Q-Cells sets two new records
German company Q-Cells has announced that its crystalline 60-cell modules have set two new world records: the efficiency record of 18.5 percent for multi-crystalline modules and the module output of 238 watts based on 60 quasi-monocrystalline solar cells.
Support for young German enterprises
Intersolar Europe, in association with BMWi (German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology), has announced that it will support young solar businesses at the PV conference in Munich, Germany for the fifth year running.
US: A new pact in California to be unveiled
Governer Edmund G. Brown and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will meet at Elk Grove, California on Friday to unveil a new agreement that seeks to boost clean energy jobs in the state.
Conergy to power agricultural water pumps
Bear Creek Ranch in Wasco, California has chosen Conergy’s Solar Large Projects Group as the project manager for its power generation site. The site will power water pumps and irrigation systems for the surrounding almond orchards.
AU Optronics begins trial process
Taiwanese company AU Optronics Corporation begins its trial in the case brought against it, its subsidiary AUO America and five of its current and former executives by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Hamburg investment company CEE acquires two more solar parks
CEE (Conetwork Erneuerbare Energien Holding GmbH & Co. KGaA) will be acquiring two new PV ground-mounted systems to add to its expanding solar portfolio. The total capacity that CEE owns will then increase to more than 70 MW (megawatts).
Germany: High of 3,000 MW in December alone
The annexing of PV systems in 2011 has been concluded to have been even higher than in record year 2010, says the German Federal Network Agency. In 2011, approximately 7,500 MW of PV installations were installed.
Small European markets on the rise
The European markets remain important for solar despite the financial uncertainty. Lux Research’s Solar Demand Forecaster, a customizable platform for tracking IRR (internal rates of returns) and projecting future growth through 2016, has identified the top five locations by IRR for the first quarter of this year.
India: Solar developers in Gujarat get extension
Solar developers in Gujarat with projects under construction have been given a month’s extension to complete their plants without losing their preferential payment rates. The deadline has been extended to January 28, 2012.
CIGS Photovoltaics Markets-2012 report
NanoMarkets will be adding a new report to its January publication schedule. This is set to be released the last week of January. The report continues the firm’s coverage of thin-film photovoltaics that dates back to 2005.
