centrotherm photovoltaics Dirk Stenkamp appointed to SEMI Europe Advisory Board

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 18:03 (PV-Tech)

Industry trade body, SEMI has appointed Dr. Dirk Stenkamp, Management Board member and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of centrotherm photovoltaics, as member of the SEMI Europe Advisory Board. Read more

Good Energies Marcel Brenninkmeijer resigns Board role at Q-Cells

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 15:19 (PV-Tech)

Having been on Supervisory Board of Q-Cells since 2002, Marcel Brenninkmeijer the Good Energies investment representative has resigned his position. He will now be engaged at the Good Energies Foundation in promoting global access to renewable energy sources in order to ease poverty. Brenninkmeijer founded Good Energies in 2001. Read more

SMA America opens new support service center

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 14:12 (PV-Tech)

SMA America has opened its new service center in Rocklin, California, that has been dedicated to provide customers with technical support over the phone, internet and on-site throughout the U.S. and Canada. SMA America assures that every call is received by a live person at the new service center, which also offers its customers that ability to email service representatives for help. Read more

Agreement reached on new German feed-in tariff, maximum 12% regression

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 11:20 (PV-Tech)

Fears of further aggressive cuts to the German feed-in tariff (EEG) mid-year, on the back of installations exceeding 6GW in 2010, would seem to have been averted with industry and government provisional agreement on a new tariff structure. Although yet to be ratified into law, the new FiT structure limits regression to a maximum of 12% in July, should installations reach 6.5GW from March-May (normalized annually). Read more

Donald Reilly selected as Evergreen?s new CFO

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 2:47 (PV-Tech)

Donald W. Reilly has been selected by Evergreen Solar to assume the title and duties of chief financial officer. Paul Kawa has been serving as the interim CFO since September 2010 when Michael El-Hillow was promoted to president and CEO. As Reilly assumes his new CFO role, Kawa will return to his position as Evergreen Solar?s corporate controller.  Read more

CIGS thin-film company SoloPower chooses Oregon as site for first volume production facility

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 2:06 (PV-Tech)

SoloPower becomes the fourth CIGS thin-film photovoltaics manufacturer since the beginning of the year to announce it has selected a site for its volume production facility. The San Jose-based company has chosen Wilsonville, OR, where it plans to build a 75MW plant and create 170 new jobs as part of its initial phase of expansion. SoloPower made its decision in part because of a package of local and state incentives that includes at least $40 million in potential loan and tax credit monies. Read more

Glimcher Realty chooses SunPower to build, maintain 4.8MW rooftop PV system in New Jersey

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 20:45 (PV-Tech)

Glimcher Realty Trust plans to develop what?s being called the largest single-rooftop solar system in North America. The 4.8MW array will be built on the roof of the Jersey Gardens mall in Elizabeth, NJ, and will offset about 11% of the site?s electrical consumption. SunPower will design, install, and maintain the system. Read more

Centrosolar issues five-year bearer bond

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Centrosolar Group is to issue a five-year bearer bond in Austria and Germany with a value of up to ?50 million. The corporate bond will accrue interest at 7% per annum, and the securities prospectus required for the bond is expected to be approved by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFin) on January 20, 2011. Read more

Jiangsu Guoxin, Jiangsu Sainty join forces on Siyang rooftop array

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 16:40 (PV-Tech)

Jiangsu Guoxin New Energy and Jiangsu Sainty Solar System have joined forces to build a 4MW rooftop array in Siyang, China. The system, which cost US$14.5 million and covers an area of 52,000 square metres, has the potential to generate in excess of 4.64 million kWh of electricity per annum during its 25-year lifespan. Read more

BP Solar enlists help of Phaesun for off-grid portfolio

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 15:55 (PV-Tech)

In an attempt to consolidate its position as one of the world?s leading integrated solar companies, BP Solar has decided to enlist the help of a specialist partner to help manage some of its portfolio of off-grid projects. Control of French BP Solar?s off-grid operations has been handed over to Phaesun. Read more

Swindon farmers plan for 5MW solar park

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 14:05 (Solarpowerportal)

Plans are now on display for a 5MW solar farm to be constructed on the outskirts of Swindon. Local residents and farmers met at the Roves Farm Visitor Centre, Sevenhampton, to find out more about the £12m project, and its effect on the area. Read more

Kauai utility co-op selects Xtreme Power?s battery storage system for its Koloa substation

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 3:40 (PV-Tech)

