Advanced Energy stainless steel inverters to be used at U.S. Navy PV plant in Hawaii

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 21:47 (Solarserver)

On June 14th, 2011, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.) announced that its new stainless steel inverters will be used at a 787kW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at a U.S. Navy facility in the state of Hawaii. Advanced Energy states that its stainless steel PV Powered inverters can accommodate more than 20 year project lifespans, without additional maintenance, even in tropical marine environments which generate sea-salt moisture. Read more

Solectria Chosen to Power the Sonoma Valley Unified School District

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 20:40 (Renewable Energy World)

Lawrence, MA ? June 16, 2011 ? Solectria Renewables, LLC, the leading U.S. PV inverter manufacturer, announced today that it has been chosen as the inverter supplier for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD). The PV systems will be made up of 19 carport shade arrays, 3 ground mount systems and 6 shade structures, spanning 10 schools across the district and totaling 2.5MW. Read more

Microinverter Maker Enphase Energy Plans for an IPO

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 17:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Enphase Energy has embarked on a road to the public market. The microinverter developer filed its intent to carry out an initial public offering on Wednesday, a move that reflected the company's need for capital to fend off a growing number of competitors. Read more

Soitec, Schneider Electric to promote CPV in Morocco

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 16:54 (PV-Tech)

Soitec and Schneider Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) to develop concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) technology in the North African country. Read more

Enphase in IPO bid

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 15:27 (PV-Tech)

Microinverter firm, Enphase Energy is attempting an IPO (initial public offering) of common stock, after filing registration documents in the US with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The share offer price range and number of shares to be issued has yet to be determined, according to the company. Read more

Shell, E-ON and Elia meet with ENISA and CPNI to discuss European cyber-security

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 15:21 (Renewable Energy World)

In the past few years there have been land mark changes to the Energy and Utility industries; from the increased connectivity for control systems, the roll out of 'smart' technology, to the game changing power of Stuxnet and Night Dragon. All this has led to increased attention at national and European levels to ensure the security of critical information infrastructure. Read more

IEEE PVSC conference anticipates gathering of worldwide PV experts and professionals in Seattle

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 1:11 (PV-Tech)

The 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington June 19 -24, is ready to welcome the cream of the PV crop. The final program was recently announced with presentations during the week focusing on 10 technical areas, including crystalline silicon technologies, organic PV and space technologies. Over 1,200 technical abstracts from around the world were submitted for consideration, marking a new record for IEEE PVSC. Read more

San Diego Gas & Electric adds 237MW of solar energy to its portfolio

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 23:59 (PV-Tech)

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) revealed that it had signed two new power purchase agreements totaling 237MW with enXco and Arlington Valley Solar Energy II (AVSE II). The 25-year PPA with enXco will see a 110MW solar PV facility, Catalina Solar Project, built in Kern County, California, while the AVSE II deal calls for up to 127MW of solar energy delivered by ground-mounted PV panels from a solar facility built in Arizona. Read more

US Solar Institute is Moving!

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 23:12 (Renewable Energy World)

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Mesquite Solar I project, Calisolar land DOE conditional loan guarantees

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 22:48 (PV-Tech)

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu revealed that the US Department of Energy (DOE) has extended two additional loan guarantees to Mesquite Solar and Calisolar, respectively. The announcement comes just two days after the DOE unveiled its conditional loan guarantee offers to Abengoa?s Mojave Solar Project and the Genesis Solar Project. The four projects bring the DOE?s loan guarantee three-day grand total to over US$2.5 billion. Read more

Envision Solar completes small scale solar EV charging station

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 21:43 (Solarserver)

On June 14th, 2011, Envision Solar International Inc. (San Diego, California, U.S.) announced that it has completed the design, engineering and fabrication of its first Socket station, a combined solar electrical vehicle (EV) charging station and shade structure for one vehicle. The structure is a smaller version of the company's SolarTree canopy, and will be shipped to a site in northern California for installation in July 2011. Read more

Sunways unveils NT 3000 solar inverter based on HERIC concept

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 21:32 (Solarserver)

