Manufacturing

??NJR Clean Energy Ventures (NJRCEV), a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, has announced an agreement with Adler Development of Edison, NJ to lease space atop four fully occupied buildings in central New Jersey, the United States for rooftop solar systems. The USD$17 million project will be capable of generating 3.9 megawatts (MW) of energy, according to the company.

Manz Automation AG has signed a know-how licensing and strategic alliance agreement with Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG. Under the €50 million agreement, Manz gains exclusive rights to the use to Würth Solar’s Copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) production technology and exclusive access to their research results regarding CIGS modules on glass substrates.

Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., based in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, China, has said it is to increase its cell capacity by 50 megawatts (MW) through the enhancement of its manufacturing processes, and will convert 160 MW of its existing cell lines to high-efficiency selective emitter technology. Both aims are to be completed in the early first quarter of next year, says the company.

Israel-based Orbotech, which is better known for testing equipment of printed circuits, has announced its decision to enter the photovoltaics (PV) panel sector. The company says its first products will be available next year.

Suntech-owned KSL-Kuttler Automation Systems GmbH, based in Dauchingen, Germany has announced 62 redundancies today following the news that the company will be redirecting its efforts towards the photovoltaics (PV) industry.

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.

Premier Power Renewable Energy, Inc. has signed a contract to build a 0.5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant for Italian timber company Mirrione Francesco Legnami SRL, in Sicily. The company has also announced the opening of a new Southern California office in the U.S. to serve new and existing customers.

Eco Supplies Europe AB has successfully closed the acquisition of Gällivare Eco Supplies Europe AB, a Swedish producer of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. The company has also completed a fully subscribed capital increase of €1.8 million.