IMEC's large area solar cells with 18.4pc conversion efficiency, featuring Cu-plated contacts

LEUVEN, BELGIUM: At the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, IMEC presented a large-area solar with a conversion efficiency of 18.4 percent.

Compared to the standard i-PERC cell process, IMEC’s solar cell features a shallow emitter and advanced front metallization using copper plating. The results were obtained on large-area cells (125cm2), proving the industrial viability of the process.

The shallow emitter results in an enhanced blue response, and thus in a higher conversion efficiency than with a standard emitter. For the front contacts, a novel metallization stack is added which is applied to local openings in the antireflective coating.

Dr. Joachim John, team manager at IMEC, said: “Using copper instead of silver adds to the sustainability of solar cell production. IMEC was able to do this because it has extensive experience with copper plating on silicon. A similar efficiency result was obtained with screen printed contacts, but the long-term sustainability and low-cost potential of Cu-based contacting solutions and the fact that this was a first result obtained without dedicated fine-tuning makes this result particularly encouraging.”

Dr. Jef Poortmans, IMEC’s Photovoltaics Program Director, stated: “These cells and the new metallization stack involved are a further successful step in IMEC’s target to develop ever more cost-effective, efficient crystalline Si solar cells –- eventually targeting cells that are only 40µm thick with efficiencies above 20 percent.”

Indian government, solar industry interact on MNRE’s solar PV program

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had recently announced a unified solar photovoltaic (SPV) program to promote the use of decentralised SPV systems for various applications in rural/ urban areas and SPV roof top systems for diesel saving in urban areas.

To promote this program, the MNRE organized a one-day seminar today, in New Delhi, along with the India Semiconductor Association (ISA), and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA), to share the modalities for the implementation of the program with the concerned stakeholders such as manufacturers of solar PV modules and equipment, system integrators, service providers, consultants, banks and financial institutions, and reputed NGOs. A government-industry interaction on the MNRE’s program was also intiated during the event.

Welcoming the delegates, Poornima Shenoy, president, ISA, stressed on the very strong partnership between the MNRE and the ISA. She added that this workshop was a first in a series of such workshops that will be held across the country. She requested the delegates to add as much value as possible to this edition, adding, “We look forward to your feedback, so that we can improve on our future programs.”Source: ISA

Industry-government interaction step in right direction
B.V. Naidu, chairman, ISA said that it was good to be part of a new revolution taking place in India. He added: “We have seen the success of the Indian IT industry and the Indian semiconductor design sector. That the MNRE is organizing an industry interaction on solar photovoltaics is a step in the right direction.” Naidu noted that India has all the features required for becoming a successful solar country.

Incidentally, the current installed capacity of solar PV is said to be over 400-500MW, but about 90 percent of that capacity is exported. As a case, in Germany, 4 percent of the overall power generation capacity has been generated out of solar. A lot of emphasis on solar PV also been happening in the USA and Chima.

Naidu added: “The Government of India has set an ambitious target of reaching 20GW by 2020. A lot of things need to be done in the country, and by the Indian solar PV industry. We are also looking at an equal amount of participation from the academia, so that we can look at ways of reducing costs and improving the efficiency of solar PV.

The ISA has already created the roadmap for the FabCity in Hyderabad. It is also organizing a solar conference in Hyderabad this November.

Solar to assure green technology in India
Dr B.M.S. Bist, Advisor, MNRE, said that solar PV is going to play a big role in assuring green technology in the country. A date of Nov. 14 has been set for Solar Mission Program, as already mentioned.

The MNRE’s focus has been at decentralized programs. Today, there are said to be 75MW of systems across the country. Dr. Bist added that significant targets have been set for the SPV systems. The ministry has now tried to make new schemes. These will be presented to the delegates and their views welcomed. Those views will be compiled and the ministry will revert to the industry, so both of them can march together.

Massive potential for solar PV in India
Addressing the delegates, Debashish Majumdar, chairman and managing director, IREDA, said the reason for the gathering today was very clear – what exists on the MNRE website is potential for renewable energy. However, it does not really highlight the potential for solar PV, which is massive!

He added: “When solar PV started about 15 years ago in India, we had small manufacturers starting in garages, etc., and who have now grown to become very large companies. It gives us a lot of hope that things can be done very well here as well. Any new technology, to begin with, is expensive. Therefore, it is the prerogative of the rich to adopt it. We all hope that we will have the volumes and the technologies that can be replicated in India.

“We look at solar from two aspects — off-grid and on-grid. We would like to see what kind of demand can we convert in the off-grid applications. In the subsequent session, we will see the steps that the ministry has taken. The policy has been made keeping the best interests of the industry. We would like to get your feedback and see how best to get the market going.”

Huge opportunity in off-grid applications
Ms Gauri Singh, IAS, joint secretary, MNRE said that the purpose of this interaction between the government and the industry is to give a loud and clear message to ind that “we would like to work with you as partners.”

She added: “A large portion of the solar mission target will come from grid connected solar power. However, the off-grid opportunity is also huge. We have tried to open up our policy slightly — and take the whole process forward by taking inputs from you — and open up the policy for suggestions. One part of the scenario is — we already have large manufacturers who can provide us solar modules. The other part — is our policy encouraging innovation.

