Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Stion has opened a 100 megawatt (MW) thin film manufacturing factory in Hattiesburg, the U.S. Meanwhile, the company has reached 14.1 percent efficiency on its thin film circuits.

The Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC) has allowed one of its customers to cancel a long-term wafer contract. As compensation, the Norwegian company will receive USD$40 million.

SMA Technology AG has commissioned the world’s largest solar inverter service center in Niestetal, Germany.

Although the adoption of new photovoltaic inverter technologies “strongly” grew in 2010, they accounted for under one percent of overall inverter revenues, according to new research. However, predictions are this market will grow two-fold annually until 2015.

Day4 Energy has signed an agreement with Ever Energy Co. Ltd under which its Day4 DNA photovoltaic cells will be manufactured in Taiwan.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced that Samsung is planning to open a photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in London.

A new joint venture has been set up, in order to produce metal products and other, valuable materials from old photovoltaic modules.

A USD$150 million loan guarantee for 1336 Technologies Inc. has been finalized by U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu for the development of its multicrystalline wafer manufacturing project.

Following Roth & Rau’s announcement yesterday that it achieved 20 percent wafer efficiency, it has now been publicized that it, along with Day4 Energy Inc., has produced a 19.3 percent efficient photovoltaic module.

Presenting its findings at the 26th EU PVSEC, Avancis says it has reached a thin film photovoltaic module efficiency of 15.8 percent.