Focused Energy offers Upsolar modules to North American customers

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Under a 6MW distribution agreement, Focused Energy is to offer Upsolar's line of modules to its North American customers throughout 2011, with an option to extend the contract by an additional 2MW. Focused Energy began shipping Upsolar's modules in June 2010 on a trial basis and has now opted to expand the distribution agreement into 2011. Read more

Lufft Announces Production of Intelligent Weather Stations with Integrated Pyranometer

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Lufft USA of Santa Barbara, CA announced today that they will begin production of a new integrated weather station with built in pyranometer in addition to temperature, relative humidity, air pressure and wind speed/direction measurements. Lufft USA will debut the new sensors during the American Meteorological Society Exposition January 23-27 2011 and will be a special feature during the AWEA Small and Community Wind Show Dec 7-9 2010 in Portland, Oregon. Read more

Solar Cell Efficiencies Continue To Rise

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

With PV, efficiency matters and that's why manufactures constantly race to improve the efficiency of their cells. More efficient cells allow PV cell makers to increase the capacity of their manufacturing plants without expanding their operations, keeping costs low. Read more

Schneider Electric launching new FIT-compliant 600 Vac inverters for the Ontario market

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Schneider Electric's Renewable Energies Business is launching the Xantrex? GT100 600, GT250 600, and GT500 600 Grid Tie Solar Inverters in Q1 of 2011, adding to the range of currently available products that meet the guidelines of Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program. These new inverters, for the commercial building market, include internal transformers allowing grid connections to 600 Vac. Read more

Advanced Wire Saws -- More than Just Thinner Wafers

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Today's advanced wire saws are making it possible for manufacturers of crystalline silicon solar panels to respond to competition from lower-cost thin film modules by literally thinning their own costs. Progressive improvements in the performance and reliability of wire saws since their advent 25 years ago have resulted in a reduction of practical wire diameter to as little as 120-100?m from 180-160?m, with 120?m now the standard for slicing wafers for photovoltaic cells. Read more

Project Focus: Opel to build 446kW plant at Toray headquarters

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Opel Solar is to build a 446kW solar power plant at the headquarters of Toray Plastics in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Construction work on the facility, which will be made up of 1650 PV panels mounted on 50 of Opel's TF-800 trackers, is scheduled to begin in spring 2011 and when completed it is expected to generate around 625MWh of electricity every year. Read more

Project Focus: aleo solar supplies avim a_18 modules for 5.5MW plant in Italy

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

aleo solar has supplied approximately 24,000 avim a_18 type solar modules for the 5.5MW Ancona Solare solar farm located in Corinaldo, Italy. The modules were manufactured by aleo solar's joint venture company, avim solar production, which is based in Gaomi, China. The project is now online and has been supplying the public grid provider, Enel since the beginning of November this year. Read more

Project Focus: Deutsche Bank to finance SkyPower?s 18.5MW Ontario facilities

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

Deutsche Bank is to finance two SkyPower solar parks, with a combined capacity of around 18.5MW, in Ontario, Canada. The 10MW Stone Mills and 8.5MW Thunder Bay facilities will generate 400 million kWh over 20 years and are scheduled to be completed by mid 2011. Read more

Project Focus: Sempra Generation completes 48MW Copper Mountain Solar power plant

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

Sempra Generation, part of Sempra Energy, has completed construction of the 48MW Copper Mountain Solar photovoltaic solar power plant located in Boulder City, Nevada. The facility is reportedly the largest in the U.S. and is now generating enough electricity to power approximately 14,000 average homes. Read more

Order Focus: GCL-Poly to supply JA Solar with 10GW of wafers

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

In what could be the largest-ever wafer supply deal made public, GCL-Poly is to supply 10GW of polycrystalline wafers and polysilicon products to JA Solar over a five year period. The supply deal will last through January 2011 to December 2015, at pre-determined shipment volumes, which were not disclosed, neither was the value of the deal. The agreement however does contain a clause for a price adjustment mechanism. Read more

China Sunergy, Pythagoras Solar sign five-year contract for BIPV product development

