The new OPDE Group Centre will be located in Turin Italy · The Spanish solar photovoltaic multinational, The OPDE Group – comprising the companies OPDE, MECASOLAR, PROINSO and RIOS- will sign next Friday, October 8th, an agreement with the regional government of Piedmont (Italy) for: The construction of 17 solar facilities in the period 2009-2010;… Read more »
SWAY AS has applied for a test concession from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate for constructing a test turbine in Naturgassparken in Oygarden (West Coast of Norway). The construction of the prototype will be conditional on financial support from Enova. The wind turbine will have a capacity of 10 MW and a rotor… Read more »
Biel , 23. September 2009. Today in Hemau, in the district of Regensburg, will see the commissioning of the first megawatt station built by Sputnik Engineering, a Swiss inverter manufacturer. The 632 photovoltaic (PV) plant was installed on open land by SolaStrom Systems GmbH, a system integrator based in Augsburg. At this site the usual… Read more »
ALZENAU, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that it has begun shipping multiple Applied TopmetTM 4450 systems, the world’s largest and fastest, roll-to-roll thin film metal deposition machine, to a customer in Europe. {pagebreak} This latest model of Applied’s Topmet 4450 product line deposits ultra-thin aluminum films on 4.5m (15 feet) wide rolls of… Read more »
HyperSonic Ultrasonic Reciprocating System Provides a Proven Solution for Scaling Up Solar Manufacturing Processes Sono-Tek Corporation – Milton, NY announces the immediate availability of its new HyperSonic ultrasonic reciprocating coating system designed for processes such as Phosphoric Doping, CIGS coatings, anti-reflection coatings and various nanosuspension coatings for thin film and silicon solar cell production. {pagebreak}… Read more »
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and BASF were nominated for the German Future Prize for the joint development of Micronal® PCM, a microencapsulated latent heat storage material for construction materials. This prize is awarded every year by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. {pagebreak} By awarding this prize for technology… Read more »
The Fraunhofer IWES in Kassel, Germany and the association DERlab e.V. are presenting for the first time Europe-wide standardised outdoor tests for PV modules at the world’s largest solar energy conference EU PVSEC Kassel, 22nd September 2009. {pagebreak} Module manufacturers sell their products all over the world. And yet, since unified standards are lacking, a… Read more »
This three-part analysis – “Silicon cells”, “Thin film cells” and “Organic and hybrid cells” provides extensive information and rational analysis of the global photovoltaic cells patents’ landscape. PARIS September 9, 2009 – “IP Overview Photovoltaic 2009” establishes a panorama of the worldwide patents claiming “silicon cells”, {pagebreak} “thin film cells” and “organic and hybrid cells”… Read more »
Memmingen, 18 September 2009. Phaesun GmbH, a systems provider based in Memmingen , Germany , has taught technical and economical details of solar technology to 60 Ugandan participants for one week. Working along with Phaesun were four German partner companies, the German Solar Industry Association BSW-Solar and the GTZ. Representatives from 30 Ugandan solar companies,… Read more »
Samskip Multimodal Container Logistics can draw upon 30 years of experience operating flatrack equipment between the Benelux, Germany, the UK and Ireland. Now that experience is being made available to a wider network of customers. {pagebreak} Since the beginning of 2009 Samskip has expanded its flatrack services to cover new trade lanes to include Italy,… Read more »
The Danish company Avanti Wind Systems has just supplied service lifts and ladder fall safety equipment for five new 2 MW wind turbine towers in Uruguay. The wind turbine park in Cerro de los Caracoles was financed by Spain and is operated by UTE, the Uruguayan state-owned electricity company. {pagebreak} The new turbine towers, which… Read more »
PV Branch profits from new extra-occupational master’s program The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE plays a significant part in setting up and carrying out a new master degree course “Master Online Photovoltaics” at the University of Freiburg. The goal of this course program is the extra-occupational education and vocational training of specialists for… Read more »
Solarion AG, based in Leipzig (Germany), is involved in the development of the electric automobile E-Up! which was presented as a world premiere by the CEO of Volkswagen AG Martin Winterkorn at the 63rd Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), currently taking place in Frankfurt (Germany). The roof of the concept car E-Up! with an area of about… Read more »
• Minimum investment volume through 2012 now EUR 525 million • Continuation of the successful cooperation in the power plant construction business Sulzemoos 16 September 2009 / Phoenix Solar AG (ISIN DE000A0BVU93), a leading photovoltaic system integrator listed on the TecDAX, has for the second time extended the framework agreement, signed with KG Allgemeine Leasing GmbH & Co. (KGAL)… Read more »
Gemini Energy Services has been awarded $74,100 in job training funds from The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s Employment Training Panel’s Small Business Program. The funds will be used to train 19 of Gemini’s San Diego-based, all veteran team of technicians to provide operations and maintenance services to the Wind Industry, one of ETP’s… Read more »
Situated on the Chennai – Bangalore growth corridor, the 312 acre Zone would be an ecosystem for solar goods, providing world class infrastructure and utilities to house all activities across R&D, Manufacturing, Services and Trading. This is the first phase of the 3700 acre development of the multi-product GMR Krishnagiri SEZ. Located just off Bangalore,… Read more »
PES is proud to announce the publication of its latest issue, subtitled: PV comes of age – solar power and the push for mainstream acceptance. Has the PV industry finally come of age? Well, the statistics certainly look good, even if the economic downturn has – temporarily, perhaps – slightly dented the industry’s image as… Read more »
Industry executives attending the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EU PVSEC) in Hamburg will be able to pick up their latest copy of PES magazine at the show, where we are once again media partners. {pagebreak} This year, we’ll be meeting the demand of the record-breaking number of visitors with a massively-increased circulation, and… Read more »
