Hopes of a revision to Conergy’s 10-year wafer supply agreement with MEMC have rescinded as soon as they were raised, with MEMC noting in a press statement covering first quarter financial results that the ‘contract remains in full force and effect.’ In a conference call to discuss financial results, MEMC executives said that Conergy had already been advised that the existing contract would remain in place.
Coherent, Inc. has shipped its 100th AVIA laser into the solar industry and is claimed to be one of the most widely adopted laser for a wide variety of solar cell fabrication applications. According to Coherent, the AVIA laser has more than 90% market share of the silicon cell edge isolation step.
Roth & Rau AG has acquired Ortner cleanroom logistic systems GmbH for an undisclosed sum in an effort to meet increasing demand from customers to support crystalline and thin-film equipment servicing, spare parts and other support activities. Ortner, based in Dresden, is a specialist in tool installations and automation company. Ortner’s existing management and skilled workforce will continue to operate the business as a subsidiary of Roth & Rau.
JA Solar Holdings has broken ground on its Phase II, ingot, cell and module facility in Yangzhou, China. According to Chinese news reports, the production plant will cost approximately US$100 million and be completed by the end of 2009. The reports suggested the new plant would increase JA Solar’s production capacity by 300MW.
Three sales agreements that total approximately 42MW of PV module sales in Germany for delivery in 2009 have been announced by Trina Solar. One deal with Bull Solar GmbH is worth 12MW of modules, Trina said. The sales were all signed in the first quarter of 2009.
Advent Solar has teamed with Arizona State University to develop next-generation Emitter-Wrap Through (EWT) back-contact cell and Monolithic Module Assembly (MMA) technologies, which form the core aspects of Advent Solar’s cell-to-module architecture. Advent Solar is placing engineering staff at SkySong, ASU's Center for Innovation in Scottsdale.
A new 53MW solar power plant near the German city of Cottbus could well be unique and come to represent the explosive growth of thin-film solar leader First Solar in years to come. 700,000 modules will be required for the project, which would become the largest in Germany. The project is being organised by First Solar and Juwi Holding AG, having secured funding from a consortium of banks, with 162 hectares of land leased from the State of Brandenburg on very attractive terms. This was due to the site being a former Soviet Union Army training camp that is ‘littered’ with land mines, grenades and other munitions, according to a joint statement from the project developers.
Just over a month after Pacific Crest financial analyst, Mark Bachman revealed that First Solar had been selected for a massive extension to Sempra Generation’s 10MW solar power plant in Boulder City, Nevada, First Solar has announced the deal. First Solar is to design, engineer and construct a 48MW plant at the same location, with the project expected to be completed sometime in 2010, subject to Sempra obtaining a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a utility.
In an expected move to strengthen its financial position, LDK Solar has announced a new line of credit worth approximately US$146 million from the Agricultural Development Bank of China and a US$29 million loan from China Development Bank. LDK Solar said it had unused credit facilities totalling US$785 million as of April 14, 2009.
China based thin film start-up, CHINT Solar has selected Air Products to supply both bulk and specialty gases at its new thin-film photovoltaic (PV) facility in Binjiang District, Hangzhou, China. The contract includes the supply of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty gases such as silane, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and dopant mixtures. CHINT Solar is planning to reach 210MW in thin film production in 2010 and 380MW production capacity in 2010 that includes crystalline silicon solar cells.
