Natcore chooses Rochester, New York for PV research center

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 13:04 (Solarserver)

On April 21st, 2011, Natcore Technology Inc. (Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.) announced that it will establish a research center at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, New York, United States. The focus of the Natcore Research and Development Center will be the development of thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and tandem solar cells, using the company's liquid phase deposition (LPD) technology. Read more

CPV: Kuraray to supply Amonix with concentrating lenses

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 12:56 (Solarserver)

On April 21st, 2011, Kuraray Company, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has commercialized its concentrating lens for concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) applications. The company will supply these lenses to Amonix Inc.'s (Seal Beach, California, U.S.) CPV factory in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Read more

NexPower obtains PAS 2050 and ISO/CD 14067-1 carbon footprint verification

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 12:39 (PV-Tech)

According to Taiwan-based thin film PV module manufacturer, NexPower it is the first thin-film producers to receive carbon footprint verification under PAS 2050 and ISO/CD 14067-1 standards. NexPower?s multi-junction PV modules were verified by DNV (Det Norske Veritas) in Febraury, 2011 taking approximately 4-months for the verification, according to the company. Read more

Small Wind Conference

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 6:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The 7th annual Small Wind Conference on June 14 - 15, 2011 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin is the premier event for small wind-electric system installers, designers, manufacturers, educators and advocates, and for those involved in sales, specification, management, funding, and permitting of small wind systems. Read more

Myths about Large-scale Solar Threaten Public Lands

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 22:07 (Renewable Energy World)

The Interior Department and Department of Energy are currently engaged in a large-scale plan for solar development that proposes to open up 21.5 million acres of public land to permit applications by industrial-scale solar developers. Projects will include large-scale PV and CSP plants. Much of the land being targeted is in fragile desert areas that support rare and endangered plant and animal species. And while the developments are expected to have operational lifetimes of just 30 to 50 years, their impacts will be permanent, irreversibly converting the land to industrial zones. Read more

Facebook Datacenter Grand Opening Features PV Trackers® Solar Array

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 21:09 (Renewable Energy World)

On Friday, April 15th, Facebook hosted a Grand Opening celebration for their first new Datacenter in Prineville, Oregon, and the first thing visitors saw upon entering the site is a 100kW array of PV Trackers (PVT) dual-axis solar trackers. Read more

The Cadmium Telluride Solar Factory Race

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 19:06 (Renewable Energy World)

Solar manufacturers are racing to build the next cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) factory in the United States. Three major CdTe on glass factories in the US have been recently announced each with a unique starting point. Read more

Order Focus: Trina Solar to supply 35MW to Fotowatio US project

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 19:01 (PV-Tech)

Trina Solar?s utility-scale modules are to be used by US-based FRV AE Solar, a subsidiary of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures on a 35MW solar power plant project near Austin, Texas in the second quarter of 2011 onwards. FRV has been a previous commercial partner of Trina Solar. Read more

Conergy will construct 12.4MW solar park in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 19:00 (PV-Tech)

Together with Annex Power, the Bangkok-based systems integrator, Conergy will build what will be its third solar power plant on Thai soil in the space of a year. The 12.4MW solar park in Nakhon Pathom province, which will cover an area of 268,500m2, follows on from the recently-completed 3MW Ayutthaya solar park, constructed for the investors Yanhee Solar and Ratchaburi Electricity, which have entered into a joint venture agreement to develop solar energy parks in Thailand. Read more

Wells Fargo invests US$120m in SunEdison solar projects

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 18:28 (PV-Tech)

Wells Fargo subsidiaries have pledged to invest up to US$120 million in US-based SunEdison PV power projects over the next year. The funding program, which has been agreed by the two parties, builds on a SunEdison solar investment fund established in 2007, in which Wells Fargo invested more than US$200 million for approximately 150 solar projects developed by the company across eight US states. Read more

Amtech appoints new CTO, member of the board

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 18:01 (PV-Tech)

Expanding its global team of solar technology experts, Amtech Systems has appointed semiconductor and solar industry veterans Dr. James Hwang and Dr. SooKap Hahn as chief technology officer and member of the board, respectively. Read more

Nautilus Solar Energy appoints Brian Quinlan as executive vice president of development

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 17:57 (PV-Tech)

Nautilus Solar Energy has appointed Brian Quinlan as its new executive vice president of development. Quinlan is to be based in Nautilus? mid-Atlantic office where he will be responsible for project development in the US and Canada, and also for expanding this sector of the company into other worldwide markets. Read more

BioSolar reduces UL certification period through volume sampling program

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 17:29 (PV-Tech)

BioSolar hopes to reduce the preparation time for PV panel manufactures prior to submitting their PV panels for Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification or recertification under UL1703 through its new volume sampling program. Read more

Prater offers an aesthetic approach to solar

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 16:51 (Solarpowerportal)