“Now, the time is ripe where we can do only the broad technical specifications, etc., but leave the innovation and configuration of the off-grid solutions to the industry, and make it an enabling flavor.” She also called for a need to put out a third party monitoring system.

She further added that the MNRE was also working to see whether it could get the IREDA into a refinance operation with banks.

There are schemes in place, where if anyone wants to work with a bank, a lot of incentives are available to the banks. Now, the ministry would like to see incentives being given to the manufacturers.

This is an honest attempt on part of the MNRE to work closely with the industry. Hopefully, everything will go well, following this interaction as it will sow the right seeds toward reaping a full harvest — in shape of achieving the very ambitious target of the national solar mission plan!

There were presentations on the following topics as well:

* Details of the solar PV off-grid program (rooftop systems) — Dr. AK Varshney, MNRE
* Details of the solar PV off-grid program (other applications) — Dr. A. Raza, MNRE
* Financing of IREDA schemes for solar — BV Rao, IREDA

These presentations were followed by a marathon discussion between the MNRE and IREDA officials on behalf of the government of India and the members of the Indian solar photovoltaics industry.

China Sunergy to enter into renegotiation with REC for long term supply contract

NANJING, CHINA: China Sunergy Co. Ltd, a specialized solar cell manufacturer based in Nanjing, China, has entered into the renegotiation with the counterparty regarding to a June, 2008 supply agreement signed with REC SiTech AS.

On June 25, 2008, China Sunergy entered into a Standard Agreement for the Supply of Monocrystalline Silicon Ingots and/or Wafers with the European wafer provider REC SiTech As for the high quality supply of monocrystalline 156-millimeter wafers for seven years from 2009 through 2015. It has been revealed that REC SiTech As now is dissolved as a result of a merger early this year.

As the polysilicon supply market has changed dramatically since the fourth quarter of 2008, key raw material suppliers such as REC have indicated the renegotiation of supply agreements with their respective customers and against this background, China Sunergy has entered into the renegotiation with its counterparty in respect to the overall arrangement of the supply agreement, with the good faith to reach a mutually beneficial agreement between both parties.

Suniva ARTisun solar cells surpass 18 percent efficiency in production

NORCROSS, USA: Suniva Inc., the only US manufacturer of high-power monocrystalline silicon solar cells, announced that its ARTisun series solar cells are achieving conversion efficiencies of more than 18 percent in production, a record for screen- printed cells in regular full-scale production.

“Customers are expecting high-quality, high-efficiency products at lower costs,” said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. “Suniva continues to lead these market requirements, delivering cells, and modules from our partners, that strike a sensible balance of power and affordability.”

Suniva’s ARTisun series solar cells are manufactured with optimized metallization techniques and proprietary process innovations, both of which maintain low cost while extracting the highest efficiencies possible. Suniva produces solar cells which are integrated into high-performance solar modules available through Suniva and its global customer partners.

Suniva also announced the start of production on its second manufacturing line at the Norcross plant. The new 64MWp line will triple the production capacity of the facility to approximately 100MWp.

“Our strategy supports both rapid expansion and continual technology advances,” said Baumstark. “Less than a year ago, we opened the doors to our first facility. Today, we have entered our next stage of growth and development with a significant manufacturing expansion.”

Through processes initiated by Suniva founder and CTO, Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, and further developed in Suniva’s R&D lab, the company has achieved certified efficiencies of more than 20 percent on screen-printed cells in the lab (certified by NREL). Suniva plans to steadily raise its commercial cell efficiencies above 20 percent through a series of incremental design and processing innovations.

“Suniva has a strong technology and market advantage because our patent portfolio is based on laboratory innovations that we can translate into cost-efficient manufacturing processes,” said Rohatgi.

Previously committed capacity expansions cause solar cell manufacturing oversupply!

AUSTIN, USA: According to DisplaySearch's Q3’09 Quarterly PV Cell Capacity Database & Trends Report, solar cell manufacturing capacity is likely to grow 56 percent in 2009 to 17GW. Ramped capacity, which was only 2.3GW in 2005, is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 49 percent to more than 42GW in 2013.

"Despite PV module demand shrinking 17 percent in 2009, so much cell manufacturing equipment was ordered and installed over the past year that capacity is still expected to grow 56 percent this year," said Charles Annis, DisplaySearch Vice President of Manufacturing Research and author of the report.

"With demand and capacity moving in different directions, the PV industry is currently experiencing an enormous over-supply that is causing rapid price erosion and potentially setting the stage for the failure of multiple cell manufacturers, particularly companies pursuing a-Si thin film solar cells.

"The PV industry will begin working through this excess capacity as demand recovers next year and takes off in 2011 and beyond.”

Here are just some of the many highlights from the Q3’09 Quarterly PV Cell Capacity Database & Trends Report:

* Through 2006, Japan had the largest solar cell production capacity in the world. However, Chinese companies started to ramp up a host of new facilities in 2005 and by 2007 had more solar cell capacity on line than any other country.

China has continued to invest heavily in production facilities, about a third of the worldwide cell capacity in 2009 and is forecast to be the main region for cell production well into the future.

* Of the 3.58GW of thin film capacity available in 2009, more than 30 percent use 600×1200 mm glass substrates, the standard CdTe glass size used by First Solar.

Gen 5-equivalent substrates, ranging from 1000×1200 to 1100×1400 mm, are the second most common glass size, used for 18 percent of available thin film capacity.

