexible and long term solutions for rural electrification in the poorest areas of
the planet. Therefore the EC must ensure that their initiatives address the real energy needs and the suitable technology to provide sustainable access to electricity. A main criterion
is to reinforce support to small and medium sized projects", said Ernesto Macias, Vice-president of EPIA and president of the Alliance for Rural Electrification.
global energy policy to include not only PV, but all renewables
For EPIA is also essential that the EU continues to address the political level in developing countries in order to promote adapted frameworks for renewable energy as well as to work
against climate change. Ernesto Macias concluded that "what we need is a global energy policy that includes not only PV, but all renewables". EPIA and the Alliance for Rural
electrification therefore urge the Commission to take the potential and the effectiveness of Photovoltaic solutions into account in the EU development policy; to Provide financing
instruments adapted to the scale of rural electrification projects; and to address the political level in developing countries to create favourable environments for renewable
energies.
As representatives, not only of the PV sector but of the whole renewable sector, also propose strengthening the dialogue between the European Institutions and the PV sector in order to
ensure that the potential of Photovoltaic is fully exploited in the fight against climate change and poverty in the developing countries.
The presentations and videos of the event are available for download at: http://www.epia.org/index.php?id=141
2007-11-12 Courtesy: European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: EPIA
|
|
|
IEA World Energy Outlook: The Next 10 Years are Critical
"The huge energy challenges facing China and India are global energy challenges and call for a global response. The World Energy Outlook 2007 charts a course to a more secure,
competitive, lower-carbon energy system - a course that must involve the world's two emerging giants", said Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on
November 7th 2007 in London at the launch of the latest edition of the Outlook. The annual flagship publication of the IEA this year focuses on energy developments in China and India
and their implications for the world. "WEO-2007 demonstrates more clearly than ever that, if governments don't change their policies, oil and gas imports, coal use and
greenhouse-gas emissions are set to grow inexorably through to 2030 - even faster, in fact, than in last year's Outlook. These trends would threaten energy security and accelerate
climate change. But the Outlook also shows how new policies can pave the way to an alternative energy future", Mr. Tanaka stressed.
The world's energy needs will be 50 % higher in 2030 than today
Energy developments in China and India are transforming the global energy system as a result of their sheer size and their growing importance in international energy markets. "Rapid
economic development will undoubtedly continue to drive up energy demand in China and India, and will contribute to a real improvement in the quality of life for more than two billion
people. This is a legitimate aspiration that needs to be accommodated and supported by the rest of the world", said Mr. Tanaka. "Indeed, most countries stand to benefit economically
from China's and India's economic development through international trade. But the consequences of unfettered growth in global energy demand are alarming for all countries. If
governments around the world stick with existing policies - the underlying premise of the WEO Reference Scenario - the world's energy needs would be well over 50 % higher in 2030 than
today. China and India together account for 45 % of the increase in global primary energy demand in this scenario. Both countries' energy use is set to more than double between 2005 and
2030.
Energy-related emissions of carbon-dioxide to rise by 57 % until 2030
Worldwide, fossil fuels - oil, gas and coal - continue to dominate the fuel mix. Among them, coal is set to grow most rapidly, driven largely by power-sector demand in China and India.
These trends lead to continued growth in global energy-related emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2), from 27 Giga tons (Gt) in 2005 to 42 Gt in 2030 - a rise of 57 %. China is expected to
overtake the United States to become the world's biggest emitter in 2007, while India becomes the third-biggest emitter by around 2015. China's per-capita emissions almost reach those
of OECD Europe by 2030.
A radical shift in investment in favour of cleaner, more efficient and more secure energy technologies needed
"The emergence of new major players in global energy markets means that all countries must take vigorous, immediate and collective action to curb runaway energy demand", said Mr.
Tanaka. "The next ten years will be crucial for all countries, including China and India, because of the rapid expansion of energy-supply infrastructure. We need to act now to bring
about a radical shift in investment in favour of cleaner, more efficient and more secure energy technologies."
IEA countries have long recognised the advantages of co-operation with China and India, reflected in a steady broadening of the range of collaborative activities through the IEA. "This
relationship symbolises the interdependence of the global energy community. One of my priorities as the new IEA Executive Director is to step up our co-operation with both countries. In
good time this could hopefully pave the way, with the support of all the governments concerned, to an ultimate objective of their future membership of the Agency."
