The aim due to Sharp is to achieve vertical integration that transcends the barriers between companies by pushing the vertically integrated business model created at the Kameyama Plant - from LCD panels to LCD TVs - further upstream in the supply chain.

Picture Courtesy: Sharp

In addition, the close collaboration of Sharp engineers working with material and equipment manufacturers who have superior technical capabilities can be expected to engender new technical innovations through the fusion of knowledge and know-how.

Horizontal deployment of LCD and solar thin-film technology

TFT LCD and thin-film solar cells are based on the same thin-film technologies, and can share materials and utilities. The application of LCD technologies to thin-film solar cells can be expected to yield even greater improvements in performance. The solar cell plant will focus on mass production of thin-film solar cells. Sharp is the world's leading manufacturer of solar cells in terms of production volume and has already commercialized thin-film solar cells that achieve a power generating efficiency that is among the best in the industry.

Plans call for a production volume of around 1,000 MW (1 million kW) per year for the thin-film solar cells to be manufactured at this facility. This level is expected to maximize economies of scale, and make this factory the largest solar cell plant in the world. Operations are slated to begin at same time as the LCD panel plant.

Sharp Corporation (07/31/2007)

SunPower Dedicates 330 Megawatt Solar Cell Fab

SunPower Corporation a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, on Juliy 27th announced the inauguration of its second solar cell fabrication facility, known as "cell Fab 2", in the Philippines. The dedication of cell Fab 2 will take place on July 30st, 2007 at the new plant, located in Batangas, south of Manila. President Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines and The Honorable Raphael P. M. Lotilla, secretary of energy, will be on hand to help inaugurate the facility which has been recognized by the International Energy Agency for its superior energy-efficient design.

Solar PV System with panels by SunPower, located at Geneva (Switzerland).

Courtesy: SunPower Corporation

Cell Fab 2 was designed with environmental sustainability in mind. The building was engineered with a variety of energy efficient features that will help increase operations efficiency and cut energy costs including HVAC cooling and heating systems that offers a much lower carbon footprint for a facility of this size and type. 100 percent of the hot water heating capacity is generated by heat recovery air compressors. The Cooling system uses approximately 40 percent less electricity compared to typical systems in the Manila area and the improved, high-efficiency lighting is 50 to 60 percent more efficient than standard lighting systems. As an example, the company will use 12 watt LED lighting that will last for approximately 10 years to reduce its electrical usage.

Carbon footprint of production reduced by 50 percent - installed solar system costs to decline by 50 percent by 2012

"Fab 2 will enable us to manufacture the world's highest-efficiency solar cells while reducing the carbon footprint by 50 percent compared to other buildings of this size," said PM Pai, chief operating officer of SunPower Corporation. "We welcome President Arroyo and Secretary Lotilla as we dedicate our new facility."

"The inauguration of our second solar cell fab is an important step for SunPower," said CEO Tom Werner. "When fully built out, Fab 2 will quadruple our total manufacturing capacity and create economies of scale that are an important element in our plan to reduce installed solar system costs by 50 percent by 2012."

SunPower Corporation (07/31/2007)

PG&E Signs Agreement with Solel for 553 Megawatts of Solar Power from the desert

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (SAN FRANCISCO, CA) announced on July 25th 2007 that it has entered into a landmark renewable energy agreement with Solel-MSP-1 to purchase renewable energy from the Mojave Solar Park, to be constructed in California’s Mojave Desert. The project shall deliver 553 megawatts of solar power, the equivalent of powering 400,000 homes, to PG&E’s customers in northern and central California. The Mojave Solar Park project is now the world’s largest single solar commitment, Solel reports in a press release. "The solar thermal project announced today is another major milestone in realizing our goal to supply 20 percent of our customers’ energy needs with clean renewable energy", said Fong Wan, vice president of Energy Procurement, PG&E.

"Through the agreement with Solel, we can harness the sun's climate-friendly power to provide our customers with reliable and cost-effective energy on an unprecedented scale", Fong Wan added.

Picture Courtesy: Solel Solar Systems Ltd.

1.2 million mirrors and 317 miles of vacuum tubing to capture sun’s heat

The plant will use Solel’s patented and commercially-proven solar thermal parabolic trough technology. Over the past 20 years, the technology has powered nine operating solar power plants in the Mojave Desert and is currently generating 354 MW of annual electricity. When fully operational in 2011, the Mojave Solar Park plant will cover up to 6,000 acres, or nine square miles in the Mojave Desert. Solel is working closely with URS Corporation in the development of the Mojave Solar Park, which -when commercial - will rely on 1.2 million mirrors and 317 miles of vacuum tubing to capture the desert sun’s heat.

