SolarSummary: November 12-18, 2002

by Kirsten Elder

Companies in the news

ARISE Technologies: www.arisetech.com
AstroPower: www.astropower.com
BP Solar: www.bpsolar.com
Energy Conversion Devices: www.ovonic.com
Heliotronics: www.heliotronics.com
NREL: www.nrel.gov
PowerLight Corp: www.powerlight.com
Schott Applied Power Corp: www.schottappliedpower.com
Sharp Electronics Corp: www.sharp-usa.com
SOLARA AG: www.solara.de
Solar Works Inc.: www.solar-works.com
Spire Corp www.spirecorp.com
SMA Americas

New Products

AstroPower has announced that it has introduced a new line of residential solar electric power systems featuring solar power arrays that fully integrate into a home’s roof. Benefits of the new systems include faster installation time, reduced installation cost, and enhanced aesthetics when compared with traditional rooftop-mounted solar power systems. AstroPower’s new products will be offered initially to homebuilders as part of the company’s SunChoice(TM) program. (AstroPower via Solarbuzz, 12/11/02)

Schott Applied Power Corporation has introduced a new addition to the SunRoof product line, the SunRoof FS. The SunRoof FS is a freestanding solar electric system for flat-roof commercial scale buildings that requires no roof penetrations and no ballast. The lightweight mounting structure has a stainless steel base and is made of rugged materials designed for long life and severe weather conditions, including winds up to 100 mph. (Solarbuzz, 14/11/0)

Applications

Three companies are testing technology to supply London network operator London Buses with solar panels capable of generating enough electricity to light shelters during the dark winter nights. 200 of Londons bus shelters will be used in the pilot project, part of Mayor Ken Livingstone’s pledge to improve transport safety in London. “We will take the best of each (company’s) technology and combine them into the best specification, a ” London Buses’ spokeswoman said. (Planet Ark [Reuters], 13/11/02)

Fifty New York State schools have been selected to participate in a program that will see the installation of a 2 kW rooftop PV system on each school. Solar Works, Inc. of Vermont was selected to act as the general contractor for the project and will begin installing the systems in spring 2003. The systems will consist of 20 AstroPower 100 W modules, a SMA Americas 2500 W inverter and a Heliotronics data acquisition system. (SolarAccess, 15/11/02)

Whole Foods Market(R), Inc., the world’s largest natural and organic supermarket, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) have teamed up to create an on-site solar electric power co-generation system. Under the management of California Associated Power, Inc, the system was recently installed at the Whole Foods Market store in California, making the company Los Angeles’ largest major retailer and nation’s largest food retailer to introduce solar energy as 25 percent of its power source. (CNN Money, 14/11/02)

Markets

Newcastle upon Tyne is to reinvent itself as the worlds first carbon-neutral city. Later this month, the north-eastern UK City will unveil an ambitious plan to become one of the greenest and cleanest cities in Europe by pioneering hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, tidal power, solar panels, energy-efficient home
s and new forests. Newcastle, once a byword for pollution and heavy industry, believes that by 2025, its residents and businesses will be able to enjoy life without increasing global warming. (The Independent on Sunday, 17/11/02)

ARISE Technologies Corporation has commended the recent announcements of the Government of Ontario in respect to the energy market in the province, and more particularly with respect to alternative energy supply. The company believes that Ontario needs a strong strategy to support solar energy development and deployment and is prepared to work with the government to apply the announced initiatives to solar technologies, as well as offering comment on specific recommendations. (Solarbuzz, 12/11/02)

In India, West Bengal’s agency for renewable energy is being spun off into a full-fledged corporate entity called Green Power Corporation. Power sector sources said that the proposal has received `in principle’ nod from the Chief Minister and the corporation is likely to take off with a small equity contribution from the Government. “The main reason behind this makeover for the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency is the need for greater funds availability,” sources said, adding that the equity infusion by the cash-strapped State Government would be a token one. (Solarbuzz, 12/11/02)

Investments and Finance

The Export-Import Bank of the United States, an independent federal government agency, will provide a US$2.4 million medium-term loan for a telecommunications project in Peru using BP Solar photovoltaic systems. ALLFIRST bank will act as intermediary in this operation. The project, known as Fitel, will bring 4000 BP Solar Latin America PV systems totaling 580 kW to remote community centres that currently lack access to the electricity grid for voice and data transmissions. (SolarAccess, 15/11/02)

