SolarSummary: March 25-31, 2003

by Kirsten Elder

Companies in the news

Duke Solar: www.dukesolar.com

Evergreen Solar: www.evergreensolar.com

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: www.mhi.co.jp

Phoenix SonnenStrom: www.sonnenstromag.de

Photowatt International: www.photowatt.com

Solar Grade Silicon LLC: www.asimi.com

WorldWater Corp: www.worldwater.com

New Products

Duke Solar Energy, LLC and TopEcology (K.K. and International) announced that they will jointly design, build and distribute advanced solar-thermal desalination and water purification systems. Initially, the two companies plan to integrate TopEcology’s revolutionary Aqua Kids desalination technology and water purification technology with Duke Solar’s highly efficient solar thermal technologies. (CNN Money, 27/03/03)

Applications

The world’s only solar-powered 50 horsepower irrigation pump has been installed at a Californian farm. The 36kW solar irrigation pump system, designed and built by WorldWater Corporation using Shell Solar panels, can convert solar DC current to AC, which powers the pump from either the solar array or from the electrical grid, or from both sources if necessary. (Solarbuzz.com, 27/03/03)

The Sustainable Energy Solutions group at Northern Arizona University has been developing business plans for renewable energy resources like wind and solar power and are working on sustainable energy outlets to bring power to more than 10,000 structures on the Navajo Nation. The group is a part of the colleges of Business Administration and Engineering and Technology and does work in research and development, education and technology transfer from the university to the marketplace. (Daily Sun via Solarbuzz.com, 31/03/03)

In the UK, Manchesters tallest building has been granted planning permission to install enough solar panels to power 75 homes. The Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) tower will use blue solar panels to replace the original tile mosaic, which is starting to deteriorate. Despite the decision, there remains a possibility that the work will not go ahead due to the issue of potential cost. (Manchester Online via Solarbuzz.com, 25/03/03)

Markets

The 100th photovoltaic system in Morocco has been inaugurated in one of the biggest projects of this kind worldwide. The German KfW bank, which also manages the overall German PV program, is supporting the project on behalf of the German government with a financial contribution of 5 million. Under current plans, 6200 villages with a total of 180,000 households are to be electrified with solar home systems in Morocco. This project approach is innovative for Morocco and allows strong participation of private PV firms in the installation, maintenance and repair of the systems. This is intended to ensure that the systems will work reliably over the long term. (Solarbuzz.com, 26/0303)

Cooperative Community Energy (CCEnergy) has entered into an agreement with the City of Sebastopol, California to install 1 MW of solar power within the city limits over the next two years through a program called Solar Sebastopol. Solar Sebastopol will make the purchase and installation of solar equipment easy and affordable for residential, commercial, and municipal customers. (Solarbuzz.com, 26/0303)

Corporate News

Evergreen Solar Inc. has been identified as the previously unnamed recipient of $2.5 million from the state of Massachusetts’s Renewable Energy Trust. The grant, funded by a tax on electric bills and administered by the quasi-public Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Westborough, was part of a $29.4 million private stock placement for Evergreen. Chief executive Mark Farber said Evergreen will use the funds to increase production capacity at its solar panel factory and to cover operating losses averaging $1 million a month while it seeks profitability. (Boston Globe via Solarbuzz.com, 25/03/03)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. announced this week that it has installed solar power generation systems at eleven of its company locations. The amorphous silicon PV systems have a combined output of 370 kilowatts. Among them is a large system with an output of 140 kilowatts that was installed at the firm’s solar cell production plant in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture. (Solarbuzz.com, 26/03/03)

Photowatt International S.A. has fulfilled all the requirements to receive certification from the Global Approval Program for Photovoltaics (PV GAP) to display the PV Quality Mark on two crystalline PV module families (PW 1250 and PW 1650). PV GAP is a worldwide organization created on the initiativ
e of the PV Industry Associations, research and development bodies, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program to promote quality for the assurance of the performance of PV products (components and systems). PV GAP established the PV Quality Mark for PV components and the PV Quality Seal for PV systems. (SolarAccess.com, 28/03/03)

Subsequent to its main plant start up earlier this month, Solar Grade Silicon LLC (SGSilicon) has started a research program for the production of low-cost granular solar grade polysilicon for use in the PV industry. A research staff is now conducting experimental tests in a four-inch laboratory-scale fluid bed reactor (FBR) previously built by Advanced Silicon Materials LLC (ASiMI). The experiments will study reactor design and process parameters for production of polysilicon from silane. The goal of the research is to determine the design of a commercial reactor for large-scale production of PV feedstock meeting the U.S. PV Industry goal of < $ 20 per kilogram. (Solarbuzz.com, 27/03/03)

Dr. Murray Cameron, a board member of Phoenix SonnenStrom AG, has been elected to the position of Vice-President and Member of the Board of Directors of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, EPIA. (Press Release, 25/03/03)

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