* Between January 2008 and July 2009, approximately 11.4GW of new solar cell capacity was installed in fabs around the world. These previous investment commitments are the reason that capacity is continuing to grow 56 percent in 2009 despite falling demand.

* In 2005, 95 percent of solar cell manufacturing capacity was for crystalline silicon solar cells and 5 percent for thin-film solar cells. In 2009, thin film will account for more than 20 percent of capacity.

By 2013, thin film technologies are forecast to account for as much as 30 percent of solar cell capacity.

* For a-Si factories, in 2009 the four largest turn-key equipment vendors are AMAT, Oerlikon ULVAC and EPV, representing 946MW of ramped capacity or more than 50 percent of a-Si capacity online this year.

* In terms of capacity available for production in 2009, First Solar is the largest solar cell manufacturer with more than 1GW of capacity. Q-Cells and Suntech are not far behind and essentially tied for second place. These and other current leading PV cell manufacturers are forecast to invest at the highest rates over the next four years.

By 2013, these three companies plus JA Solar, Motech, REC, SunPower, Yingli, Showa Shell Solar (assuming it moves forward with a planned 1GW CIGS fab), and Sharp are forecast to be the top 10 makers, with more than 16GW or 38 percent of 2013 capacity.

Amtech announces $6 million in solar orders

TEMPE, USA: Amtech Systems Inc., a global supplier of production and automation systems and related supplies for the manufacture of solar cells, semiconductors, and silicon wafers, announced that its solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems Inc., has received approximately $6 million in solar orders for its diffusion processing systems from two new customers in Asia.

The orders are for multiple systems to each customer and are expected to ship within the next six to nine months.

J.S. Whang, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amtech, commented: “We are pleased to further expand our global solar customer base with these two new customer orders, which demonstrate the continued acceptance and demand for our solar products we are seeing despite these difficult economic times.

"We continue to be optimistic about the long-term growth opportunities in the solar market and our ability to capture that growth by offering multiple solar production tools and becoming a technology turnkey product supplier to the diffusion, PSG, and PECVD markets.”

Global PV power market to resume growth in 2011

OYSTER BAY, USA: Photovoltaic technology has a very straightforward value proposition: it converts sunlight to electricity. Its advantages are simple to understand: sunshine is free, and the conversion process yields clean energy, with no harmful emissions or byproducts.

Solar cells are long-lasting and non-polluting, typically operating for 25 years before being recycled. Photovoltaic systems have no moving parts, which means maintenance is minimal as parts do not wear out and require replacement, so lifecycle operational costs are low.

According to the NextGen Research study “The Global Photovoltaic Market: Sunny Prospects for Energy Independence Through Solar Power” photovoltaic demand will increase at a CAGR of nearly 24 percent from 2008 to 2013, with markedly stronger growth starting in 2011 after the global economy rebounds from the ongoing global recession.

Driving the installation and use of photovoltaics are concerns over climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the drive for energy independence, which has become a matter of national security for many countries.

Additionally, the development of a domestic photovoltaic industry is seen as a promising means of economic stimulation during a difficult fiscal period, as well as a way to transition to a green economy.

Larry Fisher, Research Director of NextGen Research, said: "Federal, state and local governments provide economic support to help alternative energy sources like photovoltaic achieve parity, the point at which the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources equals that of electricity generated through the use of conventional sources, like coal or natural gas.

"That support is crucial, at least until the photovoltaic industry can achieve the necessary economies of scale to compete with standard, greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources.

"Feed-in tariffs have been effective in promoting photovoltaic power generation in Germany, Italy, and elsewhere; these tariffs mandate a baseline price at which the local utility must purchase excess electricity from a residential photovoltaic system.

"The US offers a 30 percent tax credit for consumers installing a photovoltaic system, while many US states also offer tax incentives, as well as rebates, grants and loans, to help support the growth and use of photovoltaics."

Suniva raises $75mn in series C funding round

NORCROSS, USA: Suniva Inc., a manufacturer of high value monocrystalline silicon solar cells, announced the completion of a $75 million Series C financing round, led by Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm.

Also participating in the round were APEX Venture Partners and returning investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), HIG Ventures and Advanced Equities.

"Most solar is undifferentiated," said Chansoo Joung, a managing director at Warburg Pincus, "That's not the case with Suniva. Their cell design and roadmap for commercialization is extremely compelling and represents a unique value proposition for customers."

Suniva’s high-quality monocrystalline solar cells incorporate multiple proprietary design elements that allow them to achieve best-in-class efficiencies. Additionally, Suniva reduces the time and cost associated with commercializing new solar technology by developing its innovative designs in incremental stages. Suniva currently manufactures ARTisun series solar cells with conversion efficiencies above 18 percent, while being manufactured with low-cost, high-throughput techniques.

Joung added: "Warburg Pincus seeks out businesses that have an important role to play both in the near and long term. As the solar industry grows, Suniva is well positioned, delivering the leading combination of high efficiency and low-cost manufacturing."

In October 2008, Suniva completed the installation of its first manufacturing line and began production of its first-generation solar cells, marking one of the fastest production ramp-ups to date in solar manufacturing. Keeping pace, Suniva will complete the installation of its second, 64 MW manufacturing line in its Norcross facility this summer.

