Technology

Germany-based Q-Cells SE is to offer a professorship at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, in Halle, starting in its 2010/2011 winter term in a bid to educate graduates beginning their careers about the opportunities available in the photovoltaics (PV) industry. With both activities, the company says it is underscoring its commitment to Germany as a research location.

pv magazine has learned from Professor Martin Green that Australia’s University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence will not be closing its doors, despite losing financial support from the ARC Centre of Excellence program from the end of this year.

Electricity generated from new photovoltaics (PV) installations is now cheaper than electricity from proposed new nuclear plants, in what has been dubbed a historic crossover.

Speaking to pv magazine, Manz Automation AG CFO, Martin Hipp underlined four strategic aims the company intends to achieve in the next few years under its new partnership with Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG and the Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW – Center for solar energy and hydrogen research).

The University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence is reportedly being forced to close its doors after Australia’s Labor government stopped its funding, as part of the party’s proposed cuts to finance a “cash-for-clunkers” low-emissions car program, the Greens say.

Propelled by aggressive research and development (R&D) activities, third generation photovoltaics (PVs) are poised to take a huge leap forward, says Frost & Sullivan in a new analysis. The exploratory mass production of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC)-powered consumer durables is likely to alter the future course of research in this segment, says the company.

Solarmer Energy, Inc. has recently achieved a new world record of 8.13 percent for its organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell efficiency, which has been certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Pacific Blue Energy Corp. (PBEC) has announced it is preparing to begin the permitting process for 100 acres in Gila Bend, Arizona, the U.S., the purchase of which should be completed in the near future. As a result of the town’s solar overlay policy and strong support from town officials and staff, the company says it is on track to have the first phase of its 150 megawatt (MW) solar farm approved in two to four months, as opposed to the typical time frame of two years.

Purdue University, based in the U.S. is to lead a new research center to improve photovoltaic (PV) solar cells as part of a national effort to bring alternative energy technologies to the marketplace. Boosted by USD$5 million in funding from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, the research initiative is set to team companies with university research centers to work on alternative energy technologies.

Microsemi Corporation and Germany-based Spelsberg, in conjunction with its partner, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, have announced the development of a disruptive new technology for photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. The technology was demonstrated at this year’s Intersolar North America, held in San Francisco, the U.S.