"We are thrilled to bring 553 MW of clean energy to California", said Avi Brenmiller, chief executive officer of Solel Solar Systems. "Our proven solar technology means Solel can economically turn the energy of the warm California sun into clean power for the state’s homes and businesses", Brenmiller added. Solel Solar Systems of Israel, due to own statements the world’s largest solar thermal company, is the parent company of Solel-MSP-1 LLC. Solel’s technology utilizes parabolic mirrors to concentrate solar energy onto its patented UVAC 2008 solar thermal receivers. The receivers contain a fluid that is heated and circulated, and the heat is released to generate steam. The steam powers a turbine to produce electricity, which can be delivered to a utility’s electric grid. The electricity generated by Mojave Solar Park will use some of the transmission infrastructure originally built for the now dormant coal-fired Mojave Generation Station to deliver the power to PG&E’s customers.

Solel Solar Systems Ltd. (07/31/2007)

Oerlikon Solar: major order for turnkey 40 MWp production plant for thin film solar modules by CMC

Oerlikon Solar (TrübbachSwitzerland) on July 26th 2007 announced it has signed a contract with CMC (Taiwan) for the supply of a 40 MWp thin film solar cell production plant. With this order a further respected company commits itself to the technology of the thin film solar global market leader, Oerlikon Solar emphasizes in a press release. First components shall be shipped this year and start of production is planned for mid 2008. "With this major order, we will be the world’s first company to supply a fully automated production line for thin film solar modules with integrated test systems,” explains Dr Uwe Krüger CEO of Oerlikon. The contract also includes the option to enlarge capacity and upgrading to Oerlikon´s next technology generation of "Micromoph Tandem".

The modern Oerlikon Solar high-tech production line enables the manufacture of silicon thin film modules at an expected annual output of approximately 40MWp. The turnkey end-to-end plant embraces the entire production process from glass purification to testing of the finished solar modules.

Picture: Oerlikon Solar

Low optical absorption – high light-trapping potential

This innovative TCO layers play a central role in thin film solar modules of silicon for two reasons. Firstly, they have to show exceptional electrical conductivity in order to transport the solar electricity with as little resistance as possible; secondly, this film traps the light and passes it through the photoactive silicon layer. The optical absorption of the TCO layer must be low, the so-called light-trapping potential as high as possible. Ultimately, these factors determine the performance of the solar modules and directly reduce the cost per watt peak. Until now, there has been no supplier of a TCO plant on the global market.

This means that Oerlikon Solar has reached a further important milestone in the development of its product portfolio according to plan and continues to build on its leading market position. As a long-term customer, CMC is fully aware and has appreciated Oerlikon’s outstanding quality and know-how for many years. "In our opinion, Oerlikon Solar is the absolute leader in thin film solar technology and at present is the only supplier of mature production plants for thin film solar modules. Our decision was therefore clear – we are going with the market and technology leader", explains Bob Wang, Chairman of CMC.

Oerlikon Solar (07/30/2007)

3D solar cells to boost efficiency while reducing size, weight and complexity of photovoltaic arrays

Unique three-dimensional solar cells shall capture nearly all of the light that strikes them and could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity. The new 3D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature "tower" structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid, the Georgia Institute of Technology (GTRI) reports in a press release. The cells could find near-term applications for powering spacecraft, and by enabling efficiency improvements in photovoltaic coating materials, could also change the way solar cells are designed for a broad range of applications. "Our goal is to harvest every last photon that is available to our cells", said Jud Ready, a senior research engineer in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at the GTRI. "By capturing more of the light in our 3D structures, we can use much smaller photovoltaic arrays. On a satellite or other spacecraft, that would mean less weight and less space taken up with the PV system", he adds.

Jud Ready, senior research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, observes a process that applies an iron catalyst as part of the fabrication of 3D solar cells.

Picture Source: GTRI.The 3D design was described in the March 2007 issue of the journal JOM, published by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society.

The research has been sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, NewCyte Inc., and Intellectual Property Partners, LLC. A global patent application has been filed for the technology. The GTRI photovoltaic cells trap light between their tower structures, which are about 100 microns tall, 40 microns by 40 microns square, 10 microns apart - and built from arrays containing millions of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes. Conventional flat solar cells reflect a significant portion of the light that strikes them, reducing the amount of energy they absorb.

Because the tower structures can trap and absorb light received from many different angles, the new cells remain efficient even when the sun is not directly overhead, GTRI emphasizes. That could allow them to be used on spacecraft without the mechanical aiming systems that maintain a constant orientation to the sun, reducing weight and complexity - and improving reliability. "The efficiency of our cells increases as the sunlight goes away from perpendicular, so we may not need mechanical arrays to rotate our cells", Ready noted.

