New rural electrification project in Indonesia 
The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has allocated a budget for electrification of 15,000 rural households with 50 W solar home systems (SHS).

India's Moser Baer to branch out into cell and module production 
A new solar unit at New Delhi-based CD and DVD manufacturer Moser Baer India Ltd. is planning to start cell and module production with a goal of reaching a capacity of 80 MW by mid-2007.

United Solar joint venture in the works for 25 MW factory in China 
On Sept. 19, Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD) announced that its PV subsidiary United Solar Ovonic of Auburn Hills, Michigan, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tianjin Jinneng Investment Company to found a joint venture to build a 25 MW manufacturing plant for United Solar's triple-junction a-Si thin-film laminates in Tianjin, the third-largest city in China, which is also the closes seaport to Beijing.

Bangladesh's 50,000 SHS project finishes two years ahead of schedule 
A micro-financing project aimed at selling 50,000 solar home systems (SHS) in Bangladesh celebrated the last installation under the project in August – that's over two years ahead of schedule (see PI 1/2001, p. 31).

Worldbank awards solar projects in Laos and 
Nepal 
Sunlabob from Laos and the Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness (ECAA) in Nepal are the only two institutions among the winners of the »World Bank Development Marketplace 2005 Award« to be honored for solar projects.

New renewable energy fund in Asia leaves out solar
The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), a Vienna-based non-profit collaboration of European governments targeting development of 3,000 MW of new capacity by mid-2008 (see PI 9/2004, p. 12), on July 5 announced seed funding of $100,000 for a planned $50 million fund, to be operated out of Bangkok, Thailand.

Shell Solar wins second Chinese mini-grid contract  
Shell Solar GmbH has won a contract to provide solar-powered electricity to 12 remote villages in the Qinghai province of southwest China.

BP Solar to supply 5,000 PV drip irrigation systems to Sri Lanka 
BP Solar Australia has been awarded $21.2 million AUD ($16.4 million) in the first phase of a possible two-phase program to provide 5,000 solar-powered drip irrigation systems to Sri Lanka by 2006.

SunPower expands production capacity to 50 MW

In the second half of 2005, US-headquartered SunPower Corporation will increase its solar cell production capacity to 50 MW.

Sharp reaches 400 MW solar cell production capacity

In January, electronics company Sharp began operation of two new cell lines at its production site in Katsuragi, Japan, thereby increasing annual capacity from 315 to 400 MW.

Sun Power and Geothermal to build 15 MW PV system in South Korea 
The US company Sun Power and Geothermal Energy Co. Inc. has been contracted to build a 15 MW PV installation in South Korea starting sometime around February.

Peccell develops 4 V dye-sensitized cell 
The Japanese company Peccell Technologies Inc. based in Yokohama City was founded in March 2004 with the purpose of developing dye-sensitized solar cells.

MSK expands production capacity to 180 MW 
The world's biggest module company, MSK Corporation from Japan, is constructing a new module factory that will increase its production capacity to 180 MW. Only in the fall 2003, capacity was boasted from 60 to 100 MW at MSK's manufacturing site in Nagano (see PI 10/2003, p. 33). 

BHEL plans to double production and gets cell order from Italy 
Two months after finalizing a contract worth 60 million INR ($1.3 million), the Bangalore, India-based electronics division of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) announced on July 12 that it would deliver 500 kW of cells to Italian PV module manufacturer S.E. Project.

Sanyo to expand production capacity to 158 MW in 2005
Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. is planning to increase cell production capacity to 158 MW after a late-May decision to bump up capacity of its Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin Layer (HIT) technology at its subsidiary, Shimane Sanyo Industrial Co., from 30 to 50 MW. 

High demand for PV in Japan
A dramatic cut in subsidies does not stop Japanese citizens from investing in solar.

BHEL gets Indian solar pump deal worth 1.3 MW for Punjab state
The electronics division of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) in Bangalore, India has received an order to supply 700 sets of solar-powered pumps, equal to 1.3 MW of installed PV capacity, for private farmers in the northern state of Punjab.

10 kW PV mini-grids for Indian villages
Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Ltd. (REIL) has won a contract to install 10 kW PV mini-grids in 27 villages in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

No final decision on whether Honda plans to enter the solar business
As Japanese car manufacturer Honda puts its CIGS thin-film prototype modules on the roofs of several Honda facilities for testing purposes, it is thinking about entering the market.

Malaysian 1.5 MW BIPV program systems likely to start next year
In February, the Swiss engineering company Enecolo will present a proposal to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for installing BIPV systems with a total capacity of 1.5 MW in Malaysia. The Malaysia: Building Integrated Photovoltaic Technology Application Project (MBIPV) has the principal objective of reducing the long-term cost of BIPV technology within the Malaysian market. It aims to develop financing mechanisms and economic assessment models as well as local BIPV markets. Enecolo consultant Daniel Ruoss expects the call for tenders in 2005. 

Shell Solar wins mini-grid contract for remote Chinese villages
Shell Solar has won a $2.7 million contract to provide 200 kW of centralized solar installations to 26 villages in remote regions of China in 2004. 

SMA opens new branch in Peking
At the end of October, the German inverter company SMA Regelsysteme GmbH opened a new branch office in Peking. The new division, known as SMA Regelsysteme GmbH Beijing Representative Office, was officially started during the Smart Building Conference. 

