SolarWatch

company news

Schott Solar Opens New Line; Schott Closes Old Facility

While expanding production at one facility, Elmsford, N.Y.-based Schott has closed the doors of another.

In July Schott Solar expanded production at its new U.S. manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, N.M. (see June 2009 USGlass, page 22), by starting production on a new concentrating solar power (CSP) receiver line. The company expects to produce enough receivers to meet the demands of up to 400 megawatts (MW) of CSP power plants per year.

“We are proud to announce the completion of the second CSP receiver production line at our Albuquerque manufacturing facility less than two months after we inaugurated the facility,” says Mark Finocchario, president and chief executive officer. “This marks another important step in SCHOTT Solar’s plans to streamline our manufacturing capability and help meet the growing U.S. market demand for clean, domestic and reliable solar energy.”

SCHOTT Solar’s Albuquerque facility is the first in the U.S. to produce receivers used in parabolic trough, utility-scale, concentrated solar power plants (CSP), and the first in the world to produce both receivers for CSP alongside photovoltaic (PV) modules.

SCHOTT also ended production at its Billerica, Mass., facility as of July 31. Due to the limitations in the size and scale of the Billerica facility, the company determined further investment in the site was not a viable option. The Billerica site employed approximately 180 full-time employees, and 45 temporary workers, who manufactured 300 watt PV modules.

Customer questions and warranties on products manufactured by Billerica will continue to be handled through the company’s North American sales office in Roseville, Calif.
www.us.schott.com

event news

“All in Glass” Exhibitors Look Toward Solar Energy
The 2009 All in Glass exhibition is taking a new look at China’s photovoltaic (PV) industry.

All in Glass is co-organized by the China Foreign Trade Centre and Messe Düsseldorf China Ltd., and will be held from November 25-27 in hall 13.2 of the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China. The event will be held concurrently with the second China International High and New Glass Technologies Forum, with its focus on solar energy. The forum was designed to cater to the needs of glass industry upgrades and, according to event organizers, has received support from the local PV industry. Shi Dinghuan, president of the China Society for Renewable Energy, will speak on the new development orientation of China’s PV industry. In addition, the Shenzhen Solar Energy Society also will host its Annual Science and Technology Conference alongside the technologies forum.
www.allinglass.com.cn



USG
© Copyright 2009 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.