PV - Sharp greift an - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Heizkessel]

North Wales, United Kingdom - July 14, 2004 [SolarAccess.com] Sharp Electronics, which leads the world in total solar photovoltaic (PV) cell productoin, has officially opened their first solar module manufacturing plant in Europe, based in Wrexham, North Wales.

The facility will assemble mono crystalline and polycrystalline solar modules for residential and commercial installations. Annual production for 2004 is predicted at 20 MW and it is planned to double the capacity in order to meet the expansion of the demand for PV in Europe.

The opening of the new plant in Wrexham is part of Sharp`s global strategy to capitalize on the increasing worldwide demand for solar products.

"Solar is one of Sharp`s global, strategic priorities," said Toshishige Hamano, Corporate Senior Executive Director and Group General Manager International Business Group of Sharp Corporation. "After establishing plants to service markets in the US and Pacific Rim regions, the next step was to open a facility within Europe."

In June 2004, Sharp Corporation announced the expansion of solar cell production lines at its Shinjo Plant in Nara, Japan to 315 MW per year, in order to meet the burgeoning domestic and international interest in PV modules.

In May 2003, Sharp began solar module production in its manufacturing facility in Memphis, Tennessee, assembling solar panels for residential and commercial use.

"The expansion of production in both Japan and the US clearly anticipated the increasing demand for solar products," Hamano said. "We expect the European market, in Germany and the UK in particular, to mirror this growth. Sharp Corporation has a global strategy to supply products locally where possible, particularly, as in this case, it is an area of significant expansion."

Hamano said Sharp intends to maintain its position as the world`s number one manufacturer of solar cells, which it has held for the past four years, and the corporation`s performance within Europe is integral to this policy. In 2003, Sharp held a 26.6 percent share of the global market for PV.

Hamano also announced that a second production line would be introduced this October bringing the facility`s annual capacity to a total of 40 MW.

The manufacturing facility at Wrexham currently employs 475 staff of which 63 are employed in the new solar module facility. It is hoped that with the expansion in the use of PV, employment numbers will increase in the future.

In conjunction with Sharp`s announcement, Solarcentury, a major UK-based solar solutions company, announced a product-development and distribution alliance with Sharp. Solarcentury said they would be Sharp`s preferred customer/distributor for projects in the UK.

"In the 18 months since the introduction of the government`s £20 million Major Demonstration Program, more and more people and institutions are realizing the unique value offered by solar PV," said Jeremy Leggett, CEO, Solarcentury. "Our aim as an independent knowledge company is to innovate at the cutting edge of the coming solar business revolution with carefully chosen partners manufacturing a range of cell technologies."

The London-based solutions company has also begun a program of joint product development with Sharp for the construction industry, marrying its knowledge of the PV market and customers with Sharp`s PV manufacturing strength.

Sharp Corporation began research and development in solar energy in 1959 and in 1963 began mass-production of solar cells.


http://www.solaraccess.com/news/story?storyid=7131

[sonnbrille]

Sharps Potential sollte sich auch mal langsam wieder im Kurs bemerkbar machen. Gibts irgendwelche Erklärungen weshalb die Aktie seit wenigen Wochen auf Talfahrt ist???

[Heizkessel]

Ich kenne mich bei Sharp nicht aus. Wie hoch ist der Umsatzanteil mit PV bei denen? Sicher sehr gering oder?

[Heizkessel]

Wird es da als Solarworld Aktionär nicht etwas mulmig?

Reuters
GE hopes its solar will top $1 bln per year by 2010


NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Citing recent success in alternative power, GE Energy, a subsidiary of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - News; NYSE:GE - News) is hoping to boost its solar energy sales to $1 billion annually by the end of the decade, the head of GEs solar business said.


In 2002, GE Energy bought assets of bankrupt Enrons (Other OTC:ENRNQ.PK - News) wind turbine business for under $200 million and then doubled sales to $1.3 billion.

This year, GE bought Delaware-based Astropower, once a solar power leader, for about $19 million. Astropower went bankrupt after failing to file several financial reports with the government last year.

Ali Iz, who heads GE Energys solar business, said recent growth in demand of solar equipment that is tied to the national electricity grid, over traditional units designed for remote areas that are far from the grid, could play a big role in boosting the companys production.

"We certainly hope that solar will be a billion dollar-plus business for us," Iz said in a telephone interview. He said that amount of sales could be seen per year by the end of the decade.

Worldwide, solar is a $7 billion per year business, according to industry groups.

Iz said GE Energy is adding about 20 contractors for production operations at its plant in Delaware formerly owned by Astropower for at least six months.