Further information on WEO: http://www.iea.org/Textbase/nptoc/WEO2007TOC.pdf
2007-11-09 Courtesy: IEA Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: IEA
|
|
|
PV producer Sunfilm AG: New building reaches its top
|
|
|
|
|
|
New PV production site in Saxony.
|
|
|
|
Just five months after breaking ground for its new production facility, Sunfilm AG (Grossröhrsdorf; Saxony, Germany) on November 8th 2007celebrated its topping out ceremony
("Richtfest"). Keeping pace with its aggressive building schedule for this 25,000 square meter state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, the building will be ready to begin installation of
the production equipment by the middle of December, Sunfilm reports in a press release. Production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2008. When at full capacity is reached in
2009, the plant will be able to produce over 60 MWp of high efficiency tandem junction silicon thin film photovoltaic modules.
180 new qualified jobs in Saxony
Wolfgang Heinze, Sunfilm's COO, commented: "The fact that we have been able to keep our ambitious construction schedule can be contributed to the commitment of our Design companies,
General Contractors and their subcontractors. Also, thanks to the support from our local and state authorities with our Application and Permitting processes, we have not lost a single
day in this project."
Due to the company the Sunfilm plant will be the first of its kind, in which higher efficiency tandem junction thin film silicon modules will be produced in an ultra-large format of up
to 5.7 square meters. When in full production, the facility will create at least 180 new jobs for a wide variety of skills levels.
2007-11-08 Courtesy: Sunfilm AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Sunfilm AG
|
|
|
Oerlikon raises the bar by establishing solar segment
|
|
|
|
|
Oerlikon Solar CEO Jeannine
Sargent.
|
|
|
|
OC Oerlikon Corporation AG (Pfäffikon SZ), a global manufacturer of production systems, components and services for high-tech industrial applications, announced on November 7th 2007
that Oerlikon Solar will become a new segment within the Oerlikon Group as the company continues to expand its commitment to its solar business. This new business segment is under the
leadership of Oerlikon Solar CEO Jeannine Sargent. "The creation of a stand-alone segment within Oerlikon further strengthens our solar presence and will enable us to extend our
leadership in the marketplace," Sargent said. "We are in a strong position to grow our market share while continuing to supply the industry with highly efficient solar manufacturing
fabs." To escalate production capacities, increase research and development activities and enter new business areas quicker, Oerlikon Solar will bring together all solar core
competencies and new technologies under one umbrella. Providing complete, fully automated solar production solutions to customers requires seamless integration of key technologies such
as thin-film coating, laser advancements, specialized mechanical engineering fields and global customer support.
1 MWp pilot line to double photovoltaic production capacity
"The creation of a new solar segment establishes the right organizational environment to meet the vast demands of a rapidly growing solar market," said Dr. Uwe Krüger, Oerlikon's CEO.
"With the solar industry representing a multibillion Swiss Franc business opportunity for Oerlikon, we felt it vital to expand our current solar operations and investments worldwide."
As part of this push, Oerlikon Solar plans to double production capacity at its plant in Truebbach (Switzerland) and has established a 1 MWp pilot line. "This new pilot line will allow
us to train customer engineers under real conditions," said Detlev Koch-Ospelt, head of Solar Thin Film. "In addition we can conduct R&D and produce customer samples in a clean room
environment. We will also install and use thin-film solar modules on the roof of our facility." Additional manufacturing locations in Asia-Pacific and the United States are also
currently under evaluation. Expanding the company's global footprint will place Oerlikon Solar in closer proximity to its customer base. To support its expansion, Oerlikon Solar will be
aggressively recruiting highly skilled individuals to join its rapidly growing solar team.
Moreover, beginning in 2008 Oerlikon will report the solar segment financial figures separately as part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency. Additionally, Oerlikon Solar will
carry full profit and loss responsibility for its global business. Including CEO Jeannine Sargent Oerlikon Solar's current management team is comprised of: CFO Claus Ulrich Mai,
Christopher Smith, head of Sales and Customer Support and the Business Unit Heads: Detlev Koch-Ospelt, head of the Solar Thin Film, Rudolf Zaengerle, head of the Laser and Christoph
Bischof, head of Mechatronics.
2007-11-07 Courtesy: Oerlikon AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Oerlikon Solar
|
|
|
Solar silcon manufacturer Solarvalue and PV producer Sunways cooperating in research and development
|
|
|
|
|
|
Translucent "Sunways Solar Cells"
|
|
|
|
Solarvalue AG (Berlin) and Sunways AG (Konstanz) concluded an R&D agreement (research and development). This agreement envisages a close cooperation in the field of R&D,
aiming to produce marketable solar cells using solar grade silicon, made on the basis of metallurgical silicon. For years, Sunways has been active as a pioneer in the photovoltaic
market. Its core competence is the development and production of integrated photovoltaic solutions and products like solar cells, solar inverters, solar modules and systems to generate
power from solar energy. Solarvalue AG intends to produce large amounts of cut-price solar grade silicon from metallurgical silicon in the first half of 2008. The planed annual capacity
in the production plant at the Slovenian city of Ruse due to the company amounts to several thousand tons.