Xtreme Power?s Dynamic Power Resource (DPR) battery storage system was purchased by Kaua?i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) for its 1.5MW Koloa substation. The utility-scale DPR system will be installed at the solar PV plant and is expected to also help with the effects of a 3MW solar PV project that will also feed into Koloa. Read more

API, Sustainable Energy sign inverter supply deal for Ontario solar-tracker installations

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 3:23 (PV-Tech)

Alternate Power International, in conjunction with Sustainable Energy Technologies, has announced a partnership between the two companies that will see API bundle Sunergy inverters with its Sun-Spy SST-10 solar tracker for the micro-FIT and FIT markets.  Taking into account API?s forecasted 2011 demand, Sustainable Energy will produce up to 5MW of Sunergy inverters and offer its technical support in order for API to achieve the most advantageous tracker performance. Read more

IBC Solar completes grid connection for 13.8MW German solar park

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 3:16 (PV-Tech)

Just before the end of 2010, IBC Solar completed its 13.8MW installation at its solar park located in Breitenguessbach, Germany.  Construction took place on over 74 acres near Breitenguessbach, Bavaria, with the power plant using more than 60,100 polycrystalline modules and 14 central inverters to harvest and convert the solar energy. IBC Solar oversaw the technical planning, development and construction of the solar park and will continue to manage its maintenance, monitoring and operational management for 20-years. Read more

110 Advanced Biofuels Projects Now in Development

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 20:04 (Renewable Energy World)

In Florida, Biofuels Digest is projecting that global advanced biofuels capacity will reach 4.003 billion gallons by 2015, based on company announcements to date. Today, the Digest released version 1.7 of its free Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database, projecting advanced biofuels capacity for the 2011-2015 period. Read more

Newest BTEC Webinar Explores Federal Biomass Energy Legislation, Policy

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 15:44 (Renewable Energy World)

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) today announced the third webinar in its series of free educational webinars on key topics for the biomass thermal community. "Biomass Energy - A Policy Outlook: Programs, Legislation and the new Congress," will be held January 27, 2011 at 1PM ET. This event is made possible with funding from the USDA Forest Service's Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC). Read more

A Busy Week for Hydropower

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 18:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Read more

Demand for Geothermal Heat Pumps To Grow 14% by 2015

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 20:23 (Renewable Energy World)

School districts across the nation are starting to replace conventional electric Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems (HVACs) with ground source heat pumps (GSHP). Since the 1990s, when a handful of campuses installed the first GSHP systems, the technology has proven reliable and efficient with energy costs 30 to 50% less than the chiller systems of old. Many new schools now forgo the old roof-top units to install GSHPs connected to 250-foot-deep wells that transfer heat via water-filled polyethylene tubing. Read more

Honduras's First Wind Park To Power Up in 2012, More To Come

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 18:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Honduras' first wind park, the 102-MW Cerro de Hula facility, will begin producing electricity in the first quarter of 2012, just as other developers could be breaking ground on three other projects, Jose Moran, development manager of developer Energia Eolica de Honduras (EEH) has told REW. Read more

Renewable Energy and Cleantech Mutual Funds and ETFs: Does Tax Efficiency Matter?

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 16:29 (Renewable Energy World)

My recent article, In Clean Energy, Active Management Pays, started a bit of a controversy. Rafael Coven, the Index Manager for The Cleantech Index (^CTIUS), which is the index behind the Powershares Cleantech Portfolio (PZD), left a comment on Barrons and sent me an email saying, "Your comparison of funds and ETFs ignores the tax efficiency differences which are very significant." Read more

Workshops, workshops, workshops at the 2011 Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 8:22 (Renewable Energy World)

Registration is now open for the 4th National Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference in Saratoga Springs, March 8-10, 2011. The conference offers an extensive list of technical, hard-to-find, and thought-provoking workshops. Selecting just one will be hard. Read more

European Supergrid Slowly Coming into Focus

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In early December 2010, as Europe was grappling with sovereign debt crises and angry protests swept through its cities, a group of Ministers and grid operators met quietly to sign a deal that could help to secure the development of hundreds of gigawatts of renewable energy capacity. Read more

Tioga welcomes Nicole Leonard to its executive team

Friday, 1.14.2011 - 3:19 (PV-Tech)

Nicole Leonard has newly been appointed by Tioga Energy as vice president and general counsel. Relying on over ten years of Leonard?s legal experience in project development, renewable energy and land use, Tioga looks forward to their new executive imparting strategic guidance during project financing and development. Leonard most recently worked with Solar Millennium as its general counsel and vice president of business development and was previously a partner with Beveridge & Diamond.   Read more