IMEC has achieved large-area (70cm2) epitaxial solar cells with efficiencies reaching 16.3% on high-quality substrates. Efficiencies of up to 14.7% were attained on large-area low quality substrates. IMEC accomplished 20μm-thick high-quality epitaxial silicon stacks on top of a highly-doped high-quality substrate and low-cost upgraded metallurgic grade (UMG) type, multicrystalline Si substrate.
REC Solar and Tigo Energy have reached an agreement whereby REC Solar will offer the Tigo Energy Maximizer in its commercial and residential installations across the U.S. REC began the program for Tigo’s Maximizer with REC’s San Francisco Bay area installations in February and extended its reach to Los Angeles, San Diego and Colorado. This summer, all U.S. territories will have the Tigo Maximizer available for installations.
PowerFin Partners announced that it has reached capacity to fund over $100 million in commercial and utility-scale solar projects in the U.S. and Canada. PowerFin provides the PPA, EPC, O&M and site lease contracts along with engineering for the full operation of a solar generation facility.
JA Solar Holdings and Solar-Fabrik have signed a supply agreement that will see JA Solar provide 70MW of PV products through the end of 2010. This is just one of several partnerships the two companies have engaged in since 2008.
Leshan Ledian Tianwei Silicon-Tech formally signed itsacknowledgement that it had chosen Poly Plant Project’s (PPP) CVD silicon deposition Reactor for Leshan’s polysilicon product plant in Leshan, China.
The newest executive team member for Critical Manufacturing comes in the form of Jeff Peabody who was newly appointed as VP of sales and business development. Peabody brings eighteen years of senior marketing and sales positions for factory automation solutions in semiconductor manufacturing. Most recently, Peabody held a senior position with Global Services Group of Applied Materials.
Colorado and Arizona are the newest states to whom KACO and Sungevity have extended their iQuote online sales tool availability. The system allows for homeowner’s to import simple data points into the Sungevity online portal and receive an iQuote within 24 hours. Many of the iQuote systems have been installed with Blueplant inverters from KACO.
Ian Jenks has been elected as the newest member to QuantaSol’s board of director’s where he will also serve as chairman. Jenks has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry for companies in the US and Europe.
BTU has recently received a $16 million order for solar cell processing equipment. BTU offers processing equipment for both silicon and thin-film PV applications. Recognition of this new revenue will be started in the fourth quarter of 2010 and continue through the first half of 2011.
In direct relation to an increase in demand for its metrology systems for PV applications, LayTec has expanded its distribution network with two new partners in Asia: DKSH Korea and MOS Technology.