A "boost of quantum efficiency"

The ability of the 3D cells to absorb virtually all of the light that strikes them could also enable improvements in the efficiency with which the cells convert the photons they absorb into electrical current. In conventional flat solar cells, the photovoltaic coatings must be thick enough to capture the photons, whose energy then liberates electrons from the photovoltaic materials to create electrical current. However, each mobile electron leaves behind a "hole" in the atomic matrix of the coating. The longer it takes electrons to exit the PV material, the more likely it is that they will recombine with a hole - reducing the electrical current. Because the 3D cells absorb more of the photons than conventional cells, their coatings can be made thinner, allowing the electrons to exit more quickly, reducing the likelihood that recombination will take place. That boosts the "quantum efficiency" – the rate at which absorbed photons are converted to electrons – of the 3D cells.

Silicon wafer combined with cadmium telluride and cadmium sulfide

Fabrication of the cells begins with a silicon wafer, which can also serve as the solar cell’s bottom junction. The researchers first coat the wafer with a thin layer of iron using a photolithography process that can create a wide variety of patterns. The patterned wafer is then placed into a furnace heated to 780 degrees Celsius. Hydrocarbon gases are then flowed into furnace, where the carbon and hydrogen separate. In a process known as chemical vapor deposition, the carbon grows arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes atop the iron patterns. Once the carbon nanotube towers have been grown, the researchers use a process known as molecular beam epitaxy to coat them with cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) which serve as the p-type and n-type photovoltaic layers. Atop that, a thin coating of indium tin oxide, a clear conducting material, is added to serve as the cell’s top electrode.

In the finished cells, the carbon nanotube arrays serve both as support for the 3D arrays and as a conductor connecting the photovoltaic materials to the silicon wafer. The researchers chose to make their prototypes cells from the cadmium materials because they were familiar with them from other research. However, a broad range of other photovoltaic materials could also be used, and selecting the best material for specific applications will be a goal of future research. Ready also wants to study the optimal heights and spacing for the towers, and to determine the trade-offs between spacing and the angle at which the light hits the structures. The new cells face several hurdles before they can be commercially produced. Testing must verify their ability to survive launch and operation in space, for instance. And production techniques will have to scaled up from the current two-inch laboratory prototypes. "We have demonstrated that we can extract electrons using this approach", Ready said. "Now we need to get a good baseline to see where we compare to existing materials, how to optimize this and what’s needed to advance this technology", he added.

An animation of the 3D-solar cell is availabe at:
http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/flash/CNTpv.html

GTRI (07/27/2007)

US Photovoltaic Producer Solaria Secures Solar Cell Supply
for 1.35 GW

Solaria Corporation (FREMONT, California) on July 23rd 2007 announced that it has closed a $ 50 million Series C round of funding led by Q-Cells AG, the second largest solar cell manufacturer in the world. With this investment, Q-Cells increased its non-controlling stake in Solaria to 33 % and is joined in this round by existing investors: Sigma Partners, NGEN and Moser Baer. In addition to funding, Solaria has secured a cell supply agreement with Q-Cells which ensures Solaria access to 1.35 GW over the next ten years, representing one of the solar industry’s largest cell deals to date. This cell supply arrangement will enable Solaria to produce over 2.7 GW of PV modules using its proprietary cell-multiplication technology. The two companies will closely cooperate on the advancement of cell-specific technologies.

Solaria Solar Cell Production at FREMONT, California.

Picture Courtesy: Solaria Corporation

Highly promising approach to new solar cell applications

Anton Milner, Q-Cells CEO, stated. "We are excited by this investment and the progress at Solaria. Solaria has a high synergetic potential to deliver important cost savings to the current mainstream solar cell applications. We not only see Solaria as an important partner and customer within our core business areas, but also seek to help develop Solaria’s highly promising approach through our investment and tailoring R&D and products to their needs." The long-term relationship between Q-Cells and Solaria will focus on the commercialization and scaling of Solaria’s PV technology platform, while offering Solaria maximum flexibility, as well as a wide range of support services from Q-Cells, including back-up warranties and access to Q-Cells’ established network of European partners.

" Evidenced by its impressive market success, Q-Cells has a deeply analytical approach towards anticipating the needs of the solar industry and is one of the few leaders that continues to innovate on a significant scale to meet those needs. Our long-term agreement reflects Q-Cells’ willingness to support its partners and the value proposition our technology brings to the table", said Suvi Sharma, CEO of Solaria.

Q-CELLS AG; Solaria Corporation (07/25/2007)

Higher Efficiency Organic Solar Cell Created by UCSB Nobel Laureate and Research Team

Using plastics to harvest the energy of the sun just got a significant boost in efficiency thanks to a discovery made at the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Nobel laureate Alan Heeger, professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara, worked with Kwanghee Lee of Korea and a team of other scientists to create a new "tandem" organic solar cell with increased efficiency. The discovery, explained in the July 13th issue of the journal Science, marks a step forward in materials science, UCSB reports in a press release.

