Recently, Toledo Solar closed shop, citing an inability to license certain technologies needed for its Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) manufacturing process – which we assume was due to a First Solar refusal, since First Solar is the world’s only prominent CdTe manufacturer. Now First Solar has announced a patent infringement probe into Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) cell production, a silicon-based technology which First Solar doesn’t use, because its panels are all CdTe-based. First Solar holds TOPCon patents thanks to its 2013 acquisition of TetraSun. First Solar General Counsel Jason Dymbort has stated that “These patents are First Solar’s intellectual property, which we continue to leverage as part of ongoing efforts to develop the next generation of (photovoltaic) technologies.” It’s possible…