Solartron aiming for Thai module production by end of year
TA Thai PV integrator based in Bangkok is building a factory to manufacture mono- and polycrystalline modules in the northeast of the country. Solartron Co. Ltd., a distributor of Shell modules, hopes to take delivery of two NPC laminators from Japan in November and start production of the modules, ranging in size from 10 to 300 W, by December.

New funding for Taiwanese renewables program unclear
Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun is expected to make a decision on further funding for a renewable energy program by the end of the year – perhaps as early as October.

Solar Grade Silicon and Sumitomo announce Asian 
marketing deal
Washington State-based Solar Grade Silicon LLC (SGSil) and Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. jointly announced a long-term agreement on July 28 to market and distribute polycrystalline silicon to solar cell ingot and wafer manufacturers in Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea.   

USAID lights up Philippine PV project
On June 11, the Alliance for Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) project celebrated a lights-on ceremony for the PV systems it has installed on Pababag Island of the Philippine island group Tawi-Tawi. 

Mitsubishi Electric expands production to 50 MW 
An expansion of production capacity completed in Jan. 2003 – from 24 MW in 2002 to 35 MW – wasn't enough for the Japanese cell and module manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. By September, it will increase capacity to 50 MW.

South Korean PV roofs program back on track
A South Korean PV roofs program, which had been postponed due the conflict in Iraq (see PI 3/2003, p. 32), has been given the go-ahead by the country's Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE). 

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries installs self-made panels on company locations in Japan
In March, the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) finished installing PV systems totaling 370 kW on 11 of its industrial and office buildings. MHI, which operates an amorphous silicon module factory, has used their 100 W a-Si modules with dimensions of 
1.4 × 1.1 m for the installations.   

Welcome to PV wonderland
At the joint 3rd PV world and IEA-PVPS conference, dubbed the »World PV Epoch in Osaka,« Japanese companies and scientists will show one and all how they successfully conquered the PV throne. It should be worth a trip to experience it live and in person. 

Hitachi seeks foreign module firms for its new bi-facial cells
The Tokyo-based Hitachi Ltd. has announced plans to start commercial production of a new bi-facial crystalline solar cell in September. By the end of the year, Hitachi says it will produce 1 MW of its new cell. That total will increase to 5 MW in 2004, and 8 MW in 2005, when production will be operating at full capacity in a three-shift mode. 

RWE Schott gets 500 kW Thai solar farm contract; expansion on hold

The Thai government has finally signed a contract to build a 500 kW solar farm in the mountainous northeastern province of Mae Hong Son.

Indian government pushing 500 solar shops; PVMTI Energy Stores reduce projection

The government of India is targeting the setup of 500 new solar shops around the country by March 2007.
 

Bangladesh finalizes World Bank deal aiming at 64,000 SHS

The Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL) in Bangladesh has signed an agreement with that country's Economic Relations Division as the last step in securing funding under the World Bank's Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development project.

Global Green USA pledges for $50 billion solar fund

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in early September, the US affiliate of the environment group Green Cross International, Global Green USA, started an initiative for a $50 billion fund to promote solar energy.

Motorcycle manufacturer plans solar cell factory in Taiwan

E-Ton Dynamics Tech. Ind. Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles, scooters, and motorcycles, is expanding into solar cell production.

Sharp increases cell capacity to 148 MW, aiming toward 200 MW

As the company's 2002 Management Policy report forecasted last January, Sharp Corporation has increased PV cell capacity to 148 MW.

Remote Chinese provinces get German support for PV mini grids

The German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) signed a memo of understanding with China in mid-July worth €8 million ($7.9 million) for PV mini grids for remote villages in Gansu Province.

Bangladesh seeking 64,000 SHS following World Bank project approval

On July 16, the government of Bangladesh signed an agreement with the World Bank for a project that in part should lead to the installation of 64,000 SHS over five years.

What would Noah have thought?

In 2000, Sanyo claimed it wanted to create a 3.4 MW installation, the world's largest PV system, as a »message to the 21st century.« Instead, the 630 kW Solar Ark, dedicated on April 3, has become a symbol of pragmatism by using modules with deficient power that were headed for the junk heap.

Syria plans PV workshop

Syria is planning a workshop on rural electrification that will focus mainly on PV.

Large Indian rural electrification project awaits funding

The go-ahead for a rural electrification project covering 196 Indian villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh is hanging in the balance as the planners seek funding.

World Bank project could mean 64,000 SHS for Bangladesh

A World Bank project could lead to an eight-fold increase in the number of solar home systems (SHS) in Bangladesh. At the beginning of April, the Asian nation applied for a credit of $191 million from the International Development Association (IDA) as part of a World Bank program called the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project (RERED).

Police in New Delhi give thumbs up to BEL PV-powered traffic signal

After six months of testing a stand-alone solar-powered traffic signal system in New Delhi, the city's traffic department has decided to purchase four more systems from Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), a Bangalore-based manufacturer of monocrystalline cells, modules, and turnkey PV systems.

World Bank may provide $25 million for Sri Lanka renewables project

The World Bank is set to consider a new renewables project in Sri Lanka in June, with about a third of the funding going to help off-grid residents buy solar home systems (SHS).