Alashan polysilicon project broke ground

Recently Inner Mongolia Fengwei New Energy Company broke ground for the first phase project of their 6,000 metric ton polysilicon project.

The total investment for the 6,000 metric ton polysilicon project is 4 billion RMB. The first phase project capacity is 1,500 metric ton, the investment is 1.47 billion RMB, and it should start production before August 2009.

Update: LDK Solar signs wafer supply deal with BP Solar, makes remarks about business in October

14 November 2008 By Mark Osborne

LDK Solar said it has signed a three-year wafer supply deal with BP Solar on the heels of sharing their thoughts about the current business environment. The agreement calls for LDK to provide 435MW of multicrystalline wafers to BP and for BP to supply 1680 metric tons of polysilicon to LDK between 2009 and 2011.

LDK said that as of the end of October 2008, it had secured contracts totaling 1.8GW for 2009 (although it is unclear whether the BP deal is included in those projections). This amount totaled more than 100% of LDK's currently planned output for next year. The company's wafer plant is functioning at full capacity so that they can fulfill its customer orders pursuant to the supply agreements.

The company's cash position totals $460 million and available unused credit facilities total in excess of $430 million. LDK will report its financial results for the third quarter, which ended on 30 September 2008, before the opening of the market on Wednesday, 19 November 2008.

ET Solar Group Presents a New Tracking System with Unparalleled Wind Load

NANJING, China, Nov. 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- ET Solar Group Corp. ("ETSolar"), a Nanjing-based solar power solution provider and integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products including ingots, wafers, modules, and state-of-the-art dual-axis tracking systems with manufacturing facilities located in Taizhou, China, announced the immediate availability of a new dualaxis (ET-D81) tracking system with an unparalleled wind load of 110 mph (or177 km/h). This new tracking system also comes with features specifically designed to withstand marine and desert environments.

The dual-axis tracking system maximizes power production of photovoltaic projects by orienting solar modules to be perpendicular to the sun all daylong. As a result, the modules that are mounted on the tracker can generate up to 40% more power than fixed solar panel systems, and have therefore been widely used for commercial and utility-scale solar farms.

The ET D81 tracker was developed by ET Solar on the basis of the ET D80 tracker, which has already been installed in over 60MW projects during the past five years in Europe. Recently, D80 trackers produced by ET Solar have been installed and connected to the grid in Southern California. ET Solar also supplied a total of over 1MW of D80 trackers to two projects in Northern California, and installation of these trackers is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

The D81 tracker uses the basic structural design of the D80 but has various enhanced features to meet the more challenging operating environments that include, among others, areas with gusty wind, regions with demands for more than 90 mph wind load system, and marine environments in salty air, and dusty and sandy conditions.

The D81 tracker was recently certified to withstand a 110 mph wind load, which is the highest wind load for trackers (with similar module area) currently available in the market according to public information.

The D81 tracker is controlled by an astronomical program that automatically adjusts the orientation of solar modules based on the precisely calculated position of the Sun. Each tracker has a module area of 85 m2 and can mount panels of more than 11 KWp. It is compatible with all types of standard flat solar modules. It automatically stows modules to a flat protection position when wind speed is over 43 mph.

Both D81 and D80 trackers share certain distinct advantages such as: no ground penetration, no land grading, fitting a non-rectilinear landscape, working well with hilly and bumpy terrain, and faster installation with pre-wired electrical connections installed in the factory.

Jeff Lu, Chief Technology Office of ET Solar Group, commented: "The successful development of D81 tracker once again demonstrated our strong R&D capability, persistent pursuit of product variety, and a commitment to product excellence. With our global footprint and a highly differentiated product portfolio, we are well positioned to provide total solutions to our customers."