On the heels of awarding a $16 million loan to Azure Power for a solar photovoltaic project in India, the Export-Import Bank of the United States said it is providing a $9.2 million long-term loan to support exports of Colorado-based Abound Solar's CdTe thin-film PV modules to Punj Lloyd Solar Power for a 5MW power plant in Rahjasthan.
CIS thin-film module manufacturer Solar Frontier has started shipping 150W modules with 12.2% conversion efficiencies after accelerating its production roadmap and achieving production targets ahead of schedule at its Kunitomi plant in Japan. Based on ‘keen’ interest in its low-cost, high-yield technology, which benefits from the ‘light soaking effect', unique to CIS technology, Solar Frontier said shipments were going to customers on a global basis, though quantity figures were not released.
Monocrystalline silicon solar cell specialist, Suniva is adding 25-30MW of module production to its Norcross, Georgia plant, which already has a capacity of 170MW for its ‘ARTisun Select’ solar cells. The expansion is scheduled to be completed in late August and operational in September, 2011, according to the company.
Phoenix Solar was selected by solarcomplex, a regional supplier of renewable energies in the Lake Constance region of Germany, to act as the EPC contractor for the 4.7MW power plant being built in Bodman-Ludwigshafen, Germany. The project will be developed on around .49 miles of land on both sides of the railway tracks between Stockach to Radolfzell.
AccuStrata has signed a contract to sell its monitoring and automation systems to one of India’s largest crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturers. The platform will help to increase the yields of the unnamed firm and represents AccuStrata’s largest deal to date in Asia.
OAI's Solar Test Division is featuring the capabilities of a recently introduced 350nm to 1800nm Class AAA solar simulator at Interoslar North America, being held in San Francisco, this week. The solar simulator is said to be ideal for multi-junction solar cell testing, high current I-V testing, and as a solar power meter.
SolFocus’ latest concentrator photovoltaics array, the SF-1136X, has nearly twice the rated power of the company’s SF-1100P and can be deployed in the field in less than half the time. The firm said it has increased the level of factory integration, simplified the mechanical structure of the system, and improved the logistics packaging.
As one of a growing number of China-based Tier 1 PV manufacturers pushing-hard towards solar cell efficiencies of 20%, Canadian Solar is showcasing its ELPS solar cell technology (Efficient, Long-Term, Photovoltaic Solution), that has demonstrated cell efficiencies of 19.5% with monocrystalline wafers and 18% efficiencies with polycrystalline wafers.
Hemlock Semiconductor’s new polysilicon plant, currently under construction in Clarksville, Tennessee, USA has signed a multi-year contract with Praxair, which will supply hydrogen to the facility. Praxair said it would build and operate an on-site hydrogen generating facility and supply liquid hydrogen by truck. The plant start-up is scheduled for 2012, according to Praxair. Praxair also supplies nitrogen and hydrogen to Hemlock’s polysilicon facility in Hemlock, Michigan.
At the solar industry’s largest event, Intersolar Europe, 2011 SunPower launched its new 96-cell E20 modules, which are the industry's first commercially-available solar panels to achieve total area efficiencies of 20% and above. Jorn Jugens, SunPower’s managing director, Germany had the honour of discussing with PV-Tech the key characteristics of the module, which includes SunPower's 22.4% efficient ‘Maxeon’ cell technology.