"In a year when most companies lowered their expectations, the investment community recognized Suniva's ability to execute," said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. "Our technology delivers the performance, cost and quality needed for solar’s next phase of growth. With this funding round, we will continue to execute on our business plan as we move into promising solar markets here in the US and worldwide."

Warburg Pincus managing directors Chansoo Joung and Dr. Henry Kressel will join Suniva’s board of directors alongside current board members PM Pai, former COO of SunPower; Dr. Kedar Gupta, GT Solar founder and former CEO, and NEA partners Harry Weller, Ravi Viswanathan and Jon Sakoda. Also on the board are Suniva founder and CTO Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, recent recipient of the 2009 EPA Climate Protection Award, and Suniva CEO, John Baumstark.

XsunX gets positive response to cross-industry CIGS technology

ALISO VIEJO, USA: XsunX Inc., an established solar company, announced that company representatives who attended Intersolar North America and Semicon West 2009 (July 14-16) received positive response to the company's cross-industry CIGS technology plan.

The company recently announced that it is developing a breakthrough thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) cross-industry technology that may soon utilize the excess manufacturing capacity of the mature hard disc drive (HDD) industry to mass produce high efficiency, low cost solar cells.

Intersolar North America is an international, business-to-business trade show held in the United States for the global solar industry and focuses on photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal technology, and solar architecture.

Semicon West is part of the business-to-business event for the PV manufacturing supply chain and covers the spectrum of PV technologies and issues including thin film and polysilicon devices, as well as increasing solar cell efficiencies and decreasing the cost of solar energy.

According to event organizers, the preliminary visitor attendance for both Semicon West and Intersolar North America was 16,700 with over 500 exhibitors attending.

Joseph Grimes, XsunX's President & COO, stated: "We are extremely pleased with the positive comments received from industry experts at the two shows. Their responses validated that the XsunX approach presents a viable method for producing high efficiency CIGS cells.

"Silicon wafer based module manufacturers expressed growing concern to XsunX that silicon costs would rise again, and that as a non-silicon based wafer replacement company, XsunX offered a potential solution to rising costs of production.

"The breakthrough thin-film opportunity, which is described at our new web site www.xsunx.com, also relieves some of their concerns about the issues faced in scaling CIGS which we believe will overcome current solar technology manufacturing limitations."

XsunX's manufacturing method combines the higher cell efficiencies that can be achieved through small area solar cell production with the high rate processing techniques developed within the hard disc drive industry (HDD).

Tom Djokovich, XsunX's CEO, commented: "High efficiency flexible CIGS solar cells provide an immense opportunity for use in multiple market segments. They are like solar building blocks for a wide variety of applications including use as a virtual drop in replacement for costly silicon wafers. This is a vast market opportunity to replace aging technology.

"Working with a proven manufacturer of HDD systems and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories will not only accelerate our progress, but will also increase the value of the technology to the industry."

SVTC, Roth & Rau in solar technology collaboration

SEMICON West 2009, SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Responding to emerging opportunities in the US solar market as well as economic stimulus funding, SVTC Technologies and Roth & Rau have renewed and expanded their partnership and are establishing a 30 megawatt (MW) world-class photovoltaic (PV) development and manufacturing center located in California’s Silicon Valley in the City of San Jose.

SVTC Technologies is a provider of technology development and commercialization services to global semiconductor-based clients, and Roth & Rau is a world-leading solar equipment manufacturer based in Germany.

Through the new 30 MW Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center, SVTC and Roth & Rau will offer a full range of manufacturing equipment and services to companies engaged in the development and production of solar cells.

Changing conditions favor solar success
Worldwide, the solar PV market is expected to reach $34 billion by 2013. The economic stimulus bill, signed into law in February 2009, is making billions of dollars available through the US Department of Energy (DoE) for renewable energy investment in US companies, including those engaged in solar energy development and manufacturing.

During 2008, almost $4 billion was invested in solar technologies. However, with the recent market down-turn, most solar development companies in the US, including both start-ups and established firms, do not have access to either the capital equipment or cost-effective, complete development solutions they need to succeed.

Without such access, it is unlikely that most US solar start-ups can survive more than two years, or that established companies will thrive and reach their potential.

“Our relationship with Roth & Rau, developed over a year ago, has enabled SVTC to respond rapidly to new opportunities resulting from changing market conditions and stimulus funding for solar energy development by the US government,” said Joe Bronson, CEO of SVTC Technologies.

“SVTC has proven the value of its business model of providing equipment and development capabilities for the commercialization of products in the semiconductor portion of its business.

"We will adapt the same concept to the emerging US solar business to accelerate its ability to grow the market for solar cells. We are delighted to move forward with a strong partner of Roth & Rau's standing and expertise and we both expect to accelerate the commercialization process in solar cell development while providing significant cost abatement to the industry resulting from their ability to access a world-class manufacturing line instead of investing considerable sums in their own pilot production facilities.”

“The timing is right for a big push into the US market for solar technologies, especially in California and Silicon Valley,” said Dietmar Roth, CEO of Roth & Rau AG.

“By partnering with SVTC, Roth & Rau will gain access to the nation’s highest concentration of solar product development companies as well as establish a high-profile presence in Silicon Valley. We are very enthusiastic about the market for PV development and manufacturing in the US, which we believe is poised for rapid growth.”

SVTC and Roth & Rau have significantly expanded the scope of their original plans for the Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center, increasing the capacity of the manufacturing line from 5 MW to 30 MW, to meet the greater demand from solar development companies.

