Product Briefing Outline: Veeco Instruments has introduced its ‘FastFlex’ line of Web Coating Systems designed for manufacturing CIGS solar cells (those using copper, indium, gallium and selenium). Veeco’s ‘FastFlex’ web deposition platform offers high throughput and improved performance for flexible thin film solar cell production that is claimed to contribute to a lower cost of ownership, due to its high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint.
BP Solar has reported a production capacity decline for the fourth quarter of 2008. The reasons for this were a combination of the running down and expected closure of its 50MW photovoltaic cell and module manufacturing plant in Australia, as well as a fire at its joint venture production plant in India, Tata BP Solar. BP detailed the production disruption and decline in MW capacity in its latest quarterly financial filings.
Market research firm, VLSI Research Inc., has compiled its inaugural, though currently a preliminary list of the Top 10 PV cell manufacturing equipment suppliers for 2008, based on sales. Although dominated by German based equipment suppliers, the market research firm noted that U.S. based Applied Materials was the largest supplier, with sales of US$455 million. Applied took the number one spot due to its acquisitions in recent years coupled with the recognition of revenues from its first ‘Sunfab’ turnkey thin-film installations, which entered production for the first time in 2008.
LDK Solar has said that it started polysilicon production at its first 1,000MT plant on January 14th, 2009, 11 months after starting construction at its production complex in Xinyu City, China. A ceremony was held with the Governor of Jiangxi, Mr. Wu Xinxiong attending as well as the entire construction workforce.
ET Solar Group Corp has signed a 13MW module supply deal with Germany’s USE, a distributor and integrator. The deal lasts through January to November 2009. The two companies entered into a strategic partnership in 2008, including module shipments.
Product Briefing Outline: Pasan SA has introduced a new electronic load that is more accurate and offers several additional features for the testing of solar cells and modules. This electronic load not only is fitted to module and cell flashers, but also can be combined with continuous light sources. Furthermore the equipment is suitable for outdoor testing.
Loss-making EMCORE Corporation said in an SEC filing that it is planning a sweeping range of cost-cutting measures and refinancing moves to improve the company’s financial liquidity. A workforce reduction will be made to lower operating costs, though how deep the cuts will be was not disclosed.
LDK Solar has succumbed to the slowing demand for solar wafers from its customer base that includes Q-Cells, Sharp and Suntech, having revised revenue estimates significantly downwards for its fourth quarter guidance. The revised revenue is between US$425 and US$435 million, compared to its previous projection of between US$555 to $565 million. Wafer shipments were previously projected to be in the range of 260 to 270MW but are now expected to be in the range of 245 to 255MW. Gross margins have also been seriously affected with guidance revised to between 10% and 13%, compared to gross margins of between 18% and 21%, issued previously.
China Technology Development Group Corporation has signed an initial contract with the local government of Qinghai Haixi Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Region for the construction and operation of a 30MW on-grid solar power plant at a cost of US$150 million. Construction is expected to start sometime in 2009 and has a targeted capacity of 1GW, according to CTDC, without providing a timescale or further financial details of the ambitious and potentially the largest single PV based power plant in the world.
With the emergence from stealth mode of a suite of thin-film companies, many U.S.-based, our North American contributing editor Tom Cheyney has been right in the thick of the reporting action all year. His ‘Chip Shots’ blog has proven such a massive hit in 2008 with PV-Tech readers that it is almost impossible to be selective in picking just a few to mention here in this review.
