In a blow to homegrown U.S. solar manufacturing, Intel spinoff SpectraWatt will be laying off most of its workforce and possibly closing down operations, according to published reports. The crystalline-silicon PV cell manufacturer will let more than 100 employees go starting in March of next year and may shutter its less-than-year-old factory located in IBM’s Hudson Research Park in Hopewell Junction, NY.
Demand for PV cells and modules remained strong in the third quarter, according to a new report from IMS Research. A new leader appeared in solar cell production in the form of JA Solar, which increased its cell production by an impressive 35% in the quarter to top the rankings for the very first time.
Despatch Industries has finished 2010 with total sales figures of US$200 million – the best year-end results in the company’s 108-year history. Despatch’s Solar Business Group was responsible for the lion’s share of this number after capitalising on the increasing demand for cell-processing equipment in Asia.
JinkoSolar Holdings has signed an agreement with Innovalight granting JinkoSolar the right to purchase Innovalight’s silicon ink and license its processing technology for the manufacturing of solar cells. JinkoSolar is looking at this contract with Innovalight’s technology to yield efficiencies over 18.6% in its monocrystalline solar cells during the first half of 2011.
Day4 Energy and Motech Industries have agreed to an extension in the supply contract the two companies have for the delivery of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Motech will considerably increase the contracted quantity of the solar cells they supply to Day4 and its Day4 solarSystems manufacturing partners, although neither company revealed the amount to be supplied. Delivery is set to begin in early January 2011.
The European Commission has awarded Sovello AG €15.5 million of regional investment aid to help build its latest String Ribbon solar-module production facility in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany. When completed, the entire project will have received investment totalling €147 million and created 320 jobs in the region.
