Solar giant First Solar on December 22, announced the completion of energy company Sempra Generation built with a capacity of 10MW (​​megawatts) of the ground-mounting film solar power plant, located in Nevada, close to the existing 480 MW Sempra natural gas power plants eighty acres away, which is currently the largest in North America thin film solar power plants.

According to El Dorado Energy and Sempra subsidiary 20-year power purchase agreement, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG & E) will purchase this solar electricity produced by power plants, is expected to January 1, 2009 will be day begins delivery. The project planning by Sempra Generation and First Solar is responsible for the design, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, and provide monitoring and maintenance services.

This fixed terrestrial solar systems fitted to commence in July this year, and in a short period of time less than six months to complete, First Solar, Ohio plant produced more than one hundred sixty-seven thousand modules. Completed plant will annually produce up to 232,000 kilowatts hours of renewable energy sources. The first phase of construction of solar power plants 10MW, will be further expanded in the same location. Sempra hope next year to expand the existing plant to 60MW.

    Pacific Crest said in a research report, First Solar seems to have reached many mppt solar charge controller companies dream of: consistent with the cost of electricity, which means the cost of solar power to achieve the same cost as conventional electricity. Pacific Crest analyst Mark Bachman was calculated by First Solar energy company Sempra Generation built with a capacity of 12.6MW thin-film solar power plants. He does not put too much emphasis on focusing on investor-per-watt, but the cost per kilowatt-hour.

 British cable Erfu University (Salford University) research team claims to have discovered a thin film solar cell manufacturing new technologies for emerging industries to reduce costs and improve reliability.

Institute for Materials Research by the University led by Professor Arthur Hill's research group, the transformation of a in the glass industry has been widely used, known as magnetron sputtering (magnetron spluttering) material deposition technique used to create copper indium selenide (CIS) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells.

The team has received an additional year of research Joule Centre funds to continue with the Northwest manufacturer General Vacuum research and development work. Professor Hill explained, copper indium diselenide (CIS) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) cheap solar panels based on silicon-based solar cells an attractive alternative because they require fewer manufacturing materials, and has absorbed solar good characteristics and resist radiation.

However, previous complex and expensive manufacturing process of the thin film solar cell is hampered adoption. In order to make the battery in the copper, indium, gallium and selenium correct ratio, requires a very delicate process. Film when manufactured, these proportions may vary, affecting the ability to absorb energy. And magnetron sputtering a material different ratios can be more reliable.

This manufacturing technology has been widely used in the film applied to the glass, using the vacuum method and the magnetic field, in order to ensure that the film material is evenly applied to grass. Professor Hill currently conducted thin film solar panels applied research and development work, although only a laboratory scale, but this manufacturing technology has been widely used glass manufacturers fact appears for thin-film solar cell  http://www.sungoldpower.co.uk/will be relatively easy, and and low cost.

Perhaps one day, MP3 batteries no longer needed, people walking on the road simply plug the charging cable fixed interfaces on clothes, MP3 can listen to smooth unimpeded. Participate in the meeting, reporters were no longer worry about the laptop battery, laptop face as long as any light source, you can use unlimited. Perhaps one day, the road is no longer needed gasoline car can run, high-rise buildings no longer need huge substation, and even every household can put excess electricity sold to the national grid.

This is all because of this new thin film solar module  technology. When MP3, laptop computers, high-rise buildings facades, Auto Body and highways are covered thin film solar cell, a steady stream of sunlight into electrical energy will change our lives.

 It all sounds like the future world picture, but the reality is upon us. Long been engaged in solar cell research of the Great Wall Securities researcher Zhou Tao introduction, in July, the fourth Legend Capital just raised a new fund injection Zhejiang advanced solar energy company, for thin-film solar battery production.