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

China Sunergy and Pythagoras Solar have signed a five-year contract to develop, manufacture and market BIPV products in China. The agreement runs from 2010 until 2015 and will see Pythagoras Solar produce photovoltaic glass units and China Sunergy supply up to 75MW of solar concentrator cells as they attempt to capitalise on the growing demand for BIPV products. Read more

Australia?s solar industry takes another hit

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 15:01 (PV-Tech)

Australia's Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet has revealed that the country's subsidies for households that install solar panels will end a year earlier than planned. The Solar Credits Scheme, originally implemented in 2008, which gives households up to five times more renewable energy credits for the electricity generated by their solar systems, will now end in mid-2014, with the credit 'multiplier' reduced every year until that date. Read more

Titan Tracker lining up Indian licensing deals

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Titan Tracker has held meetings with several Indian companies, with a view to securing licensing agreements to supply solar trackers for several utility-scale projects. After participating in last month?s Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference, these meetings are a further signal of Titan?s desire to play a key role in the Indian government?s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Read more

UK solar installation figures back on top in November

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 11:38 (Solarpowerportal)

After a fairly disappointing month of solar installations in October, the latest figures from Ofgem show that November has brought the total back up to over 6MW of systems. During the period 1-30 November there were 2,194 domestic installations (5.718MW), 27 commercial installations (0.264MW), no industrial installations and 47 (0.300MW) community installations, making a total of 2,268 (6.282MW) for the month. These figures are back up from the significant dip last month... Read more

How Much Does a Solar Job Cost in Ontario?

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

While it is vital for any society to have reasonably priced electricity, any discussion about energy policy must recognize that investments in energy infrastructure have wide reaching economic and social outcomes beyond price and availability. These outcomes range from job creation and economic development to include health, environmental and social impacts. Read more

St. Mary's County Public Schools Go Solar with Perpetual Standard Solar

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Standard Solar, Inc., a leader in the full-service development, installation and financing of solar electric systems for commercial, government and residential customers, and its joint venture partner Perpetual Energy Systems LLC (Perpetual), a comprehensive financier of solar powered renewable energy systems, today announced the installation of a large scale solar electric system supporting Maryland's St. Mary's County Public School System (SMCPS). As a Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Project Sunburst Partner, SMCPS received a grant from MEA specifically designed for the development of solar electric projects on public buildings in Maryland. The array will be installed Read more

At the Solar Canada 2010 Show, Solar FlexRack Will Help You Calculate the Savings on Your Next Solar Project

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Since its introduction less than two years ago, the Solar FlexRack ?a FIT-compliant rack mounting system for solar panels manufactured by Northern States Metals ? has touted its potential for substantial savings in labor costs for any solar array project. The savings are very real; thanks to its unique unfolding design, a Solar FlexRack can be installed by a three-man crew in 5 minutes or less, while its nearest competitor estimates an installation time of 45 minutes with a six-man crew for each rack. Read more

Community Solar - Better on the Roof?

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Read more

Project Focus: SunPower to develop solar power systems at two California water agencies

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 1:53 (PV-Tech)

SunPower is using its past experience building solar systems for California water agencies in the development and construction of two new solar PV systems for the Fallbrook Public Utilities District (FPUD) and the San Juan Water District (SJWD). The solar projects are expected to be up and running for both water agencies by the first half of 2011. Read more

Bentek Solar completes 60MW circuit breaker shipment

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 1:51 (PV-Tech)

Bentek Solar recently shipped over 60MW of its circuit breaker re-combiners.  “There are no fuses with these 100% circuit breaker re-combiners that provide maximum performance and safety with UL 489 breakers. The circuit breaker serves as a disconnect that complies with NEC requirements while providing circuit protection like that from a fuse... Read more

MiaSolé begins use of Camstar?s enterprise software

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 1:15 (PV-Tech)

MiaSolé has begun the full use of Camstar’s SolarSuite enterprise software in its manufacturing line. The company advised that it looked to use Camstar’s software to help improve its solar operations and increase its product quality and reliability. Read more

American Ethanol Led by Growth Energy Becomes Official Partner of NASCAR

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In preparation for the 2011 season and as part of its long-term commitment to "going green," the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced a major long-term partnership with American Ethanol led by ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy. Read more