Tandem cells are comprised of two multilayered parts that work together to gather a wider range of the spectrum of solar radiation - at both shorter and longer wavelengths. "The result is six and a half percent efficiency", said Heeger.

Picture Courtesy: UCSB

Heeger and Lee have collaborated for many years on developing solar cells. The new tandem architecture that they discovered both improves light harvesting and promises to be less expensive to produce. In their paper, the authors explain that the cells "… can be fabricated to extend over large areas by means of low-cost printing and coating technologies that can simultaneously pattern the active materials on lightweight flexible substrates."

Two cells linked to use a wider range of the solar spectrum

"Tandem solar cells, in which two solar cells with different absorption characteristics are linked to use a wider range of the solar spectrum, were fabricated with each layer processed from solution with the use of bulk heterojunction materials comprising semiconducting polymers and fullerene derivatives," wrote the authors. The cells are separated and connected by the material TiOx, a transparent titanium oxide. This is the key to the multilayer system that allows for the higher-level efficiencies. TiOx transports electrons and is a collecting layer for the first cell. In addition, it acts as a stable foundation that allows the fabrication of the second cell, thus completing the tandem cell architecture.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for semiconducting polymers

Heeger shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the year 2000, with Alan MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa, for the "discovery and development of conducting polymers." The tandem solar cells reported in the Science article utilize semiconducting polymers from the class of materials that were recognized by the award of the Nobel Prize. Heeger recently was presented with the Italian Prize for Energy and the Environment (Eni Italgas Prize) for his discoveries and research accomplishments in the field of "plastic" solar cells. The Italian agency cited Heeger "for research that will begin to contribute to the energy needs of our planet in the near future."

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) (07/24/2007)

First-ever biomass-cofiring dedicated conference
held at Budapest

The 1st Conference of the European Biomass Co-firing Network was held in Budapest from the 2nd to the 4th July. Over 60 European experts gathered to discuss the prospects for co-firing and future technological advances, including recommendations for future research, defining the research fields and policies that need to be strengthened in order to extend the application of the biomass co-firing technologies in Europe. This has been the first specific event entirely dedicated to biomass co-firing. "Biomass co-firing is the most cost-effective means of producing energy from biomass as it can be added to an existing coal-fired power plant with only small modifications of the entire system", explains Conference chairman Dr Schories from TTZ Bremerhaven in Germany in his opening speech.

public on-line database on biomass co-firing

The Conference has been prepared in the framework of NETBIOCOF, (Integrated European Network for Biomass Co-firing), a coordination action funded under the Sixth Framework Program for Research and Development of the European Commission. For two years it has gathered most of the important universities, research institutes and European associations in the field of biomass co-firing. NETBIOCOF has also a strong component on dissemination of the latest findings in co-firing and information exchange among the partners and the scientific community. The project launched a public on-line database on its web page (www.netbiocof.net) where the reports produced as a result of each task and other relevant information are uploaded and made available to the general public.

ttz Bremerhaven (07/23/2007)

Applied Materials: Chris Eberspacher to Lead Advanced Solar Research and Development

Applied Materials, Inc. (SANTA CLARA, Calif. / Alzenau, Germany) on July 19th 2007 - announced that Dr. Chris Eberspacher has joined the company’s Solar Business Group to lead advanced R&D programs. In this new role, Dr. Eberspacher will lead efforts for both silicon and non-silicon based solar materials and will report to Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, chief technology officer of Applied’s Solar Business Group. Before joining Applied, Dr. Eberspacher was most recently chief scientist at Nanosolar, Inc., a solar start-up focused on roll-to-roll processing of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) products. "I am pleased to be joining Applied Materials, a world-class manufacturing company uniquely positioned with the expertise, experience and resources necessary to provide the solar industry with the high-volume, low-cost manufacturing infrastructure needed to achieve grid-competitive solar electric power", said Dr. Eberspacher.

Pioneering contributions to nanoparticle-based solar cell technology

Dr. Eberspacher has a doctorate degree in applied physics from Stanford University and brings 25 years of experience in leading edge solar development to Applied Materials. He is well known for his significant contributions to thin-film solar cell technology, in particular solar cells based on thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). Dr. Eberspacher began his career at ARCO Solar, which later became Siemens Solar Industries, where he led development teams in crystalline silicon and thin-film solar cell technologies. Most recently, Dr. Eberspacher delivered pioneering contributions to nanoparticle-based thin-film CIGS solar cell technology at Unisun and Nanosolar.