A leading manufacturer of high-performance solar cells, JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. is one of the industry’s leading lights. The company sells its products to solar manufacturers worldwide, who assemble and integrate solar cells into modules and systems that convert sunlight into electricity for residential, commercial, and utility-scale power generation. PES spoke to Ming Yang,… Read more »
As a critical part of the photovoltaic manufacturing process, metallization is applicable to both crystalline silicon and thin-film technologies. As such, it’s not only important that manufacturers get it right, but also, that they do so while driving down cost-per-watt and increasing cell efficiency. Then and only then will we arrive at that coveted milestone… Read more »
SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries, and member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Here, Steve Buehler, Sr. Director, Communications, puts forward a future vision for the industry that is built… Read more »
Has the PV industry finally come of age? The statistics certainly look good, even if the economic downturn has – temporarily, perhaps – slightly dented the industry’s image as one which seemed to offer unlimited growthAnd, credit crunch aside, there is still much to celebrate, particularly in Europe. {pagebreak} The continent accounted for no less… Read more »
Last year, PES met Bryan Ekus of the newly-formed International Photovoltaic Equipment Association, a major trade group aiming to meet the needs of PV manufacturers and suppliers. We caught up with the busy Managing Director 12 months later to see how things have progressed and whether establishing a trade association where none existed previously was… Read more »
In recent years, the interest for renewable energy has grown dramatically, not only from the research and academic world and from the policy makers, but also from the industry, that has reckoned renewable energy as a new growth market. As a result, the PV industry has grown with more that 30% yearly over the last… Read more »
In a country which often generates adverse publicity as a result of its fluctuating economy and ever-changing political system, one area of consistently good news lies with its renewables industry, which is seen as one of the most up-and-coming in the world. In fact, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association. {pagebreak} investments in photovoltaics… Read more »
Prediktor is a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) company with its HQ in Norway and subsidiaries in Singapore, Germany and China. Prediktor is partnering with the PV industry to optimise manufacturing processes and reduce the cost of solar power. The Prediktor Solar Manufacturing Execution System helps realise a plant’s full potential, based on in-depth solar industry… Read more »
Alternative energy resources continue to be high in demand, and the photovoltaic industry is still leading the field. In order to ensure availability and short lead times, Swiss based PV connector specialist Multi-Contact largely increased their global manufacturing capacities and invested in state-of-the-art production facilities. {pagebreak} In 1996, Multi-Contact pioneered with the introduction of the… Read more »
There are very few industries that have grown as quickly as the photovoltaic industry over the last 10 years. Its image as a fancy technology is long gone and it is now on the way to becoming one of the 21st century’s sources of energy. Lapp Group’s Michael Collet explains… {pagebreak} The industry has not… Read more »
Black Forest-based Robert Bürkle GmbH succeeded in making a breakthrough in solar module production with its Ypsator, the world’s first and largest multi-opening laminator. Here Managing Director, Ralf Spindler, tells us about the company and its ambitious plans for the future. {pagebreak} With the Ypsator, Robert Bürkle GmbH succeeded in making a breakthrough in solar… Read more »
Flanked by wind and solar thermal energy, photovoltaic is the source to give developing regions access to clean energy. In order to compete with traditional and new energy sources, the photovoltaic industry follows one goal – cost reduction. To address this need, the Meyer Burger Technology Group has come up with a whole range of… Read more »
ABB is a market leader in power and automation technologies, enabling utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people. {pagebreak} ABB robots for solar cell and solar module production ABB uses all the latest technology to… Read more »
Luvata is a world-leader in metal fabrication, component manufacturing and related engineering and design services. The now-global company prides itself on its ability to partner its customers – through its Partnerships Beyond Metals philosophy – to help them increase their competitiveness. PES spoke to Justin Roux, Senior Vice-President of Communications, about the company and its… Read more »
The Grenzebach group is a global PV player with production facilities in Germany, the USA and China. Its staff of 1500 designs, manufactures and delivers fabrication lines and components for the production and processing of flat glass and thin film photovoltaic modules. The company is also a specialist in equipment for display glass production. Here,… Read more »
Kurt E Thomsen’s company Advanced Offshore Solutions (AOS) was a pioneer in the field of offshore windfarm installations. Here, he talks to PES about the successes of the industry and how AOS plans to meet the severe challenges it is likely to face in the near future. {pagebreak} PES: Welcome to PES magazine, Can… Read more »
Despite the current economic gloom, the green energy sector is looking towards a future of exponential growth. But how can we capitalise on this, if we can’t attract the necessary workforce?Tens of thousands of new jobs are expected to be created across Europe by the expansion of wind farms alone. {pagebreak} Indeed, Lord Hunt,… Read more »
Transiting the Northeast-Passage, applying a towing kite system, utilising the shark skin effect – three different topics, one common interface: Beluga Shipping GmbH, the project and heavy lift carrier known for great innovative spirit and the philosophy to go off the beaten tracks of commercial shipping. {pagebreak} Three Beluga vessels are the first to… Read more »