| Dear Subscriber,
The wires have been overflowing lately with news of plant expansions, companies scrambling to tie up silicon supply, and sales successes for equipment suppliers — all within the solar market. Solarbuzz recently reported that the photovoltaic market grew by 19% last year, which is not expected to slow down this year, despite continuing polysilicon supply issues. Check out the items below for just a sampling of the latest news in this red hot market. To keep up with all the latest, check in regularly at our Emerging Tech Info Channel:
www.semiconductor.net/emerging
Aaron Hand, Executive Editor, Electronic Media
ahand@reedbusiness.com
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Solar Power Plants in Spain Energized by SunPower
PR Newswire US, 4/25/2007
SunPower Corp., a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, commercially available solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced a number of solar power plant projects being built or supplied by its PowerLight subsidiary. These projects will expand PowerLight's footprint in Spain to more than 61 MW. More
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Record Plastic Solar Cell Efficiency Set
UPI, 4/23/2007
Wake Forest University scientists reported breaking the record for plastic solar cell efficiency, pushing it to more than 6%. They achieved the record efficiency for organic or flexible plastic solar cells by creating "nano-filaments" within light-absorbing plastic, similar to the veins in tree leaves. That allows for the use of thicker absorbing layers in the devices, which capture more of the sun's light. More
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Sony, Chinese Academy to Conduct Joint Research on Solar Cells
Jiji Press Ticker Service, 4/23/2007
Japan's Sony Corp. said that it has set up a research facility with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop next-generation solar cell materials and equipment. Sony already collaborates with Chinese institutions such as Tsinghua University in R&D. But the latest tie-up is the first with a governmental think tank. More
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3-D Solar Cells Boost Efficiency, Reduce Size
US States News, 4/11/2007
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed 3-D solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them. The technique could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity. More
http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1337
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=3-D+Solar+Cells+Boost+Efficiency%2C+Reduce+Size&btnG=Google+Search
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Solarbuzz: World Solar Photovoltaic Market Grows 19% in 2006
PR Newswire US, 3/19/2007
World solar photovoltaic market installations reached a record high of 1744 MW in 2006, representing growth of 19% over the previous year, says the annual photovoltaic market report issued by Solarbuzz LLC, a San Francisco-based solar energy consultancy. More
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AMAT Commits to Leading U.S. Solar Power Generation Capability
Business Wire, 3/14/2007
Applied Materials Inc. announced recently that it will install >1.9 MW of solar power generation capability at its research campus in Sunnyvale, Calif. This is believed to be the largest solar power installation on an existing corporate facility in the United States, and will be rolled out in three phases. More
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Solar Cell Maker Allots $1.3B for Plant Expansion
Paolo Joseph L. Lising — BusinessWorld, 4/20/2007
Sun Power Philippines Manufacturing Ltd. plans to spend $1.3B to expand its solar cell-making facility over the next three years. The company, a subsidiary of California-based Cypress Semiconductor Corp., plans to make the Philippines its manufacturing hub for the solar cells that it exports to Europe, Japan and the United States, said Sun Power Vice President for Manufacturing Greg Reichow. More
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Kyocera to Double Manufacturing Capacity for Solar Modules
Business Wire, 4/18/2007
Kyocera Corp. today announced plans to expand its annual solar module manufacturing capacity to 500 MW by the end of March 2011 — more than double its current annual capacity of 240 MW — in response to global demand. More
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A Bright Idea: Low-Cost Printed Solar Panels
Tim Avery — Graphic Arts Monthly, 4/1/2007
Solar power manufacturer Nanosolar has been developing technology making it possible to roll-print solar cells that require only 1/100th as thick an absorber as a silicon-wafer cell, while still delivering similar performance and durability. More
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Evergreen Solar and DC Chemical Make Polysilicon Supply Agreement
Business Wire, 4/17/2007
Evergreen Solar Inc., a manufacturer of solar power products, announced that it has signed a multi-year polysilicon supply agreement with DC Chemical Co. Ltd., with shipments beginning in late 2008 and continuing through 2014. Under the agreement, Evergreen Solar will receive sufficient polysilicon to manufacture ~1 GW of photovoltaic solar modules through 2014. More
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China's Largest Monosilicon Plant to Expand Production
Xinhua General News Service, 4/13/2007
Jinglong Group, the largest monosilicon producer in China and the largest shareholder of JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd., revealed that it will expand its monosilicon production capacity to 3000 tons and produce 1280 tons of monosilicon and 45 million silicon wafers this year. More
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Trina Solar Announces Successful Launch of Solar Cell Line
PR Newswire US, 4/2/2007
Trina Solar Ltd. (Changzhou, China), a vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, announced the successful commercial launch of its newly installed solar cell line. The 50 MW cell line had been under testing during the first quarter of 2007 with positive initial trials. After further fine tuning, the commercial production started successfully, with average cell efficiencies of 16.3%. More
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Solar EnerTech Signs Long-Term Polysilicon Supply Contract
Market Wire, 3/30/2007
Solar EnerTech Corp. announced the signing of a long-term material supply contract with Jiangsu Photovoltaic Industry Development Co. Ltd. of China. The 10-year framework of the agreement is for the provision of polysilicon refined as semiconductor-grade material. More
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Hoku Breaks Ground on Polysilicon Facility in Idaho
Market Wire, 3/27/2007
Hoku Materials, a subsidiary of Hoku Scientific Inc. established to manufacture polysilicon for the solar market, held a groundbreaking ceremony recently for its polysilicon production plan |