"We are excited to have Chris join the Applied Materials team at a time of great business and technology momentum for our group", said Charlie Gay, vice president and general manager, Applied Materials Solar Business Group. "He brings a wealth of practical experience in advanced PV technologies that will be critical to delivering next-generation nanomanufacturing innovations that will drive future solar cost reductions", Gay added.

Applied Materials, Inc. (07/20/2007)

European wide consensus reached of photovoltaic energy generation from long term operation of PV modules

In a recent international inter-comparison within the European Commissions FP6 Integrated Project "PERFORMANCE IP" eight separate energy prediction methods developed independently across European Universities and Research Centres have shown agreement on the estimated energy generation of five different photovoltaic (PV) modules technologies. The modelling of PV energy generation is one of the four basic components required to develop an international energy rating standard for the benefit of European industry, end users and investors. The remarkable results validated for the first time within this project are a direct response to the industry needs for consistent and harmonised international standards to improve their industrial competitiveness, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) reports in a press release.

energy prediction methods for Si, mSi, a-Si, CdTe and CIS

The recently completed round-robin inter-comparison of eight different modelling methods in Europe found that the agreement for all methods is within ±5% on an annual basis if the environmental parameters are well described, i.e. the incident irradiance and the module temperature. This accuracy was also found when translating the energy yield measured at one location in Europe to another location for an identical module also for shorter time periods (months). The energy prediction methods have been validated for five different module technologies (crystalline (Si) and multicrystalline silicon (mSi), amorphous silicon (a-Si), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide (CIS).

consistency of results: a prerequisite for a standard method

This work has demonstrated the generalised robustness of the methods and the unique ability to provide a single unbiased validation for all PV modules independent of the underlying technology. The consistency of results for all the methods used in the inter-comparison allows the use of different modelling methods for different climatic regions or technologies while assuring that there is no compromise in the quality and reliability of the resulting energy prediction; a prerequisite for any standard method.

Significantly higher errors were found when using different PV modules of the same manufacturer and technology predict the energy yield at other sites. Here the variation in module power rating dominated the results of the energy prediction methods. This issue is being addressed in the PERFORMANCE IP project and a guide to the determination and labelling of photovoltaic module power will be proposed. The performance IP Project is now developing these results in to a suitable form for the proposal of standard methods to be proposed as integral parts of future energy rating standards. Further details of the study can be downloaded from the performance web site at www.pv-performance.org.

EPIA; Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering Holywell (07/18/2007)

pvXchange: Europe’s leading photovoltaic trading platform expands activity beyond European borders and extends business sectors

With an estimated volume of transactions of 35 MWp in 2007, the turnover of the online trading platform for photovoltaic components will be tripled three years running, as reported by pvXchange GmbH Berlin in a recent press release. Due to highly positive market response towards the dynamic business concept, offices in Spain, Italy, France and Greece were established in 2006 and 2007. Run by (meanwhile) 25 colleagues pvXchange now takes occasion to continue its expansion overseas: At present, pvXchange is organizing its first office in Beijing. Market entry to the US is scheduled for September 2007 along with the attendance at the “Solar Power 2007” trade fair in Long Beach (California).

EREC: Reaching 20% of renewable energy by 2020 only feasible if a fast and adequate policy framework is adopted

"In our view, it is possible to generate 35 % of Europe’s electricity supply by renewable energy sources, 25 % of the total heat production and at least 10 % biofuels. But to make these targets come true, timing is a key element", Arthouros Zervos, President of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), emphasized at the opening of the European seminar on renewable energy sources organised by the Portuguese Presidency in Lisbon on 11th and 12th July 2007.

Zervos was invited by the Portuguese Presidency to express the renewable industry’s opinion on the Renewable Energy Roadmap. Professor Zervos made his point clear: "In only thirteen years from now we want to have achieved an increase of thirteen percentage points in renewables. This means the EU needs to adopt the necessary measures as soon as possible. A delay in legislation can cause tremendous delays in action."

EREC (07/16/2007)

Solarvalue buys production plant in Slovenia

Solarvalue Proizvodnja d.d. has bought a large part of the TDR factory in Ruse, Slovenia, the Berlin based Solarvalue AG in Berlin reports in a press release. Solarvalue also plans to take over about 60 long-term TDR employees. A subsidiary of Solarvalue AG in Berlin, the Slovenian company will be using the newly purchased buildings, blast furnaces and facilities for the future production of solar grade silicon. "With this strategic investment, we now have the entire infrastructure necessary to produce solar grade silicon available as part of our own company", says Claudia Boehringer, Chief Executive Officer of Solarvalue AG. Following a detailed risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis of the existing concept, including the lease for the facilities, Solarvalue decided to buy a part of the factory. A core component of the production equipment is a high-performance blast furnace, which is ideally suited to meet the technical requirements for the production of solar grade silicon.

