汉能完成美国薄膜太阳能企业并购

choi

Keith Bradsher, 汉能完成美国薄膜太阳能企业并购. 纽约时报中文网, Jan 11, 2013.
http://cn.nytimes.com/article/business/2013/01/11/c11solar/

, which is translated from

Keith Bradsher, Chinese Dam Builder Expands Reach in Solar Modules. New York Times, Jan 10, 2013.

Quote:

"Hanergy Holding Group, a privately held [hydroelectric dam-building] company based in Beijing, announced Wednesday [Jan 9] that it had completed its acquisition of MiaSolé, a struggling, 100-employee manufacturer of thin-film solar modules based in Santa Clara, California.

"Thin-film solar modules use more exotic materials than conventional solar panels, which are made from polycrystalline silicon [“crystalline” or "polysilicon" for short] and tend to be blue. Most thin-film modules are slightly less efficient at converting sunlight into electricity than conventional panels, but the thin-film versions are much lighter, which makes them easier to mount in locations that may not support the weight of conventional panels.

Note:
(a) Santa Clara, California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara,_California
(The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, and was named after the mission)

(i) Mission Santa Clara de Asís (a franciscan mission founded in 1777; named for Saint Clare of Assisi (in English; 1194-1253; one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi)
(ii) Assisi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisi
(birthplace of St Francis and St Clare)
(b) Technology, TSMC Solar, undated.
(i) TSMC Solar – insights into a complex technology
http://www.tsmc-solar.com/technology

Q & A:

"Which types of solar module exist?

There are basically two different types of solar modules that are used to generate energy commercially – crystalline solar modules built from silicon solar cells, and thin-film modules made of one of several different semiconductor materials. Today, industry production still revolves around crystalline silicon solar modules with a market share of approximately 80%. Recent gains have been made by thin-film module technologies that now hold a 20% market share."

(ii) TSMC Solar - CIGS is Now a Reality
http://www.tsmc-solar.com/technology/cigs-technology

Q & A:

"How are thin-film solar modules manufactured and how do TSMC CIGS modules work?

The central concept common to all thin-film modules is the use of a single, very thin deposited layer of semiconductor material in order to avoid the high costs of the raw materials and energy required to produce high-purity silicon wafers. A variety of semiconductor materials are used to make thin-film modules – those in commercial production include: amorphous silicon (a-Si), micromorph silicon (mSi), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and compounds made of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS).

Unlike typical crystalline silicon module production, producing thin-film modules involves depositing thin layers of semiconductor material on a surface made of glass, metal or plastic at 250–500°C (according to the type of material), whereby only about a tenth of the semiconductor material used in silicon wafers is required and significantly less energy needed."