Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

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.

PV module quality, materials, production and market issues are set to be the themes of an upcoming workshop in Germany. A key discussion point will be the integration of quality measures into production lines.

Inventux Technologies AG has been awarded a RoHS Certificate for its PV modules by TÜV Rheinland.

Sanyo’s Hungarian subsidiary has officially opened its new 150 megawatt (MW) solar module production facility in Hungary. Around 300 jobs have been created.