In addition, Solarvalue now has the necessary infrastructure for its energy and water supply. The company plans to take on about 60 TDR employees with excellent know-how of the entire value added supply chain.Picture: TDR factory in Ruse, Slovenia.

Courtesy: Solarvalue AG

"With these experts we will be able to cover all areas of Supply Chain Management (SCM) – from the procurement of raw materials and production through to logistics and distribution", Claudia Boehringer emphasizes. The size of the purchased production area exceeds the space leased before. The fact that the individual buildings and facilities are connected is an advantage since internal logistic efforts will now be greatly simplified. The new transport routes of e.g. raw materials and liquid metal are much shorter, making them more efficient.

"The purchase of the production area allows us the long-term planning reliability necessary for the years to come", explains Claudia Boehringer. "We are now in a better and more flexible position than before, whilst showing our long-term commitment in the region. The expansion of our production, particularly in terms of quantity and further value added steps, is now secured", she adds.

Solarvalue AG was established in June 2005. The main purpose of the company is the manufacture of solar grade silicon. Its long-term goal is the development of the entire value chain of an integrated PV enterprise.

Solarvalue AG (07/13/2007)

Trina Solar announces solar PV module contract wins in Europe

Trina Solar Limited, an integrated manufacturer of solar power products based in Changzhou (China), on July 9th announced several contract wins to supply solar photovoltaic modules with an aggregate output of up to 99MW to key accounts in Europe over the next two to three years. Initial shipments had been made on each of the contracts, the company reports in a press release. "Our recent contract wins demonstrate our success in targeting large and medium-sized companies, including PV system integrators, distributors and wholesalers," remarked Arturo Herrero, Trina Solar's Director of Sales & Marketing. "These contract wins are also an important step for Trina Solar to continue gaining brand recognition in some of the most strategic solar PV markets in Europe and positions Trina Solar well to further expand its presence in these important markets."

40 MW contract with IBC Solar in Germany

The Company's contracts with Italian customers for the next three years due to Trina Solar include a 6 MW contract with Enerpoint to supply solar module, a further 22 MW to 33 MW contract with Tecnospot and a 20 MW contract with Enereco. In addition Trina Solar signed a 40 MW contract with IBC Solar in Germany to provide IBC with solar modules over the next two years, extendable to a higher volume. "We are extremely pleased with our progress in the European market in general and with our very strong presence in the fastest growing solar PV module markets in Spain and Italy," said Mr. Jifan Gao, Trina Solar's Chairman and CEO. "Our outlook remains positive, and as we enter the seasonally stronger quarters of the year and continue to expand our geographic footprint into new markets, we anticipate significant growth in revenues as we establish Trina Solar as one of the top global solar products companies."

Trina Solar Limited (07/12/2007)

Worldwatch: Renewables - an American Revolution

As another 4th of July celebration comes to an end, the Worldwatch Institute asks the Americans to join the next Revolution - the push to gain independence from addiction to fossil fuels. According to the new publication "American Energy: The Renewable Path to Energy Security", produced last year by the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress, fossil fuels currently meet 85 percent of U.S. energy needs. As the effects of global warming begin to take hold, oil prices continue to soar, and relations in the Middle East decline, the U.S. run out of reasons not to aggressively develop renewable energy sources.

Time is ripe for a strong national commitment

As the U.S. capacity for renewable energy expands, widespread implementation is not far behind. The American Energy Vision states that an energy future based on abundant and clean renewable resources is not only urgently needed, but achievable. The time is ripe for a strong national commitment to enacting new policies at the federal, state, and local levels that will allow the United States to become a world leader in building a 21st century energy system. Meeting that challenge will require concerted action by governments, businesses, and citizens across the nation.

Worldwatch offers a 40 page free PDF version of "American Energy" to download a print copy is available for $ 9.95.

Worldwatch Institute (07/11/2007)

600 kWp solar electric power plant inaugurated at former hazardous waste landfill in Germany

The Minister for the Environment of the German federal state "Baden-Württemberg", Tanja Gönner, on July 9th 2007 inaugurated a ground mounted solar power plant with a total capacity of 600 kWp at the site of a former hazardous waste landfill in Malsch near Heidelberg. The plant is operating since April 2007. It has been planned and installed by Nastro Umwelttechnik GmbH (in future COLEXON), a subsidiary to Reinecke + Pohl Sun Energy AG. For the plant, solar-modules from the manufacturer First Solar were chosen, which are produced in thin-film technology. These modules were selected for this project for many reasons Reinecke + Pohl Sun Energy AG (RPSE) emphsizes: The First Solar Series modules are less expensive to manufacture and more cost effective than conventional crystalline modules and they generate high energy output under diffuse solar irradiance. First Solar modules are also covered by a collection and recycling agreement that enables the owner to return the modules to First Solar at no cost at the end of the module lifetime for recycling.