On June 10th, 2011, Sunways Solar AG (Konstanz, Germany) announced a new solar PV inverter, the NT 3000, based on a novel switching concept which has won the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2011. Also on June 8th, 2011, Sunways announced that the Germany Energy and Water Association (BDEW) has awarded the company the unit certificate for its PT series inverters. Read more

Atlantic Wind & Solar Receives More Ontario FIT Contract Awards, Strengthens Team - Expands U.S. Drive Solar Program

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 19:17 (Renewable Energy World)

Atlantic Wind & Solar Inc. (OTC:AWSL) is pleased to report they have received notice by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), confirming that another two of their Capacity Allocation Exempt (CAE), Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) applications have been successfully approved - Bringing Atlantic's total awarded Feed In Tariff (FIT), PPA contracts to five. Read more

Wagner Solar raises over £11,000 for victims of the Japan devastation

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 18:49 (Solarpowerportal)

Wagner Solar UK has raised £11,432.02 for the relief and development organisation World Vision for Japan related causes through its commitment to donate 3% from new sales of Sanyo... Read more

Order Focus: Yingli Green to supply modules for Etrion?s Puglia solar systems

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 17:39 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green has signed an agreement to supply modules for Etrion?s new 10MW solar project in southeast Italy. The site will feature two separate 5MW ground-mounted systems, located in Brindisi and Mesagne, which have a pencilled in completion date of late August. Read more

Enfinity completes 3MW solar installation on high-speed rail tunnel in Belgium

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 17:31 (PV-Tech)

Belgian rail network operator Infrabel has opened its new Paris to Amsterdam high-speed rail link tunnel, which features 16,000 solar panels on its 3.4km rooftop. The plant will produce electricity for the railway infrastructure on the Antwerp North-South junction, including signaling, lighting and heating railway stations, as well as powering the trains. Read more

Order Focus: Bentek Solar signs 25MW supply agreement with Borrego Solar

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 17:12 (PV-Tech)

Balance of System designer and manufacturer Bentek Solar has signed a 25MW supply agreement with Borrego Solar. The contract will see Bentek Solar supply a range of disconnecting combiners, re-combiners and disconnect safety systems to be used on Borrego Solar?s commercial and utility scale projects. Read more

Order Focus: Akrion receives US$5 million equipment order from European cell manufacturer

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 16:54 (PV-Tech)

A European-based cell manufacturer has purchase ?GAMA-Solar? production equipment from Akrion Systems, worth US$5 million. The systems are used for texturization, advanced cleaning and surface conditioning of c-Si wafers. According to Akrion the equipment will be installed later this year in the customer?s new manufacturing facility. Read more

Riomay calculates UK homeowners could be earning £1,000 a year

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 16:08 (Solarpowerportal)

Riomay Renewable Energies has calculated that by switching from sole reliance on fossil fuels to renewable sources, UK homeowners could earn up to £1,000 a year, tax free, for 25 years. By installing Government-incentivised green technologies, such as solar panels, UK residents can now actually get paid for the energy they generate at home as well as benefitting from the energy itself. Read more

CTDC forms solar park development consortium targeting Europe

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 15:32 (PV-Tech)

A group of Chinese PV companies have formed an investment consortium targeting the development solar power parks across Europe. China Technology Development Group Corporation (CTDC), Goldpoly New Energy and TBEA SunOasis, a subsidiary of Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock, plan to develop PV power plants, initially on a small-scale before targeting larger projects. China-based banks are supporting the consortium with US$10 billion worth of credit facilities The consortium was announced during Intersolar Europe 2011. Read more

Centrosolar delivers over 300 modules to a solar power project in East Africa

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 13:52 (PV-Tech)

Centrosolar has delivered ~300 modules for what will be the third largest solar power project in East Africa. An SOS Children?s Village in Mombasa, Kenya, is to benefit from the 60kWp system, which is part of the Renewable Energies Export Initiative run by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology (BMWi). Read more

The international engineering firm Cobra Group joins CSP Today USA 2011

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 13:27 (Renewable Energy World)