The Silicon Valley Photovoltaic Development Center, which is scheduled to be operational by Q1 2010, will offer a full range of low-cost development solutions along with the 30 MW solar cell production line. The manufacturing line will consist of state-of-the-art Roth & Rau equipment and will also include tools from other world-class solar equipment suppliers.

QuantaSol unveils 28.3 percent efficient single-junction solar cell

KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, ENGLAND: QuantaSol Ltd, a new, independent designer and manufacturer of strain-balanced quantum-well solar cells, has developed what it believes to be the most efficient single junction solar cell ever manufactured.

Developed in just two years, QuantaSol's single-junction device has been independently tested by Fraunhofer ISE as achieving 28.3 percent efficiency at greater than 500 suns.

QuantaSol was established in June 2007 as a spin-out of Imperial College London to commercialise the University’s solar cell IP and offer devices to concentrator photovoltaic (PV) systems developers. Imperial will be featuring a QuantaSol device as part of its presence at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition in London this week.

“Our technology is the industry’s best kept secret. This is the first time that anyone has successfully combined high efficiency with ease of manufacture, historically a bug-bear of the solar cell industry,” said Kevin Arthur, QuantaSol’s CEO. “We’re now gearing up to provide multi-junction cells of even higher efficiencies as early as Q1 2010.”

QuantaSol’s approach combines several nanostructures, of two or more different alloys, in order to obtain synthetic crystals that overcome the problems associated with current solar cell designs. It also greatly enhances the photovoltaic conversion efficiency.

The company, which has a development laboratory in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, completed a £2m second funding round last week. It will now concentrate on cutting the cost of ownership of solar energy by moving to multi-junction devices.

SEMI PV Group commends Taiwan government on passage of Renewable Energy Act

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: The Taiwan PV Advisory Committee and SEMI PV Group commend the Taiwan Government on its swift passage of the Renewable Energy Act to increase the adoption of solar power in Taiwan.

With the goal of making Taiwan the world’s third-largest producer of solar cells by 2015, SEMI Taiwan and its members have strongly pushed for a greater role for PV in the region’s renewable energy plan to boost development of the island’s green energy industries.

“On June 12, the Renewable Energy Act was successfully passed, ushering Taiwan into a new era of alternative energy development and related applications,” said Yeh Hui-ching, director of the MOEA Bureau of Energy. “Under the law, the government will provide incentives such as equipment purchase subsidies and low-interest loans to increase renewable energy generating capacity in Taiwan to between 6.5 million kilowatts and 10 million kilowatts.”

”We are happy to see that the government has shown strong commitment in passing the Renewable Energy Act during the current legislative session. Since these policies could give the industry a boost, companies are more willing to increase investment, building domestic demand and allowing for greater expansion globally, which will create more jobs in the process,” said Tsao. “SEMI pledges to continue bridging the gap between the government and industry, by relaying industry perspectives to the government.”

SEMI Taiwan has been a longtime advocate of the proliferation of PV technologies, and through its PV Group initiative is deeply involved in supporting its members across the PV supply chain through the development of PV-industry standards; Environmental, Health and Safety initiatives; market statistics, and global expositions. Taiwan PV Advisory Committee members include the CEOs of AUO, Chi-mei, E-Ton, Motech, Neo Solar Power, and Nexpower, among others.

In addition, the SEMI Taiwan PV Committee jointly drafted the "Taiwan Solar Energy Public Policy White Paper," and Tsai Chin-Yao chairman of the SEMI Taiwan PV Committee and CEO of Auriasolar acted as spokesperson to present the seven following suggestions:

1. Make imported components exempt from the commodity tax, duties, and other relevant taxes.
2. Provide low-interest project financing through financial institutions.
3. Introduce national standard certification.
4. Raise the feed-in price to at least NT 8 dollars per kw/h.
5. Require that solar energy companies comprise 1/3 of the Price Regulation Committee.
6. Expand resources from foundations.
7. Make donations of PV industry products tax-deductible or tax-exempt.

“PV manufacturers in Taiwan expect the government to help grow the industry by offering a range of tax incentives on imported parts and materials and funding support,” said Tsai Chin-Yao. ”We need officials to pay serious attention to this opportunity, and we are happy to have gained additional support from other legislators and associations who have joined us to both support and accelerate this agenda.”

After the Act had been passed, he forcast that the enactment of the statute will spark investment of NT$30 billion in Taiwan's renewable energy sector within one year. The investment could create up to 10,000 jobs and generate NT$100 billion in revenues within one to two years, he added.

The currently-approved plan is backed by a five-year budget of NT$20 billion (US$597 million), which is specifically dedicated toward investment in the research and development of green energy technologies, and is expected to, in turn, generate NT$200 billion ($5.97 billion) in private investments for the industry.

In addition, it will also provide NT$25 billion ($746 million) to promote the installation of green energy or energy-saving equipment or systems, as was indicated by the Executive Yuan.

New Energy’s see-thru SolarWindow cells surpass thin-film and solar in artificial light

BURTONSVILLE, USA: New Energy Technologies Inc., a next-generation alternative and renewable energy developer, announced that new tests of the company’s ultra-small solar cells for use in its transparent SolarWindow have demonstrated substantially superior performance over current thin-film and solar photovoltaic technologies at generating electricity from artificial light -– an important advantage over conventional solar technologies which are limited by their capacity to function well where exposure to direct sunlight is available.