"The cooperation agreement is a further milestone on our way into the market. With Sunways, we have found the perfect technology partner. Our short-term aim is to cooperate in order to
create common know-how and to establish the use of our solar grade silicon in the production of marketable solar cells", said Dr. Julio Bragagnolo, board member and CTO of Solarvalue.
"The experience particularly in cell production of which Sunways disposes due to its long standing activity is of the utmost importance to us", continued Dr. Bragagnolo. In the
framework of the cooperation, Sunways is intending to produce solar cells from material provided by Solarvalue. Sunways CEO Roland Burkhardt is equally enthusiastic about the potential
synergies of the cooperation: "We are firmly convinced that Solarvalue, with its unique knowledge base, has the competence to develop the new production process for solar grade silicon
successfully".
The production of solar cells from silicon demands raw materials of a high degree of purity. The world over, scientists are looking into cheap production processes as an alternative to
the known process to purify raw silicon, the so called Siemens-process. The method championed by Solarvalue is based on metallurgical silicon that is cleaned from impurities step by
step in a particular process.
With the development cooperation successfully implemented, Solarvalue and Sunways want to extend the cooperation and intend to agree on a contract to supply solar grade silicon. The
people responsible in both companies are firmly convinced that the common project will spawn a marketable product in the near future. "This is merely a first step in the direction of an
intensified cooperation", said Solarvalue CEO Claudia Boehringer about future strategic planning.
2007-11-06 Courtesy: Solarvalue AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: Sunways AG
|
|
|
IBM Pioneers Process to Turn Waste into Solar PV Cells
|
|
|
|
|
An IBM engineer holds a solar panel
above a crate of scrap silicon wafers
ready to be recycled.
|
|
|
|
IBM on October 30th 2007 announced an innovative semiconductor wafer reclamation process pioneered at its Burlington (Vermont) manufacturing facility. The new process uses a
specialized pattern removal technique to repurpose scrap semiconductor wafers - thin discs of silicon material used to imprint patterns that make finished semiconductor chips for
computers, mobile phones, video games, and other consumer electronics - to a form used to manufacture silicon-based solar cells. The new process was recently awarded the "2007 Most
Valuable Pollution Prevention Award" from The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR). IBM has developed the process for repurposing scrap silicon wafers from its chip
manufacturing operations for use in energy-producing solar photovoltaic panels. IBM intends to provide details of the new process to the broader semiconductor manufacturing
industry.
Reclaimed silicon materials for manufacturing solar cells and panels
Through this new process IBM is now able to more efficiently remove the "intellectual property" from the wafer surface, making these wafers available either for reuse in internal
manufacturing calibration as "monitor wafers" or for sale to the solar cell industry, which must meet a growing demand for the same silicon material to produce photovoltaic cells for
solar panels. The recycling process is currently in use the Burlington facility and in the process of being implemented at IBM's East Fishkill (NY) semiconductor fabrication plant. "One
of the challenges facing the solar industry is a severe shortage of silicon, which threatens to stall its rapid growth,” sais Charles Bai, chief financial officer of ReneSola, one
of China's fastest growing solar energy companies. "This is why we have turned to reclaimed silicon materials sourced primarily from the semiconductor industry to supply the raw
material our company needs to manufacture solar panels", Bai adds.
Three million discarded wafers
IBM and others in the industry use silicon wafers both as the starting material for manufacturing microelectronic products - from cell phones to computers to consumer electronics
– as well as to monitor and control the myriad of steps in the manufacturing process. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, worldwide 250,000 wafers are started per
day across the industry. IBM estimates that up to 3.3% of these started wafers are scrapped. In the course of the year, this amounts to approximately three million discarded wafers.
Because the wafers contain intellectual property, most can not be sent to outside vendors to reclaim so are crushed and sent to landfills, or melted down and resold. "IBM’s
commitment to environmental conservation spans its business, from the re-purposing of materials used in semiconductor manufacturing to enabling customers to manage, measure, and run the
most power efficient datacenters on the planet," said Mike Cadigan, general manager, IBM Semiconductor Solutions. "The engineering ingenuity that IBM has demonstrated in pioneering the
wafer-to-solar panel program has generated countless other conservation initiatives in our manufacturing operations", Cadigan emphasized.
