Soitec Group acquires Concentrix Solar

Good Energies and Abengoa Solar, S.A. find a €34 million Concentrated PhotoVoltaic (CPV) exit.

“Soitec expands into the fast growing solar energy market with the acquisition of Concentrix Solar, the leading provider of CPV solar systems for the industrial production of energy” (Deutsch) with the transaction closing Friday, December 11, 2009. Soitec SA (EPA:SOI) CEO and President Dr. André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé commented on the announcement via a same day conference call (webcast replay available until December 18, 2009) joined by the Director of the Fraunhofer ISE Professor Eicke Weber and Concentrix Solar CEO Hansjörg Lerchenmüller. I recommend reviewing the longer version of the matched presentation, Soitec Enters Fast Growing Concentrated Photovoltaic Market. Read More >>

Solar Light Flashes: 24th EU PVSEC Edition

Select Photovoltaic News Tidbits from the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition.

It's been like forever (1 year, 8 months, 10 days) since my last Solar Light Flashes. I've always planned to resurrect the haphazard post. Twitter delayed the return but sometimes 140 characters are insufficient. centrotherm photovoltaics AG (ETR:CTN) Only the Photovoltaic (PV) Industry plasters roadmaps or manufacturing costs on exhibition stand signage. The last official centrotherm CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) news was “Success in the thin film division: centrotherm photovoltaics achieves 13 percent efficiency for mass production”. Tom Cheyney chatted with centrotherm in “EU PVSEC short takes: Talking CIGS turnkey, eyeballing a Nanosolar panel, and more” at PV-tech.org. Read More >>

24th EU PVSEC: 2009 Becquerel Prize Awarded

[Hamburg, Germany] From 24th EU PVSEC Dr. Andreas Bett awarded the 17th Becquerel Prize for the successful development of photovoltaic concentrator technology. The Prize is named after French physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerel (1820-1891) who discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839 at age 19. During the opening session of the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Dr. Andreas Bett, accepted the award after a Laudatio titled “Striving for Highest Efficiencies” by Professor Wolfram Wetting on the occasion of the Becquerel Prize ceremony. Dr. Bett is the Head of the Materials – Solar Cells and Technology department and a Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) located in Freiburg, Germany. From left to right in the above award presentation photo are Professor Adolf Goetzberger… Read More >>