Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

SoloPower has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office for a USD$197 million loan guarantee.

HyperSolar, Inc. has completed a prototype design of its thin solar concentrator. The company’s aim is to reduce the number of solar cells in a panel by 75 percent.

Samsung Fine Chemicals (SFC) and MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. are to establish a polysilicon facility in Korea under a new joint venture (JV).

Solar Junction has achieved 41.4 percent cell efficiency on a concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) multi-junction production cell. The results have been confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

According to research, a decrease in demand for new PV installations in the first quarter of the year is expected to cause a “surge” in company inventories.

First Solar has completed the roof of its new manufacturing plant in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. Expected to be operational by June, the €173 million site will have a collective annual module capacity of over 238 megawatts (MW).

China Sunergy Co., Ltd. has entered into a 4,400 megawatt (MW) long-term wafer supply agreement with GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited.

Siliken is on track to open a 50 megawatt (MW) PV module production plant in Ontario, Canada. The company is expecting delivery of the first production line at the end of this month.

AUO Crystal Corp. (ACC) is to establish a solar wafer plant in Taiwan. Initial capacity is expected to hit 300 megawatts (MW). Up to 1,000 jobs could also be created over the next three years.

New research reveals polysilicon, wafer, cell and module prices will continue to decline, with smaller companies expected to suffer the biggest price drop. However, the PV polysilicon market is forecast to grow nearly 20 percent to reach around $8 billion.