Spire enters into commercial agreements with Korea's Uni-CHEM

BEDFORD, USA: Spire Corp., a global solar company providing capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules and turnkey manufacturing lines worldwide has entered into two contracts to supply Uni-CHEM Co. Ltd. (Uni-CHEM) of Seoul, South Korea, via its United States (US) entity, Uni-CHEM Solar, a 60 megawatt (MW) per year turnkey Cell Line and a 50MW per year turnkey Module Line, as well as the associated utilities and infrastructure support.

Uni-CHEM has indicated its intent to lease space from Spire at its Hudson, New Hampshire's Spire Semiconductor facility to house the automated 60MW Cell Line and 50MW Module Line. Terms of the sub-lease are not yet fully defined and currently under negotiation. The Uni-CHEM integrated Cell and Module Lines are planned to become operational in the second half of 2010.

Additionally, Uni-CHEM has agreed it will form a US entity, which will purchase 51 percent of Spire Solar Systems, Spire Corporation's system integration business, subject to definitive documentation. Such definitive agreements have not yet been finalized.

Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corp., said: "We are excited to have finalized the cell and module turnkey manufacturing agreements with Uni-CHEM. We believe their cell and module manufacturing will position them to participate in the US solar market, which is anticipated to be one of the world's fastest growing. The total value of the contracts, including those relating to the investment in the systems integration business, is approximately $60 million."

GE in agreement to help bring smart grid technologies to Korea

ATLANTA, USA: GE has signed an agreement to help bring the performance, efficiency and reliability gains of smart grid technology to Korea. GE will work together with Korea'’s NURI Telecom Ltd to build an advanced smart grid infrastructure in Korea.

“GE recognizes the importance of collaborating with technology and delivery partners to realize the promise of a smarter grid,” said Bob Gilligan, vice president of GE Energy’s transmission and distribution business. “NURI’s products and global expertise, especially in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), fit well with GE’s end-to-end smart grid capabilities.”

"As Korea continues to raise its global economic profile, the need for a complete set of smart grid solutions becomes more critical," said Song-Man Cho, president and CEO of NURI Telecom. "We are excited about working with GE so that our complementary technologies can help deliver reliability and performance gains throughout Korea's energy infrastructure."

Korea is currently embarking on several Smart Grid initiatives, including the development of a smart grid road map and a smart grid pilot project on Jeju Island.

Through industry collaborations, GE will deliver one of the broadest portfolio offerings in the industry to modernize the electrical systems from the power plant to the consumer. From smarter appliances to technologies for plug-in hybrid vehicles, to providing renewable technologies and smart meters, GE has the breadth and knowledge needed to increase energy productivity all the way up and down the lines.

Korea's evolving solar PV policies and their impact

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Korea's Evolving Solar Photovoltaic Policies and Their Impact on the Country's Market and Industry" report to its offering.

Korea restructured its industry following the 1998 Asian financial crisis and its ICT industry has developed strongly since that time. The Korean government regards the current economic downturn as an opportunity to adjust its economy from an export- and technology-driven economy to green-driven economy.

The government envisages the solar photovoltaic industry as its next strategic industry, following the semiconductor and display industries. Despite of its efforts in 2008 to expand its support for the solar photovoltaic industry, the Korean government has begun running out of funds in 2009.

This report analyzes Korean government policies for the solar photovoltaic market and examines future trends in solar photovoltaic market demand.

List of topics
* Energy and green plans of Korea's solar photovoltaic industry, including the role of the Korean government in building the industry.
* The Korean government's solar photovoltaic programs for the industry, including the one million green home program, the feed-in tariff program, and the financial subsidy program.
* The Korean 100,000 green home program roadmap, 2001-2012.
* Companies and organizations mentioned in the report include: Hyundai, LG, Samsung.