"This is in response to a significant increase in demand in the industry. Its across the board worldwide, driven mainly by Germany," said Iz.

He said solar demand in Japan and Germany has been fuelled by production-based incentive programs in which utilities are required to pay a premium for power generated by renewable energy. Demand has been driven to a lesser extent in the United States, where many states have rebate-based incentives for residential and commercial solar systems.

"Incentive programs are there to encourage the industry to invest in research and development," said Iz. "Its an interim measure, as long as incentives are consistent and reliable, companies will invest, and eventually, over a number of years, the industry should be able to stand on its own.

[Heizkessel]

24.8.2004: Mitsubishi Electric setzt auf Photovoltaik - 230 Megawatt Ausstoß bis 2006
Der japanische Technologiekonzern Mitsubishi Electric will seine Produktionskapazität für Photovoltaikzellen und -module ausweiten. Laut einer Mitteilung des Unternehmens, reagiert Mitsubishi Electric damit auf die Absatzsteigerungen des Konkurrenten Sharp in den heimischen Märkten und in Übersee. Der jährliche Ausstoß der Fabriken in Nakatsugawa und Kyoto solle bis April 2005 von 90 Megawatt (MW) auf 135 MW erhöht werden, hieß es weiter. Bis 2006 wolle man ein Produktionssystem mit einer Leistung von 230 MW aufbauen. Der Absatz von Mitsubishi Electric im Berech Photovoltaik hat sich den Angaben zufolge im laufenden Jahr gegenüber 2003 mehr als verdoppelt.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.: ISIN JP3902400005 / WKN 856532

ecoreporter.de

[Heizkessel]

Kyocera Solar to Double Worldwide PV Output




Kyoto, Japan - September 22, 2004 [SolarAccess.com] In a plan to double its global solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing output, Kyocera Solar is planning broad manufacturing expansions - including new facilities in North America, Europe and Japan.

Combined with the company`s established plants in Japan and China, the new operations will give Kyocera significant local production capabilities in the world`s top four solar PV markets. The expansion, which marks Kyocera`s 30th anniversary in the solar energy field, comes in response to strong global demand for solar electric generating systems.

The first of the new production centers will open in Tijuana, Mexico on October 1, 2004, and should supply PV modules for the North American markets. A second facility planned to open in Kadan, Czech Republic, will supply PV modules to the booming German market and other EU countries beginning in April 2005.

Kyocera will add a new production facility to its Yohkaichi plant in Japan`s Shiga prefecture as well. The company plans to double its output of solar cells, which are the basic building blocks of solar PV modules. In so doing, Kyocera will create a framework for manufacturing up to 20 MW of solar modules per month, or up to 240 MW per year, by August 2005.

To achieve this goal, the company will take advantage of its fully integrated production system, which involves every step of the PV manufacturing process -- from casting silicon materials and producing individual solar cells, to assembling finished PV modules and integrating them into solar electric generating systems. By strengthening its production framework as described above, Kyocera will aim to become world`s largest "fully-integrated" producer of PV modules.

Short Profiles of the New Plants Follow:


Tijuana, Mexico

Kyocera Solar`s Mexico plant will assemble PV modules for the Americas, with particular focus on the California market. Production will begin on October 1, 2004, at one MW per month initially, rising to three MW per month by the end of 2005. Kycocera`s investment in the plant amounts to 200 million yen (approximately $1.8 million). Kyocera Solar will be subcontracting to Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. Both companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Kyocera International, the North American headquarters and holding company for Kyocera Corporation.


Kadan, Czech Republic

Kyocera Solar`s Czech plant will assemble PV modules for the growing EU markets, particularly in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and Spain. A new, single-story building will be constructed by October 1, 2004. Production capacity will equal one MW per month starting April 1, 2005, and rise to between four and five MW per month by the end of 2005. Kyocera`s investment in the facility will be 700 million yen (approximately $6.4 million). It will be operated by Kyocera Solar Europe s.r.o., established jointly as a subsidiary of Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH, a sales company in Europe, and Kyocera Corporation.


Yohkaichi, Shiga, Japan

A new manufacturing facility will be constructed next to Kycocera Solar`s existing plant in Yohkaichi, Shiga, Japan. The plant will manufacture solar cells to be assembled into modules at the company`s four global production bases (Ise, Japan; Tianjin, China; Tijuana, Mexico; and Kadan, Czech Republic). Beginning August 1, 2005, the facility will produce 10 MW per month (creating, in combination with the existing plant, a total capacity of 20 megawatts per month). At 9.1 billion yen (approximately $83.5 million) the company`s investment is significantly higher than the module fabrication facilities in Mexico and the Czech Republic.

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