“One of the biggest issues with today’s solar products is their dependency on direct sunlight, which our cells have demonstrated the potential capacity to overcome,” explained Meetesh V. Patel, Esq., President and CEO of New Energy Technologies.

“We’re now actively working to coat these cells onto transparent glass in order to fabricate our SolarWindows, which generate electricity and have the potential to be installed virtually anywhere that either direct sunlight or artificial lighting such as fluorescent systems emit visible light. In contrast, today’s building-integrated solar and photovoltaic products are limited to installation on south-facing surfaces, as is the case with currently-available solar materials tested in these newest experiments.”

In a series of new experiments, researchers repeatedly tested New Energy’s ultra-small solar cells on a 1”x1” substrate against today’s popular solar materials for their capacity to produce electricity under varying artificial light conditions, mimicking the levels of light exposure in homes and commercial offices.

In every case, New Energy’s solar cells, the smallest reported organic solar cells of their kind in the world, exponentially outperformed all of the conventional materials tested.

Under normal office lighting conditions, without the benefit of outside natural light from windows, New Energy’s ultra-small solar cells produced:

* Almost two-fold greater output power density than monocrystalline silicon, an established commercial solar cell material;
* More than eight-fold greater output power density than copper-indium-selenide, known for its high optical absorption coefficients and versatile optical and electrical characteristics; and
* More than 10-fold greater output power density than flexible thin-film amorphous-silicon, a popular ‘second-generation’ solar thin-film material.

New Energy's solar cells generate electricity not only from the visible radiation found in sunlight but also by using the visible light found in artificial illumination, such as the fluorescent lighting typically installed in offices and commercial buildings. While the majority of today's solar cells can only be installed where direct sunlight is available, New Energy's cells could be installed close to any source of visible light.

New Energy’s SolarWindow technology makes use of an organic solar array, which has the same desirable electrical properties as silicon, yet has a considerably better capacity to ‘optically absorb’ photons from light to generate electricity and achieves transparency through the innovative use of conducting polymers. Each solar array is composed of a series of twenty ultra-small solar cells measuring less than ¼ the size of a grain of rice each.

The organic solar cells are fabricated using environmentally-friendly hydrogen-carbon based materials, and successfully produce electricity, as demonstrated in a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.

Click here to view the study: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2998825

The superior optical absorption properties of New Energy’s ultra-small solar cells enables development of an ultra-thin film (only 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair, or 1/10th of a micrometer) that can be utilized to produce a transparent solar window. In photovoltaic applications such as see-thru windows, where transparency is a primary concern, today’s thin film solar cells simply cannot be utilized to produce a transparent solar window for application in homes, offices, and commercial buildings.

Report on global market for miniature solar cells

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Market for Miniature Solar Cells 2008-2012" report to its offering.

Miniature solar cells are essentially those solar cells that are used to power small devices such as consumer electronic devices (calculators, MP3 players), microelectronics, and grid applications. These cells also power mini solar panels that are used for a wide range of applications; from supplying power to lamps, mobile handsets and chargers to integration into building surfaces, disaster recovery etc.

These solar cells are typically thin film solar cells based on materials like Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), and Amorphous-Silicon (a-Si). However, with technological advancements, organic solar cells (or plastic solar cells) are being developed, which are becoming synonymous to miniature solar cells.

Organic solar cells are low-cost photovoltaic cells which use organic electronic materials (polymers) and provide easy fabrication of the cells, allowing them to be dissolved or applied to flexible materials.

The report forecasts the size of Global Market for Miniature Solar Cells over the period 2008-2012. It highlights the key trends in the market, and segments the market by type of material, applications and into various geographic regions. Further, it discusses the key driving forces and the barriers of the Global Market for Miniature Solar Cells.

M+W Zander completes solar cells factory for Q-Cells in Malaysia

STUTTGART, GERMANY: Engineering company M+W Zander has designed and built a new solar cell manufacturing facility for Q-Cells, Malaysia, and has handed over the facility on schedule.
This major project was completed within a tight construction time frame of less than eight months to achieve Ready for Equipment. The three-storey solar-cell factory with eight production lines has an annual output of 500 megawatts (peak).

This major order encompassed the complete value chain from site master planning, detailed design through to procurement and construction management followed by hook-up of all process equipment. In addition to the site master planning M+W Zander was also responsible for design and co-ordination of the process media systems within the newly developed science park.

A multinational team of highly motivated M+W Zander engineers from Germany and Malaysia began work for the site master plan in February 2008. Completion of site backfill, allowed for the 1st piling on 15th May last year. Successfully achieving “Ready for Equipment” by 31 December 2008.

“Thanks to the close collaboration of our teams within M+W Zander Group we could accelerate the project enourmously to meet the challenging timeframe”, said Martin Beigl and Helmut Kurzboeck, Managing Directors of M+W Zander in Germany and Asia.

Significant mismatch between solar cell shipment targets and likely 2009 results!

AUSTIN, USA: Young Market Research (YMR) has released the first issue of its Monthly Solar Cell Capacity, Shipment and Company Profile Database and Report. This three-in-one report features essential supply, shipment and company profile data and analysis on over 210 different cell manufacturers.