Plans for a new solar electric panel factory in Los Angeles have been halted, according to an announcement by Joel Davidson, a solar energy consultant spearheading the project. Davidson had initially hoped to use the city’s new solar incentives to help get the project off the ground and ensure its economic success. Despite the myriad advantages to starting a factory in LA, without an initial capital infusion of around US$2 million, the factory had to be scrapped. Trepidation over new business investment is at its worst level in the past 40 years, said Davidson. (SolarAccess, 15/11/02)

Policy and Incentives

UK householders and community groups have responded overwhelmingly to a pioneering campaign aimed at encouraging West Midlands and southern Staffordshire residents to switch to using renewable sources of energy. The Renewable Energy Advice Centre, one of only six pilot schemes nationwide, was launched last month with the aim of helping the UK government meet targets to increase the amount of energy generated from sustainable sources from its current 2 percent to 10 percent by 2010. Options available include installing solar PV and hot water panels, small-scale wind generators, ground source heat pumps, combined heat and power (CHP) systems and the use of biofuels. (Black Country EEAC, 14/11/02)

Industry Reports & Events

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has received an award from Scientific American magazine for construction of a more efficient photovoltaic cell. The magazine, devoted to articles about scientific innovation, today released a list of people and companies it says made the 50 most important contributions to science over the past year. NREL combined with Spectrolab of California to win the award for construction of the cell that converted 34 percent of the energy available in sunlight into electricity, beating the old record by 2 percent. “The cells improve the odds of making photovoltaics commercially successful,” the magazine wrote. (Denver Rocky Mountain News via CNN Money, 14/11/02)

Corporate News

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) has announced its operating results for the first quarter ended September 30, 2002. Revenues were $15.9 million compared to $22.5 million in the first quarter last year, primarily due to the current contracts with Rare Earth Ovonic nearing completion. The Company’s net loss was $3.4 million for the first quarter compared to a loss of $2.8 million in the same quarter last year. (Solarbuzz, 14/11/02)

Spire Corporation has reported total group sales of $4.2 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002, a gain of 8 percent from the same prior year period. Spire’s Solar Energy revenues were $2.5 million, a 10 percent decrease from the same quarter of 2001, due to fewer photovoltaic systems delivered by Spire Solar Chicago. Revenues for the Company for the nine months ended September 30, 2002, were $12.1 million, a 20 percent increase from $10.1 million for the same prior year period. (Solarbuzz, 14/11/02)

PowerLight Corporation and Shingleton Design have reached an exclusive agreement to pursue the joint development, marketing and sales of PowerTracker and PowerRack solar electric systems. PowerTracker systems use non-concentrating solar panels that harvest both direct and diffuse daylight, generating between 17 percent to 35 percent more energy than fixed solar panels as they automatically follow the sun’s path from early morning to late afternoon. Under this agreement, PowerLight purchased patents, intellectual property and other assets developed by industry veteran Jefferson Shingleton. (CNN Money, 14/11/02)

Virtus Energy Research Associates and PowerLight Corporation announced today that the companies have entered into a strategic distribution agreement in Texas. Virtus Energy will become PowerLights representative in the State for the sale of large-scale solar electric systems. (Clean Edge News, 14/11/02)

Anticipating significant growth in the US solar energy market, Sharp Electronics Corporation, the US sales and marketing subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Japan has announced plans to establish a manufacturing facility for solar products in the United States. The new facility, which will have an initial rated capacity of 10 MW, will be constructed at the Sharp Manufacturing Company of America manufacturing plant in Memphis, Tennessee. Production of a range of solar products for on-grid and off-grid markets in the US will be produced beginning spring of 2003. (Solarbuzz, 13/11/02)

Vattenf
all Europe Venture GmbH has bought 15 percent of Germany-based SOLARA AG. SOLARA AG designs, produces, develops and sells photovoltaic products, components and systems for solar power generation. The company plans to have a production capacity of more than 24 MW and become one of the largest facilities in Europe. It will use the capital from the sale of its shares to finance the extension of its plant in Wismar. (Solarbuzz, 13/11/02)

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