The end of October, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced three investment plans, which invested $ 20 million investment in research and development of thin film solar cell manufacturing and solutions provider, Shenzhen Chong Yi Technology. November 5, the World Bank Group International Finance Corporation announced that it will China's ENN ENN Solar Energy Co., Ltd. to provide $ 136 million to build a large-scale thin-film solar module production line.

 In the capital markets, venture capital firm has always been driven by the interests of the citizenry, in the context of the global financial crisis, why they set their sights on thin film solar cell?

 Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Zeng Xiang Bo told reporters, human beings have long dreamed obtained directly from the energy required to sunlight, the solar cell was also born many years, but the traditional crystalline silicon solar cells http://www.sungoldpower.co.uk/ have been because the cost is too high, the photoelectric conversion rate low, but not restricted shape large-scale promotion.

 Recently, the reporter to Beijing Fangshan District Qinglong Town, see the roadside at least thousands of installed solar lights. Local villagers told reporters, here is the "solar energy demonstration" project typical. It is said that shidu, Changyang, Qinglong and other 19 towns and 69 villages along the main roads are 8 installed solar lights, garden lights, landscape lights.

 German-based solar solutions and services provider, announced today that Conergy for investors - local grid operators and energy suppliers UEM has completed the construction of the solar park. The total installed capacity of 4.5 MW, covering 9.5 hectares.

The solar park is located in the south of France La Fare-les-Oliviers, began last month to start construction. Equipped with Conergy company "P series" component 18,000 blocks, the project will produce approximately 6,500 MWh per year of electricity, about 1,800 households to meet electricity demand.

Conergy company as the main contractor, not only supply unit is also responsible for the design and installation of the entire project. In addition, the company will continue to participate in the solar park's maintenance and operations management.

In addition to solar park, Conergy company also Sunlap located in La Fare-les-Oliviers construction of two power plants to provide support, providing "P" series components and IPG15T grid tie inverter. The project is an annual generating capacity of up to 127 MW.

Despite the difficult market environment, often intense price competition, Conergy will continue in Greece, Spain and Portugal and other European markets development and supply projects. Conergy company is also active in the Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand.

When talking about the future development in France, Conergy company Philippe Pflieger show a positive attitude. Managing Director of Conergy company France Pflieger said, "to support its market volume and subsidies while increasing the decision of the government to boost the development of the solar industry, although in this country the economic situation is still tense, but we believe that these measures will enable us re optimistic about prospects of solar energy. "

 PV inverter market recently surging, April 22, ABB came news of the acquisition PowerOne vibration industry. People have speculated that the electrical equipment giant and the world's second largest manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters marriage of what changes will bring the photovoltaic industry. With the major components of the market giants leave the flesh is different inverter market is indeed acquisitions frequently.

In early April, the Photon magazine was a very eye-catching German pure sine wave inverter manufacturer REFUsol by U.S. companies AdvancedEnergy acquired late last year, the acquisition of the domestic industry a brother SMA cable manufacturers MeV love. The major manufacturers in the direction toward the bigger and more powerful strides, coupled with China's western photovoltaic "leap forward", some domestic manufacturers that "one hundred kilowatts below the small loom we simply do not do it."

Compared with the component, the inverter technology innovation more slowly. Especially large inverter (utility-scaleinverter) each topology (topology), control methods, switching devices are similar, but the stability of the product and the actual efficiency is need long-term experience in engineering design. On the other hand, large-scale projects also need to do this kind of technical support for localization, marketing, government relations, financial support, the future winner in doubt, but the multinational giants have been ahead of others in several ways.

But it is an entirely different story in academia, laboratories inverter is getting smaller and smaller. Engage in research of PV inverters should have read Danish Aalborg University FredeBlaabjerg professor and his students to write about the PV inverter (PVinverter) review articles.

The article mentioned the inverter a trend, a large central inverters (centralizedinverter) is already very mature past tense, then (2005) is more popular string type (stringinverter) and communication components (ACmodule) / micro-inverters (micro-inverter), the future trend will be the exchange of components or even AC Battery (ACcell).