The new wafer reclamation process produces monitor wafers from scrap product wafers - generating an overall energy savings of up to 90 % because repurposing scrap means that IBM no
longer has to procure the usual volume of net new wafers to meet manufacturing needs. When monitors wafers reach end of life they are sold to the solar industry. Depending on how a
specific solar cell manufacturer chooses to process a batch of reclaimed wafers - they could save between 30 - 90% of the energy that they would have needed if they'd used a new silicon
material source.
2007-11-06 Courtesy: IBM Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: IBM
|
|
|
Swiss solar inverter manufacturer Sputnik Engineering opens new office in Italy and schedules quadrupled sales
|
|
|
|
|
Roberto Colombo, general manager
of Sputnik Engineering Italia
|
|
|
|
Sputnik Engineering AG, Swiss manufacturer of solar photovoltaic inverters opens a new office in Giussano (Milan, Italy). The new subsidiary called Sputnik Engineering Italia S.r.l.
will start sales and customer support in November 2007. "The Italian market demand for our inverters has been increasing constantly", explains Sputnik's managing director Christoph von
Bergen. "While we deliver solar inverters with a total output of four megawatts to Italy in 2007, we will quadruple this figure to 16 megawatts in 2008", he adds. Sputnik Engineering
has been delivering inverters to Italy for many years. The high quality products work very reliably even at high ambient temperatures. Roberto Colombo manages the Italian subsidiary of
Sputnik Engineering AG as the general manager.
The 39-year old electronic engineer Colombo had worked five years as a sales and marketing manager for infrared cameras, before he switched to a manufacturer of machinery tools.
"Sputnik offers me the possibility to build up a new company in an environmentally friendly sector with a high-technology product", he says. "The solar industry offers an enormous
potential. I am very proud to be part it", Colombo emphasizes.
Thanks to the high level of solar irradiation and the excellent funding conditions, Italy has a good chance to be among the Top 3 European countries regarding solar electricity
installations in the short term. Sputnik's new premises in Milan, provide enough space for further expansion. They offer an area of 180 square meters for offices, a 400 square meters
warehouse and a training room. Over the year 2008, the company expects a further expansion with sales, technical and logistic personnel, in order to match the needs of the domestic
customers in a professional and timely way.
Roberto Colombo will be available for individual talks during the trade fair PV Tech Expo 2007 in Rome from November 11 to November 15 at Sputnik's booth in the Renewable Hall 4B, stand
BR26.
2007-11-06 Courtesy: SPUTNIK ENGINEERING AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
Picture Courtesy: SPUTNIK ENGINEERING AG
|
|
|
Q-Cells and Solar Fields intensify cooperation
Q-Cells AG (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany), its subsidiary Calyxo GmbH and US-based Solar Fields LLC have decided to merge their activities in the production of CadmiumTelluride
photovoltaic modules. The three companies have been working closely together since Solar Fields exclusively licensed its innovative deposition technology to Q-Cells' 100 % subsidiary
Calyxo GmbH, Q-Cells reports in a press release. To accelerate the development and commercialization of the technology and to use its economic potential optimal, Q-Cells and Solar
Fields have now entered into an arrangement that aligns their businesses and provides for a successful expansion strategy. Calyxo GmbH takes over all of Solar Fields IP and thus
strengthens its technological basis by gaining perpetual exclusive access to the technology and its exploration.
Prototype facility expected to start production in the first quarter of 2008
Solar Fields' assets have been transferred into a 100 % US subsidiary of Calyxo GmbH, the newly formed Calyxo USA Inc., that shall focus on R&D activities and rapid further
improvements of the technology. To this, all of Solar Fields' employees will also be transferred to Calyxo USA. Solar Fields itself has in return received 7 % of the shares in Calyxo
GmbH and thus become a minority shareholder in Calyxo GmbH. It can hence participate in the significant upside potential of the technology. The company also receives a one-time payment
of USD 5 million. Q-Cells AG retains the other 93 % of the shares. Calyxo GmbH is currently building its first prototype facility with a nominal capacity 25 MWp at its company site in
Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Germany), which is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2008. Q-Cells has committed itself to secure the financing of future expansion plans and to
support the further growth ambitions of Calyxo GmbH.
2007-11-02 Courtesy: Q-Cells AG Solarserver.de © Heindl Server GmbH
|
|
|
|
