General Plasma (GPI) has appointed Dr. Troy Shangguan as its chief technology officer (CTO). Shangguan comes to GPI from Applied Materials, where he worked at the director of advanced technology.
Single crystal substrate start-up, Confluence Solar is to build a solar silicon ingot plant on a 25 acre site in Clinton, Tennessee at a cost of US$200 million. The company claims that its ‘HiCz’ single crystal ingot growing technology offers 15% better cell conversion efficiencies but at a cost comparable or better than using multi-crystal silicon ingots. Tennessee is fast becoming a hub for polysilicon producers with new plants being built by Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemie, in the state.
Xslent Energy Technologies has received UL 1741 approval for the XPX A1000 smart grid micro PV inverter. The XPX A1000 is targeted to the residential and commercial markets and will be licensed and distributed under the Powered by XETTM label.
AmpleSun and partner Broosha Solar Italia have reached an agreement with the Research and Technological Innovation Agency (R&TIA) for the supply of 500KWp of amorphous-silicon thin-film modules ASF Series.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest up to US$12 million in total funding in four companies to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies and help them advance to full commercial scale. The money will go towards expanding the U.S. clean energy economy and the development of solar energy as a more cost-competitive source of electricity.
Concentrated solar power (CSP) firm SHEC Energy has entered into a global agreement with Emerson Process Management to help bring to fruition its novel solar thermal facilities to commercial applications. SHEC claims its CSP technology can be applied to power generation in the range of 25KW to gigawatt scale. SHEC is to employ Emerson’s advanced automation services to maximize the efficiency and reliability of its planned renewable energy projects.
Suniva has completed a 240kW solar installation on a retail center in Cary, NC. The PV module array is on the rooftop of the Mayfair Plaza Shopping Center and is one of the state's largest rooftop arrays. This project is the second to be built by FLS Energy and powered by Suniva.
EDF Energies Nouvelles has released the report on its solar activities ending December 31, 2009. Capacity in service almost quadrupled from 20.8MWp at December 31, 2008 to 80.9MWp at December 31, 2009. Overall, capacity in service or under construction at year-end 2009 came to 219.7MWp, compared to 49.9MWp at the end of 2008. The group has exceeded the target it announced at the beginning of 2009 of 100MWp to 150MWp in service or under construction.
Solar-Fabrik has now completed the largest solar power plant in Schleswig-Holstein. The project was set up through community involvement and inaugurated during January 2010 in Nindorf, Germany.
