All About Solar | Green Energy News

January 29, 2006 – Vol.10 No.45

All ABOUT SOLAR.

This week’s news...

So enamored with its Copper-Indium-Selenide (CIS) thin-film solar cells that Shell Solar has divested itself of its silicon solar production capabilities. The company has sold its 80 megawatt per year production facilities, sales and marketing team and silicon research and development activities in Germany and the U.S. to SolarWorld of Germany. All 579 staff currently involved with Shell silicon solar will soon be getting paychecks signed by SolarWorld.

To begin its expansion campaign for silicon-free CIS solar, Shell announced in mid-January that it would begin selling a new line of PowerMax(tm) Eclipse CIS panels in the European market.

Now, in an effort to expand its CIS thin-film product line, Shell has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with French glass and building materials maker Saint-Gobain Vitrage to explore new CIS technologies. The agreement will likely lead to joint new product development.

Shell’s CIS solar cell technology is rated at 13.5 percent efficiency, a record for thin-film solar. Honda, by the way, also chose a non-silicon solar technology - thin-film Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) - for its solar adventure because the cells require 50-percent less energy to manufacture than silicon solar cells. It seems likely that Shell’s similar CIS technology would also see a significant reduction in manufacturing energy inputs.

Shell thinks non-silicon solar is more likely to become competitive with conventional retail electricity than silicon solar. A significant cost of silicon solar is the cost of energy used in silicon processing.

Visit Shell at http://www.shell.com/ ,SolarWorld at http://www.solarworld.de/

The City Council of San Diego has signed off on a power purchase agreement with Sun Edison LLC for 5 megawatts of solar electric power to be used in municipal operations.

In its first project Sun Edison will build a 928-kilowatt photovoltaic system at the City’s Alvarado Filtration Plant. Sun Edison, of Baltimore, Maryland, will own, operate and maintain the system.

In 2004, San Diego committed to a renewable energy goal of 50 megawatts.

Sun Edison must have at least 10 megawatts of solar projects ready to build. The company’s new solar installation affiliate, New Vision Technologies, has entered into a strategic supply agreement with SatCon Technology Corporation and has submitted a purchase order for up to 10 megawatts of that company’s PowerGate(TM) photovoltaic inverters to be delivered through the end of the year.

Sun Edison uses available incentives and structured financing supported by the SunE Solar Fund I, LLC, a $60 million fund formed by SunEdison, to build solar systems at host sites such as those owned by the City of San Diego.

The merger of Sun Edison and New Vision Technologies will give the combined company a solar contracting history in nine states. Sun Edison customers include office supply retailer Staples, and grocery chain Whole Foods. Visit Sun Edison at http://www.sunedison.com/ , New Vision at http://www.n-v-t.com/ and SatCon at http://www.satcon.com/ .