Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Photovoltaic (PV) module shipments are set to decline by nearly 10 percent quarter on quarter in the first quarter of next year, according to IMS Research’s latest report.

Yingli Green Energy Italia Srl has signed a photovoltaics (PV) module sales agreement with Tecno Spot, whereby Tecno Spot will purchase approximately six megawatts (MW) of PV modules from Yingli through the end of this year. Tecno Spot is also committed to purchasing an additional 10-20 MW of PV modules by the end of next year.

Applied Materials, Inc. has announced its plans to restructure its Energy and Environmental Solutions (EES) segment, to put a primary emphasis on opportunities in crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar and advanced energy, including light emitting diode (LED) technology. As part of the restructuring, Applied says it will discontinue sales to new customers of its SunFab fully integrated lines for manufacturing thin film solar panels.

Swiss-based Oerlikon Solar, which makes amorphous-silicon manufacturing equipment, has cut its customers’ costs to “well under” USD$1 per watt today and is on track to reach its goal of 70 cents per watt by the end of the year, Chris O’Brien, head of market development and government relations told pv magazine at this year’s Intersolar North America.

Berkeley, California-based startup SolarNexus has told pv magazine at the Intersolar North America trade show that it is getting ready to launch a web-based software platform aimed at eliminating much of the paperwork that bogs down solar installers today.

As Intersolar North America drew to a close, analysts left the industry with upbeat forecasts for the solar market. “Things couldn’t be better in 2010,” Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel told pv magazine.

As an expected 20,000 solar devotees gather in San Francisco, the U.S. for the Intersolar North America trade show and conference, it is clear the industry’s mood is in an upswing. With global solar shipments up 92 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same quarter a year ago, and research firm iSuppli projecting a 92.9 percent increase in installations for the full year, attendees say it has become easier to be optimistic.

Professor Michael Grätzel, dubbed the father of third generation dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) and director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is this year’s winner of the Millennium Prize Laureate.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. today announced at the Intersolar Europe trade fair that it has partnered with the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) to introduce the metal wrap through (MWT) solar cell and module technology into production.

Thirty five solar-operated television viewing points have been installed in South Africa and Namibia for people living without access to electricity.The viewing points have been put in place in time for the World Cup, but it is said they will also be used for educational purposes in the future.