Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) has published its 2011 Solar Company Scorecard. SolarWorld has come out on top, with Trina Solar following close behind. A number of other leading companies, however, failed to participate.

The European Commission has granted 3Sun Srl €49.06 million of regional investment aid. The funds will be used towards the establishment of a 240 megawatt, €358.68 million photovoltaic module production plant.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. has expanded its annual photovoltaic cell capacity to 570 megawatts, having added a new manufacturing site in Hefei City, China.

New Energy Technologies, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

According to its in-house measurements, Solar Frontier says it has achieved 17.2 percent aperture area efficiency on a 30 x 30 cm thin film CIS-based PV submodule. This, states the company, is a world record.

In another “efficiency record” for today, Q-Cells SE says it has reached an efficiency of 14.7 percent for a mass-produced CIGS thin film solar module, which has been manufactured via monolithic integration. This figure has been verified by Fraunhofer ISE.

The PV industry is on the cusp of a new generation, where many believe intelligent design will become standard. According to one industry expert, to avoid being left behind, now is the time to introduce this technology to the market.

Skyline Solar has been selected for what it says is Latin America’s largest utility-scale concentrated PV (CPV) power plant. The company has also unveiled its new Skyline Solar X14 array.

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. has signed a one-year supply agreement with U.S.-based Lumos Solar. The financial details were not disclosed.

Under a new, USD$7 million agreement, Solutia Inc. is to acquire selected assets of Aimcore Technology Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based conductive film manufacturing firm.