Thin-film modules are especially suited for large scale solar power plants and free-field installations given the combination of cost effectiveness and area efficiency that is suitable for open-space installations.

Picture: First Solar-Module in a RPSE PV system in Gescher (Germany). Courtesy:
Reinecke + Pohl Sun Energy AG

Photovoltaic Producer First Solar inaugurates 120MW Solar Module Plant in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

First Solar, Increports that the Company’s new solar module manufacturing plant in Frankfurt (Oder) was formally inaugurated by Germany’s environment minister Sigmar Gabriel and Bruce Sohn, President of First Solar, on July 9th 2007. "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 favourable investment climate was made possible by the consistent promotion of environmentally friendly energies through the renewable energy act (EEG)", explained Bruce Sohn.

SOLON AG opens new solar photovoltaic production facility
in Tucson, Arizona

Berlin-based SOLON AG, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of solar modules and photovoltaic systems, is developing its market position in the USA. In the company of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the Mayor of Tucson, Bob Walkup, and a number of other guests from the worlds of politics and commerce, the company on July 6th 2007 held an opening ceremony for the US subsidiary which it founded in Tucson, Arizona, at the beginning of this year. The subsidiary is called SOLON America Corporation.

At the beginning of 2008, SOLON America will commence mass production of solar modules for the North American market. The first stage of development will see the creation of 40 megawatts of production capacity at the Tucson facility. The number of employees will rise to more than 100 by the end of the coming year. In addition to the production of solar modules, SOLON America will also offer installation and ancillary services for photovoltaic systems and solar power stations to customers in commerce, industry and the public sector throughout the country.

The company was recently awarded a contract to supply solar power systems for a major power station project in the USA. The contract is for power output of one megawatt and is part of the "Alamosa Photovoltaic Plant" project that is currently under development in Colorado and which has an overall power output of eight megawatts. The contract has been awarded by US-based SunEdison, LLC and relates to the delivery of SOLON Mover XL Eco power generation systems, a recently introduced variation of the SOLON Mover product. The SOLON Mover XL Eco is a concentrating photovoltaic system that has been specially developed for use in large-scale power stations. It also differs from the long-established SOLON Mover in that its active surface area is twice as large.

At the opening ceremony for SOLON America in Tucson, Olaf Koester, President and CEO of the company, praised the ambitious work of Congresswoman Giffords in making Arizona the "Solar Valley" of the USA: "We are delighted to be able to make a contribution to the commercial success of Tucson and the state of Arizona. Tucson is a city with a distinguished history that has long been known for its commitment to solar technology. Responsibility for a clean environment is a key element of our corporate culture. Through our innovative technologies, we are attempting to make solar energy the energy source of choice - safe, reliable, clean and economical."

SOLON AG (07/09/2007)

EPIA: Feed-in tariffs make solar photovoltaic electricity
more and more competitive

The 2nd EPIA Round-table in a cycle of 7 debates, running until December 2007, opened up the debate on the future of support mechanisms for renewable energies and in particular solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity. The European Photovoltaic Industry Association's debate stressed that correctly designed Feed-in tariffs are needed to promote PV electricity, but warned that EU harmonisation could give negative effects. The future European Directive on Renewable Energies due to be presented by the European Commission in autumn 2007, will cover renewable electricity, heating and cooling and biofuels. EPIA underlined that the electricity part should not foresee harmonisation of support schemes and should take as a minimum basis the existing successful directive on renewable electricity from 2001, and improve it. "These issues have to be highlighted in front of the European Commission and the Member States now, since the new framework directive will set out the future for the whole PV sector", EPIA emphasizes in a press release.

German Renewable Energy Law successfully accelerated PV Market

The successful German experience with feed-in tariffs due to EPIA shows that appropriate feed-in tariffs stimulates the PV sector in various ways: First they guarantee the price of PV solar electricity without depending on the State budget. It is indirectly paid by all electricity customers and enables every consumer to promote the development of renewable energies through its monthly electricity bill. Second feed-in tariffs secure financing for PV systems; a feed-in tariff established by law will serve as a guarantee for individuals willing to purchase a PV system, EPIA highlights.

Cost reduction and improved performance

Besides appropriate feed-in tariffs will encourage cost reduction; the constant reduction of the feed-in tariff for new systems connected to the grid will put pressure on the PV-industry to bring down costs. Finally feed-in tariffs will force the industry to significantly improve performance; the return on investment depends on the performance of the system and customers will opt for systems with highest return.

Administrative barriers slow down PV in southern Europe

Other countries such as France, Spain, Italy or Greece have already chosen to promote solar PV electricity through Feed-in tariff schemes. However, administrative barriers in terms of paper work or request of permits considerably slow down the process in several countries and increase the price of installed systems compared to Germany.