According to Ross Young, YMR President: “The first issue of this report shows that solar cell manufacturers are currently overly optimistic on the 2009 market. Aggregating their 2009 shipment forecasts results in a market size of 10.4GWs, up 39 percent vs. the 2008 total of 7.5GWs and well beyond the likely outcome of 5.5-7.5GWs. As a result, we expect to see many companies reducing their 2009 guidance in coming quarters.”

According to Young, the lack of growth in 2009 can be attributed to the factors below and are too much to overcome despite healthy reductions in costs and prices.

* An 80 percent decline in Spain, the largest PV market in 2008, due to a 500MW cap on subsidies.
* A harsh winter in Germany, the #2 market in 2008 and expected to be the largest in 2009.
* Tighter credit worldwide for photovoltaic (PV) system financing.
* A declining global economy.
* Significant product inventory in the reseller channel at the beginning of the year.

Report highlights:
* After holding the #3 position in shipments in 2008, First Solar is expected to grab the #1 position for the first time in 2009 with a healthy share advantage over its top competitors on cost leadership and strong demand from the growing utility market.

* Thin film technologies a-Si and CIGS are expected to occupy 17 percent of worldwide capacity in 2009, but just 9 percent of shipments on technical challenges, higher capital costs in the case of a-Si, higher balance of system costs due to lower efficiencies and strong price competition from CdTe and c-Si technologies whose costs and prices are falling rapidly. This report shows 93 cell manufacturers participating in a-Si or CIGS.

* The 2009 capacity growth rate will be 40 percent slower than 2008 as suppliers look to preserve cash. A majority of listed companies lost money in Q1’09 with average operating margins falling from double-digits through Q3’08 to 3% in Q1’09.

* A 42 percent CAGR in nameplate capacity to 50GWs in 2012 with at least 18 percent annual growth as healthy demand growth returns in 2010 due to lower prices and larger stimulus programs worldwide.

* China is expected to lead in total capacity throughout the forecast with a dominant share in c-Si capacity and the top share in thin film capacity from 2009.

Spire to use Rudolph's process control software in turnkey solar cell lines

BEDFORD, USA: Spire Corp., a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide, and Rudolph Technologies Inc., a leader in process characterization solutions for semiconductor and photovoltaic manufacturing, have reached an agreement to include Rudolph’s Discover Solar yield analysis and process management software as part of Spire’s turnkey manufacturing product lines.

“Rudolph’s Discover Solar Software provides all the process information to our solar cell production lines. It will allow our customers to bring new lines up to profitable yields and volumes even faster than they can now,” said Dr. Avishai Kepten, Vice President of Solar Cell Lines of Spire. “Customers will be able to achieve higher average cell efficiencies and reduce manufacturing costs. Discover Solar software will give our customers a competitive edge.”

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Spire,” said Mike Plisinski, Vice President and General Manager of Rudolph’s Data Analysis business. “Discover Solar Software is the first yield management tool specifically designed to help PV manufacturers to maximize the efficiency of their cell devices, as well as optimize their production processes.”

SCHOTT Solar joins IMEC research program on silicon PV

LEUVEN, BELGIUM: SCHOTT Solar, a leading photovoltaics manufacturer, entered into a three-year research partnership with IMEC, Europe’s leading independent nanoelectronics research center.

SCHOTT Solar has joined IMEC’s newly launched silicon photovoltaics industrial affiliation program (IIAP). Within this multi-partner R&D program, IMEC aims to explore and develop advanced process technologies to fuel the steep market growth of silicon solar cells in a sustainable way. The program will concentrate on a sharp reduction in silicon use, while increasing cell efficiency and hence further lowering substantially the cost per watt peak.

By joining the silicon PV IIAP, researchers from SCHOTT Solar will be able to closely collaborate with IMEC’s research team to build up fundamental understanding and develop robust solutions for next-generation silicon based solar cells. The program will bring together silicon solar cell manufacturers, equipment and material suppliers and is based on a sharing of intellectual property, talent, risk and cost.

“We are excited that one of the leading photovoltaics manufacturers joins our multi-partner program. Building on our 25 years track record in silicon solar cells and our successful experience with Industrial Affiliation Programs on CMOS scaling, we are confident that we will provide our partners a dynamic research platform for accelerated process development;” said Jef Poortmans, Program Director Solar+ at IMEC.

“With over 50 years of experience in the solar market, including cell technology, SCHOTT Solar is established leader in the solar industry. In the highly dynamic market of solar power, short time to market for new products is essential. Therefore, SCHOTT Solar is pleased to announce that the company has joined the high-level IIAP R&D program at IMEC, the leading research institute in the field. We support IMEC’s ambitious goals and their work towards creating success their partners,” said Dr. Martin Heming, Chief Executive Officer at SCHOTT Solar AG.

Crystalline silicon solar cells are the workhorse of the photovoltaic industry, having a market share of more than 90 percent of the world production of solar cells. Within its IIAP, IMEC aims to reduce both the cost of producing crystalline silicon solar cells and the amount of Si/Watt that is needed by a factor of 2 to 3. Efficiencies over 20 percent are targeted.

IMEC’s program will explore both wafer-based bulk silicon solar cells and epitaxial cells. Within the bulk-silicon solar cell sub-program, generic process technology crucial for increased efficiency and manufacturing cost reduction will be developed. The active silicon layer thickness will be reduced from 150µm down to 40µm.