Cobra Group are one of the most experienced EPC contractors who have paved the way for dispatchable solar thermal with 5 plants in commercial operation using the most advanced technology in the world. Read more

JinkoSolar supplies modules for Antwerp solar tunnel

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 13:23 (PV-Tech)

JinkoSolar has supplied 16,000 solar panels for Enfinity?s much-vaunted Antwerp Solar Tunnel. The high-speed train tunnel, adorned with 50,000 square meters of solar panelling, is the first of its kind in Europe and will generate 3.3MWh of electricity per annum to help power both trains and railway infrastructure. Read more

CPV Technology in Morocco: Soitec and Schneider Electric sign MoU with Masen on integrated partnership under Mediterranean Solar Plan

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 13:03 (Solarserver)

Soitec (Bernin, France) and Schneider Electric (Rueil-Malmaison, France) on June 15th, 2011 announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with Masen (Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy), lead player in the Moroccan Solar Plan, on an integrated partnership on "Concentrix" technology in Morocco. Completion of the project will create a Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) segment serving domestic needs and generating exports of electricity and power plants, thereby contributing to a strategy of controlled energy costs over the long term for Morocco and to the achievement of a plan to build a manufacturing facility in the country. Read more

BELECTRIC Drive receives Intersolar Award 2011 for linking PV and e-mobility

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:58 (Solarserver)

BELECTRIC Drive (Kolitzheim, Germany) has been awarded the coveted Intersolar Award for its intelligent charging infrastructure. "The global market leader in the realization of photovoltaic systems presents the most coherent solution for linking photovoltaics and e-mobility. A development worthy of an award," said Dr Michael Fuhs (chief editor of photovoltaik magazine) in his laudatory speech, explaining the decision. Read more

Solar microinverter producer Enphase Energy files registration statement for proposed initial public offering

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:57 (Solarserver)

Enphase Energy, Inc. (Petaliuma, Calif.) on June 15th, 2011 announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. Read more

Large-scale Solar: How Big Is Too Big?

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:46 (Renewable Energy World)

Huge solar farms are an increasingly hot topic nowadays. Companies like Brightsource, Abengoa, Solar Millennium and NextEra are planning giant projects in the U.S. Abengoa has its 280-MW Solana project; Solar Trust of America, which is owned in part by Solar Millennium, has its 1,000-MW Blythe solar project (divided into four 250-MW parts); and Brightsource has its 392-MW Ivanpah project, just to name a few. Read more

Scotland jumps on the renewable heat bandwagon

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:32 (Solarpowerportal)

Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has announced that the country will now join England in benefitting from the renewable heat incentive (RHI). Homeowners will also receive support for the installation of renewable heat technologies such as heat pumps, solar thermal or biomass boilers under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment. Read more

International PV experts gather in Berlin on June 28 -29

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:23 (Renewable Energy World)

What is the future for large scale solar plants in Europe? There's been a lot of apprehension in the solar industry about impending feed-in tariff cuts in Germany, by far the world's largest solar power producer. But now even Spain, France and the UK have followed this FiT cut back trend that is hitting Europe. The PV industry might have expanded very rapidly and enjoyed the favourable subsidies, but that has come at its own cost, plantts have not been designed to achieve optimum output. Read more

Masdar supplies modules for Slovakian solar portfolio

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:02 (PV-Tech)

Masdar PV is to supply thin-film modules for three new solar installations in Slovakia. All three systems will have a capacity of 1MW and module installation, which is being carried out by Hungarian system integrator Raabvill Kft., is scheduled to begin by the end of the month. Read more

Solar Frontier to provide 1MW of CIS modules to Showa Shell service stations in Japan

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 3:00 (PV-Tech)

Solar Frontier has agreed to supply Showa Shell Sekiyu 1MW of its CIS thin-film solar panels for installation at various Showa Shell service stations in Japan. The service stations will be in areas where the grid is supplied by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Company. Read more

UPS facility in New Jersey is now powered by a 250kW solar system delivered by Suniva

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 2:48 (PV-Tech)