Feed-in tariffs: the cheapest and most effective promotion for solar photovoltaic electricity

Intervening in the debate, Claude Turmes, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and strong promoter of renewable energies, confirmed that feed-in tariffs are the cheapest and most effective option to promote solar photovoltaic electricity. Alternatives such as green certificates give no guarantee to investors, as a well designed feed-in scheme does.

Cornelia Viertl, senior adviser on renewable energies at the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and main speaker of the debate, said that the feed-in tariff has proved to be the most effective mechanism to promote solar photovoltaic electricity. She underlined however, that other countries should not copy the German model as a whole but adopt the general principles of it.

European Photovoltaic Industry Association (07/06/2007)

Concentrating Photovoltaics: International Workshop on
technology and Grid connection

From October 11th to 12th, 2007 the medieval city of Marburg about 80 km north of Frankfurt/Main (Germany) will host an International Workshop on Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plants, Optical Design and Grid Connection organised by the Philipps-Universität Marburg in cooperation with the German renewable energy consulting company Energynautics. The Workshop gives answers to the question whether CPV is a new technology within photovoltaics and how this technology works. It also deals with Fresnel lenses and multi-junction solar cells. Physicists from the Philipps-Universität at Marburg are convinced of offering an unique approach to CPV. In the future, CPV will supply a small but growing share of the photovoltaic power and develops as technology on its own just like offshore wind is a new technology emerging in wind power, Philipps-Universität emphasizes in a press release.

The International Workshop on Concentrating PV at Marburg will combine questions of technology with topics unique to intermittent power generation.

Picture: FLATCON®-Module: 16 square centimeter Fresnel-Lenses concentrate sunlight. Source: Fraunhofer ISE

The two-day Marburg workshop in September aims at connecting project managers, engineers and physicists working on different design aspects of Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plants. It brings together selected academic and business professionals for intensive discussions. The conference organizers are Prof Dr Wolfgang Stolz of Marburg, responsible for the Marburg part of the "EU-FP6 FULLSPECTRUM" program, Dr Thomas Ackermann, a wind power and distributed generation specialist (Energynautics), and Dr Ralf Leutz, "the" designer for Fresnel lens optics and CPV. All three have founded/are founding companies in the renewable energy sector.

The Marburg CPV-workshop is intended to become an annual to bi-annual event. The preliminary program and the registration details are available at the workshop homepage http://www.concentrating-pv.org.

Philipps-Universität Marburg (07/05/2007)

EPIA Photovoltaic Policy Group publishes action plan
and position paper

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPAI) has published a 52 pages "PV Policy Group Joint Action Plan and Position Paper" together with a summary and conclusions of the project and the position paper. The document is the result of a joint action from eight energy agencies in Europe together with EPIA and the company WIP, it was elaborated within the frame of the project "PV Policy Group - Improving the European and National support systems for Photovoltaic.

1. Continuation of the PV Policy Group project to support the introduction of PV strategies and their implementation on national level
2. PV in the built environment
3. Grid access regulations for small, decentralized PV and renewable energy systems
4. Financial support for PV – Establishing innovative financial instruments for small-scale PV projects
5. Concept for a pan-European monitoring system

" This document should serve as a reference to policy makers to improve the existing and functioning of support mechanisms for photovoltaics", EPIA emphasizes. In addition an action plan for several countries has been defined, this includes the countries Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the Netherlands.

All the national action plans are available at: http://www.pvpolicy.org/

European Photovoltaic Industry Association (07/03/2007)

Delta presents high efficient Solar Inverter SI 5000

The producer Delta has introduced the latest edition of their Topline Solar Inverter Series, the SI 5000 with an output power of 5,000 Watt. All Topline Solar Inverters according to the producer achieve an efficiency of up to 96.0 %. "Featuring a security plus, high reliability and an intelligent MPP-Tracking, the Topline Inverters deliver optimal Power in every operation point and are due to the galvanic isolation also suitable for thin film solar modules", Delta emphasizes in a press release. The SI 5000 has two separate MPP Trackers for the connection of different PV strings. The result is an increase of the energy yield due to the reduction of mismatching and partial shading losses. These superior technical characteristics lead to a reduction in the system cost, increase the energy yield and enhance the supply reliability.

State-of-the-art high-frequency engineering has been used to maximise the efficiency of the isolated SI 5000. Thanks to an advanced housing design, the fanless Solar Inverter can be used at high temperatures up to 60°C", Delta reports. The SI 5000 is designed for use in both indoor and protected outdoor applications. The serial production of the SI 5000 will start in autumn 2007.

Delta Solar Inverter SI 5000. Courtesy: Delta Energy Systems (Germany) GmbH

Delta Energy Systems (Germany) GmbH (07/02/2007)