See also:

• Photovoltaics History and Timeline


• Solar Cell


• Solar Panel


• Photovoltaic System


• Solar Vehicle


• Economics of PV


• PV Environmental Impacts


• Photovoltaics Pros & Cons


• PV Companies, Industry Associations, Research Institutes

Photovoltaics companies

Major photovoltaics companies include BP Solar, Isofoton, Kyocera, Q-Cells, Sanyo, Sharp Solar, SolarWorld, SunPower, Suntech, and Yingli Green Energy.^[87][88][89]

BP has been involved in solar power since 1973 and its subsidiary, BP Solar, is now one of the world's largest solar power companies with production facilities in the United States, Spain, India and Australia, employing a workforce of over 2,000 people worldwide.^[90] BP Solar is a major worldwide manufacturer and installer of photovoltaic solar cells for electricity.^[91] The company has begun constructing two new solar photovoltaic (PV) solar cell manufacturing plants, one at its European headquarters in Tres Cantos, Madrid, and the second at its joint venture facility, Tata BP Solar, in Bangalore, India.^[92]

Isofoton is a Spanish company that designs and manufactures high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon cells and panels, as well as concentrated photovoltaics (CPV). Isofoton is present in over 60 countries, having subsidiaries in America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Kyocera Corporation has announced a plan to increase its solar cell production to 500 MW per year in 2010. 500 MW is about three times the current output of 180 MW, and the company will reinforce production bases in Japan, the US, Europe and China, investing a total of about ¥30 billion through FY2010. Through this production enhancement, Kyocera looks to meet increasing demand across the world for solar cells.^[93][94]

Nanosolar has been named Innovator of the Year for 2007 by Popular Science Magazine, in connection with its PowerSheet flexible solar film. Nanosolar manufactures PowerSheet by printing a solar-activated ink onto metal sheets in a low-cost, continuous process. Nanosolar is building a plant in San Jose, CA and one near Berlin, Germany. It promises to deliver solar film that will be low enough in cost to be at cost parity with power from the electrical grid.

Q-Cells is the world's second largest cell manufacturer, based in Thalheim, Germany.^[95]

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is based in Norway, and was established in 1996. Over a relatively short period, REC has become the world's largest producer of polysilicon and wafers for PV applications. REC is involved in all steps of the value chain, from production of solar grade silicon to wafer, cell and module production. The company has customers all over the globe and seven production plants in three different countries. It operates on three different continents and has approximately 1,100 employees.^[96]

Sanyo Electric produced $213 million worth of solar cells at its plant in Hungary in 2006, and expects to triple its production capacity to 720,000 units in 2008.^[97]

Schott is one of the world largest producers of solar photovoltaic technologies. SCHOTT employs over 900 people and has worldwide production capacity of over 130 MW.

Sharp Solar is the world's largest photovoltaic module and cell manufacturer, which manufactures in Japan, and near Wrexham, UK. Sharp Solar produces both single and multi-crystalline solar cells which are used for many applications, from satellites to lighthouses, and industrial applications to residential use. Sharp began researching solar cells in 1959 with mass production first beginning in 1963. Production capacity amounted to 324 MW in 2004.^[98][99]

SolarWorld is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, and purchased Shell Solar's crystalline silicon activities in 2006.

SunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency silicon solar cells and solar panels based on an all-back-contact "All-Black" design. They install them through their subsidiary PowerLight. Recent projects include the Nellis Solar Power Plant, the largest PV installation in North America.

Suntech Power is based in Wuxi, China, where construction of a 1 GW module plant has begun. Year-end production capacity for 2007 is expected to be 480 MW.^[100]

Yingli Green Energy is currently one of the largest manufacturers of PV products in China, with an annual production capacity of 200 megawatts of polysilicon ingots and wafers, cells and PV modules, as of July 2007. Yingli Green Energy sells PV modules under its own brand name, Yingli Solar, to PV system integrators and distributors located in various markets around the world, including Germany, Spain, China and the United States.

Photovoltaic industry associations

• ASIF: Spanish PV Industry Associationin Spanish only
• SER: french renewable energy Industry organizationin French only
• BSW: German Solar Industry Associationin German, with English summary
• Canadian Solar industry Association
• EPIA: European Photovoltaic Industry association
• JPEA: Japanese Photovoltaic Energy Association in Japanese only
• SEIA: Solar Energy Industries Association US trade association of solar energy manufacturers, dealers, distributors, contractors
• SEMI: Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International Global industry association with offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose (Calif.), Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

Photovoltaics research institutes

There are many research institutions and departments at universities around the world who are active in photovoltaics research. Countries which are particularly active include Germany, Spain, Japan, Australia, China, and the USA.

Some universities and institutes which have a photovoltaics research department.

• Solar Energy Materials Research Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• EuPD Research, Worldwide PV Market Research
• The Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Solar Energy Laboratory at University of Southampton
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL
• Energy & Environmental Technology Application Center at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering SUNY at Albany
• Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE at the Fraunhofer Institute
• Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN)
• Imperial College London: Experimental Solid State Physics
• Instituto de Energía Solar, at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
• Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology, at Loughborough University
• School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at The University of New South Wales
• Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University
• Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Prof. Graetzel invented dye sensitized cells here
• Advanced Energy Systems at Helsinki University of Technology
• Institute of Materials Research, Salford Univrsity]
• The Centre for Electronic Devices and Materials at Sheffield Hallam University
• The Solar Caliometry Lab at Queen's University
• Institute of microtechnology at University of Neuchatel Switzerland
• University of Konstanz
• Arizona State University Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory
• Institute of Energy Conversion at University of Delaware
• World Alliance for Decentralized Energy
• Florida Solar Energy Center at University of Central Florida
• Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (LIOS)

References