(UPDATED) First Solar has reported second-quarter 2011 net sales of US$533 million in the quarter, a decrease of US$34.5 million from the first quarter, which were a decrease of US$42.5 million from the fourth quarter of 2010. The CdTe thin-film leader noted that the sales decline was primarily due to lower average selling prices, which in turn were due to policy uncertainties in Italy, Germany and France, leading to weaker-than-expected demand.
One of the largest solar PV power plants in North America will be expanded, nearly quadrupling its generating capacity in a few years. Pacific Gas and Electric and Sempra Generation have signed a 25-year contract for a 150MW (AC) expansion of Sempra Generation’s Copper Mountain Solar complex in Boulder City, NV. First Solar will provide millions of ground-mounted thin-film CdTe panels and serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the 1100-acre project.
A US$50 million fund is up for grabs by the US Department of Energy to domestic PV manufacturers wanting to take solar technology from the lab to the fab to help restore the United States as being at the forefront of solar manufacturing. The funding program is the second solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Initiative (PVMI) initiative, dubbed SUNPATH, which stands for Scaling Up Nascent PV At Home.
Meyer Burger Technology has received antitrust clearance from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, concerning the acquisition of equipment supplier, Roth & Rau. The settlement of the tender offer and the payment of the offer price are expected to take place on 9 August 2011.
Despite reports that Solar Frontier’s 900MW, CIS thin film production plant in Miyazaki, Japan has reached full capacity the company has said nothing of the sort. What Solar Frontier has said is that all production lines are now commercially operational having started its production ramp earlier this year. The Kunitomi Plant was said to be ‘on track to reach its targeted annual capacity of 900MW as average module output continues to increase, without giving a timeline. The Kunitomi Plant is said to be Japan’s largest solar module production facility, as well as the largest CIS factory in the world.
Phoenix Solar has secured two new contracts of one MWp each in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat states, India. The projects were signed with Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd in Singapore, its Asia Pacific subsidiary. Both PV projects will use thin film technologies. Both projects are scheduled to be connected to the grid by 31 December, 2011.
Spire has begun the expansion of its Advanced Technology Center (ATC) lab at its corporate headquarters in Bedford, MA, with updated equipment for customer evaluation and factory training. The new Spire systems installed include a larger format laminator and electroluminescence crack detection system, as well as next-generation assembler and simulator gear.
OPEL Solar International has signed a contract to supply modules for Limen’s two 1MW high-concentration PV (HCPV) power plants in Sicily, Italy. The order is valued at US$5 million and OPEL will begin delivery of the Mk-I modules in late 2011.
First Solar’s Series 3 CdTe thin-film solar modules have received the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) 61701 certification for salt mist corrosion, confirming the use of the Series 3 modules in coastal environments. The certification involves testing and studying the module’s performance in coastal environments, which are prone to corrosive salt mist.
Plextronics has scored US$15 million during its financing round from Solvay, its largest minority shareholder, which will go towards stepping up the company’s technology development and delivery of its products to customers located worldwide. Plextronics is focused on developing polymer-based materials and technologies for key applications of printed electronics such as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and organic PV cells (OPV).