UK-based building contractor, Prater, has launched a solar division specializing in energizing the building envelope in order to maximize sustainability credentials. By offering an integrated version of solar photovoltaics, the company provides UK customers with a more aesthetic approach to renewable energy generation, as well as another way of taking advantage of the country’s feed-in tariff. Read more

FRV starts building 30MW Webberville solar project

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 16:50 (PV-Tech)

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has closed financing and started construction work on its 30MW Webberville project. Renewable Energy Systems Americas is building the system, that is being fitted with Trina Solar?s 270W crystalline modules and has a pencilled in completion date of the end of 2011. Read more

Suntrix CPV module is awarded the first Golden Sun certification in China

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 15:23 (PV-Tech)

By passing all standards required by IEC62108 Suntrix has obtained the first Golden Sun certification for a CPV module in China. Issued by the China General Certification Center (CGC), the award is an accreditation system for PV products led by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of P. R. C. (CNCA) and supported by the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC), the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility?s building certification system for Chinese solar PV productsproject. Read more

Solaria opens new manufacturing plant and solar array at Fremont headquarters

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 14:20 (PV-Tech)

Solaria has officially unveiled its new manufacturing plant and solar array at the company headquarters in Fremont, California. The opening ceremony was attended by Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom, EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld and several other state dignitaries. Read more

Powertec orders USD 93.9 million in polysilicon production equipment from GT Solar

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 13:11 (Solarserver)

On April 25th, 2011, GT Solar International Inc. (Merrimack, New Hampshire, U.S.) announced that it has received USD 93.9 million order from Powertec Energy Corporation (Taiwan) for polysilicon production equipment. GT Solar will supply equipment including SDR 400 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactors, hydrochlorination, filament and product processing equipment for Powertec's new polysilicon facility, which is expected to begin production in 2012. Read more

Creating Investor Certainty in Large-Scale Solar

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 11:56 (Renewable Energy World)

Helped by government loan guarantees and growing investor confidence in the technologies, large-scale solar PV and CSP developers have made some headway in recent weeks. But there are plenty of headwinds too. Read more

Spire starts work on 2MW school solar project

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 11:46 (PV-Tech)

Spire Corporation has started building work on a 2MW system for a school in southwest Massachusetts. The system is situated on eight acres of land at the Berkshire School in the town of Sheffield and will generate 2,300 MWh of electricity every year. Read more

Air Liquide signs contracts with leading cell manufacturers

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 10:23 (PV-Tech)

Air Liquide has consolidated its position as one of the leading gas suppliers to the solar industry by signing 15 long-term contracts with a range of Asian and European manufacturers. Read more

BrightSource Guns for a $250M IPO

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 2:24 (Renewable Energy World)

The solar industry hasn't had a blockbuster initial public offering for a while, underscoring the investors' confidence in the long term prospect of solar. Could BrightSource Energy help change that? The company recently filed to go public and raise $250 million in order to complete a series of power plant projects and fulfill power delivery contracts to utilities. Read more

Solar Lifts California Home Sales Prices

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 1:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Homeowners in California who invest in photovoltaic systems are netting up to 6.4 percent more in resale value for their homes than for similar homes sold without solar systems, according to a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley. Read more

Order Focus: Solar Frontier signs 1.2MW solar development deal with Granite Construction

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 0:09 (PV-Tech)

Solar Frontier will be providing its thin-film CIS solar module technology for Granite Construction?s 1.2MW solar installation in Coalinga, California. The solar panels have already been delivered to the site with installation just around the corner. The two companies note that the 1.2MW solar installation will generate 50% of Granite Construction?s facility energy requirements. Read more

Spain Seeks To Shore Up Battered Biofuels Industry

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 3:37 (Renewable Energy World)

Spain has pledged to launch measures to help shore up the biofuels industry, which is being hit by huge imports of biodiesel from foreign producers. Read more

China's Wind Power Sector Expected To See Tremendous Growth

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 22:28 (Renewable Energy World)

The nuclear accident triggered by the devastating earthquake in Japan has created new market opportunities for China's wind power sector. According to a statistical report released by the Chinese Wind Energy Association, mainland China added 18.9 GW of new wind power capacity in 2010, a year-over-year increase of 73.3 percent, bringing the country's installed wind power capacity up to 44.7 GW and catapulting the country to first place globally for the first time, ahead of the U.S., in terms of installed wind power capacity. Read more

Our Final Podcast. For Now.

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 17:18 (Renewable Energy World)

We're sorry to announce that after five years of production, our Inside Renewable Energy podcast series will be coming to a close after this week's episode. Read more

BrightSource files for IPO

Tuesday, 4.26.2011 - 13:15 (Solarserver)

On April 22nd, 2011, BrightSource Energy Inc. (Oakland, California, U.S.) announced that it has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO). The company states that the number of shares to be sold in the IPO and the offering price have not yet been determined. Read more