Nanosolar, one of the first nanotechnology photovoltaic (PV) companies to near commercial production levels, has recently made a few quiet advancements, like publicly introducing its first-utility scale panel, getting its first 1 megawatt power plant installed and operational, ramping up production, and making executive hires.

The company has changed its publicity tactics since letting former CEO Martin Roscheisen go and hiring new CEO Geoff Tate this past March.

“Since the executive change, we have been refocusing, evolving from an R&D operation to a production operation,” Brian Stone, VP of sales and product management, recently told PV-Tech’s Tom Cheney. Stone added that the company began volume production in mid-March, and that the company is now shipping to customers and building its first power plants as well as making executive level hires.

Nanosolar also publicly introduced the Nanosolar Utility Panel at Intersolar, a European solar industry trade show, in June. The company said the utility panel has some advantages over other thin-film PV modules. For instance, the panels operate at higher currents of six to seven amps at up to 1,500 volts.

With the higher amperage and voltage, longer strings of the modules can be connected to higher power inverters. It reduces the amount of wiring needed for each array, which can be up to 64 meters long. In addition, the panels produce more electricity, up to 220 watts per two-square-meter panel. Overall, the company said the utility panels reduce installation and labor by about 40 percent over other thin-film PV modules.

The company also finished installing its first 1 megawatt power plant at the Luckenwalde landfill near Berlin, Stone told Cheyney. He said it was the first commissioned and installed megawatt plant the company has completed. And the company plans to install more megawatt-sized projects in 2010 in its home-country of the United States, as well as in Germany and France.

Stone explained to Cheney that it took the company six months to “to enter volume production and now we’re there; we’re 100 percent focused on meeting our customer commitments, overdelivering as opposed to underdelivering.” If the company is able to deliver on those promises, we’re likely to see a lot more Nanosolar projects in the near future.