Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News

Despite decent coverage elsewhere in the media, no mention of the light but mighty Zephyr has appeared so far this week in the PV-Tech news section, which has me a bit taken aback. After all, the solar-powered aircraft, which stayed aloft for more than 82 hours over the US Army's Yuma (AZ) Proving Ground and shattered the existing record (albeit unofficially) for sustained unmanned flight in late July, is manufactured by a British company, QinetiQ (pronounced "kinetic"). Read more >>

Spun out of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics (UCEP) last year, Suniva has emerged as one of the most intriguing start-ups in the solar PV space. Over the past six months, the Atlanta-based company has raised $50 million in Series B funds; started to build, outfit, and ramp its first solar-cell production line; and struck big-ticket, nine-figure, multiyear deals with its supply chain (REC for wafers) and customer base (Solon for modules). Read more >>

Product Briefing Outline: The MANZ I-series, backend-line, has a throughput of 2400 cells/ hour, and is claimed to be the fastest backend system available in the market today. One single system includes printing, firing, laser edge isolation, cell testing and sorting for crystalline solar cells. Cell manufacturers are able to buy the system including all options such as firing and testing, as a one shop solution from MANZ. The specific design and the very low breakage rates of the system are designed to improve productivity and lowers cost of ownership (CoO). Read more >>