A leader in worldwide shipping, UPS has taken a further step into renewable energy with the completion of a 250kW rooftop solar power system at its Lakewood, New Jersey facility. Owned and operated by UPS, the solar system is projected to provide 30% of the building?s annual energy needs with the production of 270,000kWh of electricity. Read more

Chevron Energy Solutions unveils its 1.1MW solar project at Antelope Valley community college campus

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 2:27 (PV-Tech)

The Lancaster campus of the Antelope Valley Community College District celebrated the completion of its 1.1MW solar system designed, constructed, operated, maintained and guaranteed by Chevron Energy Solutions.  Over its lifetime, the system is expected to save the California community college district US$25 million, which includes incentives from the California Solar Initiative. Read more

Engineering a Cleaner Way to Fly

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 22:39 (Renewable Energy World)

Second generation aviation biofuels are getting ready for takeoff. Read more

U.S. Senate Votes to Kill Ethanol Subsidy

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 22:08 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Senate delivered a blow to the ethanol industry's hopes of preserving a $6 billion federal tax subsidy. Read more

Oil company Total completes acquisition of PV producer SunPower

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 12:58 (Solarserver)

On June 15th, 2011, Total S.A. (Courbevoie, France) announced its successful purchase of SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California, U.S.) for USD 1.3 billion through a cash tender offer. Total has accepted for payment 30.2 million shares of Class A common stock and 25.2 million shares of Class B common stock, giving Total majority ownership of both classes. Read more

$70 Million Aims to Improve Geothermal Technology

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 15:40 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal energy has the advantage of producing clean energy around the clock as opposed to wind and solar power, which -- for now -- produce energy only when the sun shines and the wind blows. But geothermal's high upfront costs and long development times have made it difficult for the industry to keep pace with other renewable sources. Read more

DuPont Apollo claims first LEED Gold rating for thin-film PV manufacturer

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 21:46 (PV-Tech)

DuPont Apollo?s Shenzhen, China PV module manufacturing facility has laid claim to being the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance (EB, O&M) thin-film PV site in the world. The LEED certification was granted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which pointed to several of the company?s environmentally friendly designs as a basis for their certification. Read more

SMN PV manufacturing to integrate Day4 Energy DNA technology

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 21:38 (Solarserver)

On June 14th, 2011, Day4 Energy Inc. (Burnaby, Canada) announced that it will provide Solar Modules Nederland B.V. (SMN, Kerkrade, the Netherlands) with equipment and technology to upgrade SMN's solar photovoltaic (PV) module line to produce modules based on Day4 DNA technology. Also on June 14th, 2011 Day4Energy announced financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2011, reporting revenues of USD 18.9 million and a net loss of USD 7 million. Read more

Italy: Nuclear? Non Grazie! Berlusconi: Now It's Renewables

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 15:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Italians have decisively said "no thanks" to nuclear for a second time in a nationwide referendum and the country must now turn increasingly to renewable energy. The vote is a stinging rebuke to Conservative Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who had hoped to revive the country's dormant nuclear industry. Read more

IEEE: PV has potential to become cheapest form of electricity generation within ten years

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 13:53 (Solarserver)

On June 15th, 2011, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE, New York, New York, U.S.) released a statement that within ten years, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have the potential to be the most economical form of electrical generation. The organization states that in order to achieve this cost parity, the industry must continue to achieve the efficiency of PV cell technologies and create economies of scale to further bring down manufacturing costs. Read more

BSI introduces new energy management standard

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 10:41 (Solarpowerportal)

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has launched the first internationally-recognised energy management standard to help organisations improve profitability, cut CO2 emissions and meet carbon budgets. The ISO 50001 will enable UK organisations to understand their baseline energy usage in order to decrease the amount they rely on and reduce their carbon footprint. Read more

Santa Clara University receives US$1.3M gift to fund research in the renewable energy field

Thursday, 6.16.2011 - 0:50 (PV-Tech)

Santa Clara University?s School of Engineering received a generous gift from an anonymous alumnus and his wife totaling US$1.3 million. The funding will go towards the launch of the Latimer Engineering Scholars Program, which beginning in the 2011 ? 2012 academic year will sponsor teaching and research in the sustainable energy field. Read more