To meet efficiencies of up to 20 percent, alternative back-side dielectric stacks and interdigitated back-side contacts (i-BC) will be introduced in thin-wafers using a PERL-style (PERL = passivated emitter and rear local back surface field) concept in an industrial process flow. Cell module integration will be investigated since reduced wafer thickness will impose specific integration requirements.

As the guaranteed lifetime of cells and modules will further increase in the next decade from 20-25 years up to 35 years and more, reliability will also be assessed in depth. And new methods to realize and handle wafers as thin as 40µm will be pursued. The potential of the technology will be benchmarked in small area lab cells and large-area solar cells.

Besides the generic bulk silicon research which is of relevance for any crystalline silicon wafer-based solar cell technology, epitaxial thin-film (<20µm) silicon solar cells on low-cost silicon carrier will also be developed. Epitaxial thin-film silicon solar cell technology is expected to be the intermediate step before mainstream fabs will switch from bulk silicon solar cells to thin-film solar cells.

The process is generically similar to the bulk process and the epi-process can be implemented with limited equipment investment. To improve the optical confinement of light in the active part of the cell, a buried porous Si reflector will be developed.

GT Solar commissions first integrated solar wafer and cell turnkey solution in Greece

MERRIMACK, USA: GT Solar, a global provider of specialized equipment and technology for the solar power industry, announced that it has received final acceptance for the design, installation and commissioning of the first integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar wafer and cell turnkey fabrication line in Greece.

The state-of-the-art production line, created for Greece-based Solar Cells Hellas S.A., has an annual capacity of 30-megawatts (MW). It delivers a stable production process that produces high-quality multi-crystalline cells of optimum efficiency. With the commissioning of this turnkey solution, Solar Cells Hellas becomes the first PV manufacturer in Greece.

“The successful start-up of this wafer and cell turnkey line is additional confirmation that GT Solar delivers to our customers advanced technological solutions that are efficiently implemented through the application of our extensive process know-how,” said Ron Jones, vice president and general manager of GT Solar’s turnkey business. “We’re proud to have worked with Solar Cells Hellas to open this world-class facility in the Greek port city of Patras, and believe they are well-positioned to help meet the increasing demand for solar energy in Greece and throughout Western Europe.”

GT Solar is one of only a small number of equipment providers that offers turnkey solutions for every process involved in manufacturing PV wafers, cells, and modules. The company’s turnkey solutions, which integrate GT Solar and best of breed third party equipment, are built to increase customers’ productivity, boost quality and improve line yields, all resulting in a low cost of ownership. Comprehensive training and world-class service back each turnkey offering. GT Solar has successfully installed a variety of turnkey line configurations in countries around the globe including China, India, Italy, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

“Being new to the industry, Solar Cells Hellas needed a partner that we could rely on – one with significant PV manufacturing expertise and experience,” said Dimitris Panagakos, chairman for Solar Cells Hellas. “Not only was GT Solar able to build and deploy our equipment, but they also helped us design and configure our facility, and provided the training that will allow us to realize the best possible results. We’re pleased at how quickly we’ve been able to get our operations up-and-running, and we look forward to expanding relationship with GT Solar as we grow our company.”

A GT Solar turnkey solution is built on the solid foundation of GT Solar’s industry-leading directional solidification systems (DSS) furnace technology. GT Solar’s wafer fabrication line (GT-WAFFABTM) delivers high-quality multi-crystalline ingots to the wafer lines. It features leading-edge equipment technologies for squaring, polishing, chamfering, wafering, cleaning, and inspection. GT Solar’s cell turnkey line (GT-CELFABTM) is designed to produce high efficiency solar cells from round or square, mono or multi-crystalline silicon wafers.

Rapid growth likely for chemicals and materials in PV solar cells/modules

BOSTON, USA: The market for advanced chemicals and materials used in PV solar cells and modules will decline in 2009 to $2.3 billion before resuming strong growth to approximately $15 billion by 2015, according to a new industry analysis report from Linx-AEI Consulting, a leading international consulting firm serving the photovoltaics and electronics industries.

The new report entitled Chemicals & Materials for Photovoltaic Cells and Modules, 2009, examines emerging materials requirements in solar cell and module production, and quantifies the global markets for these advanced chemicals and materials as follows:

PV Cell and Module Chemical and Material Demand
According to the new report, the driver of growth in the PV market will be the global end market demand for solar power, which is likely to grow from 5.7 GW to 36 GW over the same time period.

Combining unique perspectives on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) as a function of module performance with geography-specific considerations such as local incentives and irradiance, Linx-AEI has developed long-term forecasts by cell type. As a result, this report includes detailed perspectives and insights into chemicals needs for individual cell and module types for crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, tandem-junction, CdTe and CI(G)S cells and modules.

Chemicals & Materials for Photovoltaic Cells and Modules, 2009, outlines market opportunities available to chemicals and materials suppliers as a result of strong volume growth in addition to technology-driven opportunities to deliver progress towards lower cost.

However, Mark Thirsk of Linx-AEI cautions: "This industry is still driven by the need to achieve grid parity and its evolution is still strongly impacted by policy. Therefore, there is a critical need for all value chain participants to continually monitor and understand LCOE, technology development, existing investment and changes in policy. This need has been clearly illustrated with the current turmoil in the supply of polysilicon."