Industry & Suppliers

Germany-based Masdar PV has signed a contract with IG Solar PVT Ltd to supply 1.5 megawatts peak (MWp) of silicon-based thin film photovoltaics (PV) modules. Under the contract, the company has said its modules will be used on rooftops by Indian construction project developer MAG, which constructs villages in India “under the aspect of sustainability”.

Comtec Solar Systems Group Limited has said orders for its monocrystalline solar wafers have already exceeded 600 megawatts (MW) for next year. The news came as the company announced it has signed around 200 MW worth of supply framework agreements. It added that it will be focusing on its 400 MW expansion, with the aim of reaching one gigawatt (GW) of capacity by next year.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Sandia National Laboratories is investing USD$8.5 million for four projects, which have reached Stage III of the Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) program. DOE reported that these investments will be matched more than one-to-one by the SEGIS contractors to support more than USD$20 million in total projects.

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. has signed multiple supply agreements with several customers to provide over 500 megawatts (MW) of mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline solar cells for delivery next year. The financial sum has not been disclosed.

imec has announced it will present several large-area silicon solar cells with a conversion efficiency above 19 percent at this year’s EU PVSEC, currently being held in Valencia, Spain.

In a second round of funding by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S.-based SunPower Corp. is set to receive a grant of around USD$1.8 million from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration (CSI RD&D) Program.

In what has been described as a “watershed breakthrough” for the photovoltaics (PV) industry, U.S.-based SoloPower has said its flexible copper indium gallium (di) selenide (CIGS) modules are the first of their kind to receive Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification.

Having opened its doors to the public yesterday in Valencia, Spain, it seems the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition / 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (25th EU PVSEC / WCPEC-5) has got off to a positive start. And, judging by the comments coming from the trade show, everyone is keeping a keen eye on the industry’s future.

Solar Frontier K.K. has announced it will supply around one megawatt (MW) of CIS thin film solar cell modules to Miyazaki Solar Way Co., Ltd.’s ‘Tsuno No. 2 Power Plant’. Operations at the plant are expected to begin next year, in the town of Tsuno in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited has signed a 7.9 megawatt (MW) photovoltaics (PV) module sales agreement with France-based system integrator Cegelec.