Industry News
uni-solar laminates to power
transfer its proprietary production technol- solar fab. These LMJ modules, the core of
world’s largest rooftop solar system
ogy, developed in its pilot plant, into full Synova’s Laser MicroJet technology, will
Energy Conversion Devices’ UNI-SO-
production. The round will also fund Sul- be used to cut the venture’s 125- and 156-
LAR® thin-film flexible solar laminates
furcell’s long-term oriented development mm polysilicon EFG-octagonal tubes into
area are to power the world’s largest
projects. www.sulfurcell.de wafers for solar cell manufacturing. Several
rooftop solar power system, a 12-megawatt
LMJ systems have already been shipped
system being installed on General Motors
moncada enters solar energy and installed, with the remaining modules
assembly plant in Figueruelas, Zaragoza,
market with contract for applied to be integrated throughout 2009 and
Spain. The system will become operational
materials’ sunfab thin film line
2010. www.synova.ch
in the fall of 2008.
The Moncada Energy Group s.r.l. has
ECD will supply the solar laminates
awarded Applied Materials, Inc., a contract national semiconductor
through its wholly owned subsidiary,
to establish what will be Moncada’s first enters pV market
United Solar Ovonic, LLC. When fully op-
photovoltaic (PV) module production National Semiconductor Corp. has
erational, the photovoltaic system will have
facility and Applied’s first SunFab™ line entered the solar photovoltaic (PV) market
a peak capacity of 12 megawatts, producing
in Italy. The Applied SunFab thin film line with new technology designed to increase
as much as 15 million kilowatt hours of
will produce large 5.7m2 single junction the overall energy output of solar electric
“green” energy annually, enough to power
PV modules at a facility to be located in power generating systems. National’s Solar-
approximately 4,500 homes.
Campofranco, Sicily, and is expected to Magic technology could be used to extract
www.ovonic.com
have an annual rated capacity of 40MW. higher efficiency levels from each photo-
Applied’s SunFab production line will voltaic panel in a system, even when some
sencera plans thin film
add to Moncada’s existing power pro- panels in the array are compromised by
module factory
duction capacity of more than 105MW shading, debris or inherent panel-to-panel
Sencera International Corporation, a
in wind energy, and will expand Italy’s mismatch. www.national.com
manufacturer of thin film solar modules,
growing infrastructure of renewable energy
is expanding in Charlotte, North Carolina,
installations. www.moncadaenergy.it,
with plans to invest $36.8 million and cre-
www.appliedmaterials.com
ate 65 jobs over the next three years.
The company is planning to construct a
himachal pradesh set to get first
solar module facility that will produce solar
solar grade silicon plant
cells and assemble them into photovoltaic
Himachal Pradesh is all set to house In-
panels. Total manufacturing capacity will
dia’s first solar grade silicon manufacturing
exceed 38 megawatts by 2011. Sencera’s
plant. A proposal has been submitted to
headquarters and present operations will
the state government by Indo-Norwegian
move to the new facility. www.sencera.com
Solar Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company that
intends to invest between Rs 1,200 -1,500
Kcc plans $3.8 billion polysilicon
crore for setting up a solar-grade silicon
plant in s. Korea
manufacturing facility.
South Korean construction materials
The company will set up the plant in
maker KCC will spend 3.9 trillion won
the first phase, to produce 600 tonnes of
(US $3.8 billion) building a polysilicon
silicon per annum. On completion the
plant in the country and in other related
plant would produce 5,400 tonnes per
investment.
annum, major portion of which would be
The company said in a filing to the
for the export market. A facility for cutting
Korea Exchange that it had signed a
the Silicon ingots into wafers, suitable for
preliminary contract to build the plant in
making solar cells would also be set up.
Chungcheong Province, south of Seoul.
Once the facility becomes fully opera-
The spending plan includes an initial
tional, the company expects to touch a
320 billion won investment it announced
revenue target of $1 billion in a year. The
in February to have a polysilicon manu-
plant is expected to generate employment
facturing facility, making its foray into the
for about 500 persons.
business. www.kccworld.co.kr
synova receives multi-system
sulfurcell nets €85 million for
order from european solar cell
us air Force awards ascent solar
expansion
manufacturer
high efficiency solar cell program
Sulfurcell secured €85 million in equity
Synova announced a milestone follow-on
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a devel-
funding for a significant expansion of its
order for its Laser MicroJet® (LMJ) systems
oper of state-of-the-art, thin-film photo-
manufacturing with a new plant in Berlin,
from a European-based solar cell manufac-
voltaic materials, announced that the US
Germany, for the production of CIS/
turer. Representing one of Synova’s largest
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
CIGSe-based thin-film solar modules. The
equipment orders to date, the 25 LMJ
has selected Ascent Solar for a Broad
new plant will have an annual capacity of
systems will be integrated into its cus-
Agency Announcement award to develop
75 megawatts (MW) with an intermediate
tomer’s edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG)
high-performance thin-film multijunction
expansion to 35 MW.
process—a leading-edge, proprietary silicon-
photovoltaics (PV) based on Ascent Solar’s
With this financing Sulfurcell will
efficient technology—at its European-based
flexible monolithically integrated CIGS
www.globalsolartechnology.com Global Solar Technology – September/October 2008 – 33
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