Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

LDK Solar today held a ground breaking ceremony for its new 30,000 metric ton (MT) polysilicon manufacturing facility in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia. The company believes “strong” polysilicon demand will be seen in 2014 “and beyond”.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed what it says is a “game-changing” furnace for the solar cell industry.

Since its establishment last June, PV Cycle has recycled 1,020 tons of end-of-life photovoltaic modules. Germany has been identified as the leading program participant.

AEG Power Solutions has inaugurated its new 400 megawatt (MW) solar inverter factory in Bangalore, India. While 40 people have already been hired, it is expected that a total of 150 jobs will be created.

Ten years after its establishment, aleo solar AG says it has manufactured over one gigawatt of photovoltaic modules and created 1,000 jobs.

GE has announced that it will build a new 400 megawatt (MW) cadmium telluride thin film photovoltaic panel manufacturing facility in Aurora, Colorado. Over 450 jobs are expected to be created.

U.S.-based Natcore Technology Inc. and the Italian MX Holding S.p.A. are looking to form a joint venture (JV) aimed at developing new technologies for a consortium of Italian photovoltaic panel producers. They will also open a new manufacturing facility.

Ideal Power Converters (IPC) has been awarded USD$2.5 million by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to develop lighter and cheaper solar inverters.

Wacker Chemie AG has begun production at its new polysilicon production facilities in Nünchritz, Germany three months earlier than scheduled.

A new high-performance, flexible copper nanowire, first developed at Duke University in the U.S. last year and now being commercialized at a spin-off company called NanoForge Corporation, may drive down the cost of solar cell production.