Natural Power can tell you how complex your development site is for free

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Leading international renewable energy consultancy Natural Power are pleased to announce a new free web based service providing an estimation of wind flow complexity on potential wind farm sites. As potential development sites with simple, flat terrain become fewer and fewer, more and more projects are built in, or near, forests and complex terrain. It is these complex flow sites that are often associated with harsh wind conditions likely to affect wind turbine performance. For example, complex terrain can induce large values of turbulence and high loads on wind turbine blades. Read more

Lufft Ultrasonic Anemometers and Intelligent Weather Stations now with MODBUS

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Lufft USA announced that its complete 'WS' line of weather stations are now available with MODBUS data protocol in addition to SDI12, ASCII, UMB, NMEA and Analog. Lufft presented the WS along with the VENTUS 240W heated ultrasonic anemometer with digital/analog communication at the American Wind Energy Association Exhibition in May, 2010 and will again be at the Small and Community Wind Conference Dec 7-9 in Portland Oregon and at the American Meteorological Society Conference In Seattle, WA Jan 23-27 2011. Read more

NREL verifies MiaSolé?s 15.7% CIGS thin-film module conversion efficiencies

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has independently confirmed the 15.7% efficiency rating of MiaSolé-produced (1 square meter in size) copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) thin-film modules. A year ago, MiaSolé touted a module efficiency of 14.3%. The company also reiterated that it would be shipping 22MW in 2010. Read more

Project Focus: SunPower, E.ON Climate & Renewables to construct 3.4MW plant in Italy

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

E.ON Climate and Renewables Italia Solar has signed an agreement with SunPower, contracting the company to design and build of a 3.4MW ground-mounted solar power plant in the Lazio region of Italy. Construction on the plant, which will utilise SunPower E19 solar panels on the SunPower T0 Tracker system, is expected to start during December for completion in April 2011.  Read more

2011 Florida Renewable Energy Tour announces Sarasota Tour Stop.

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (FARE) is excited to announce the first confirmed tour stop in its 2011 Renewable Energy Tour which is set to take place at The State College of Florida ? Lakewood Ranch campus on Friday, February 18th. The tour will consist of visits to various renewable energy installations during the day leading to a town hall style event at night being held at the Center for Innovation and Technology at the State College of Florida Lakewood Ranch Campus. The town hall event will include local and state legislators as well as industry experts and feature discussions about advancing renewable energy in Florida. Read more

When Will Unconventional Hydro Compete?

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

We hear the predictions constantly: In theory, if we tapped available resources, wave, tidal, and in-stream hydrokinetic projects could provide 20%, 50%, even 100% of the world's energy needs. But the reality of developing these technologies is far more complicated than those predictions suggest. Read more

Video: COP 16, the Climate Change Conference Begins in Mexico

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Delegates from more than 190 nations, and representatives of various non-governmental groups, are in Cancun for two weeks of discussion aimed at forging a comprehensive agreement not now, but at some future meeting. Read more

Application Deadline for NABCEP PV Technical Sales Draws Near

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) as PV Technical Sales professionals," says Ezra Auerbach, NABCEP's executive director. He continues, "There is still time to submit an application before the deadline of December 10, 2010, however potential applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the process within the next few days." Read more

Clean Energy Patents at Record High in 3rd Quarter- Clean Energy Patent Growth Index

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. is pleased to announce results for the third quarter of 2010 for the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI) by the firm's Cleantech Group. Read more

Scientists Generate Two Energetic Electronic States from One Photon

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB), have reported the first designed molecular system that produces two triplet states from an excited singlet state of a molecule, with essentially perfect efficiency. Read more

ACI ecoTec set to deliver 50% of the market?s wafer process carriers in 2010

Thursday, 12.2.2010 - 1:46 (PV-Tech)

ACI ecoTec, a subsidiary of Day4 Energy, is set to deliver 5,000 of its ecoCarrier wafer process carriers in 2010, leading the company to make up 50% of the world’s market for process carriers. In addition, the shipments will lead to a 30% growth when compared to the same period in 2009. Read more