Losses nearly halved at Conergy as sales increase almost 40%

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 15:44 (PV-Tech)

A strong boost to sales in the second quarter helped Conergy to reduce losses from the previous quarter to ?6.7 million, down from ?12.3 million in the previous quarter. Conergy increased sales by almost 40% to ?225.2 million, compared to ?163.3 million in the prior quarter, but down from ?239.4 million reported in the same period of 2010. The dramatic fall in module prices impacted gross profit margin, which fell to 19.1% from 24.6% at the beginning of the year. Read more

U.S. Interior Department approves 550 MW California PV plant

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:29 (Solarserver)

On August 10th, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the First Solar Inc.'s (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant. The plant is planned for 16.8 square kilometers of public land east of Palm Springs, California, and will utilize First Solar cadmium telluride thin-film PV modules. The plant is much larger than any PV plant currently in operation in the world. Read more

iSuppli: Chinese FIT to cause domestic PV demand to reach 1.5 GW in 2011

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 10:47 (Solarserver)

The Chinese government?s new feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentive program is expected to give a major boost to the country?s solar industry, potentially increasing photovoltaic (PV) installations by a combined 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2011 and 2012, according to the new "IHS iSuppli Photovoltaics (PV) Service report" from information and analysis provider IHS (El Segundo, Calif.). China?s PV installations previously were expected to amount to 1GW in 2011 and 1.4GW in 2012. However, the FIT could cause installations to increase by 50 percent, compared to the previous forecast in 2011 to reach 1.5 GW, IHS emphasizes. Read more

Satcon selected for 10 MW solar PV power plant in New Jersey, partners with Quanta Renewable Energy Services and Ryan Company

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 18:32 (Solarserver)

Satcon Technology Corporation (Boston) on August 11th, 2011 announced that it has been selected by Quanta Renewable Energy Services and Ryan Company to deliver 10 of its 1 megawatt (MW) Prism Platform Solutions for the 10 MW (AC) New Jersey Oak Solar PV Power Plant in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. When completed later this year, the New Jersey Oak Solar PV plant will be the largest non-utility owned solar project east of the Mississippi. Read more

Ford and SunPower roll out solar-powered EV charging systems

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 18:30 (Solarserver)

On August 10th, 2011, Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, Michigan) and PV company SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California, U.S.) announced that they have partnered to offer a 2.5 kW solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging system. The system will use SunPower E18 solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, and the companies say the system will provide enough electricity to accommodate a customer who drives around 1,600 kilometers per month. Read more

Solar Frontier sets higher environmental standards with RoHS certification for thin-film PV modules

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 15:05 (Solarserver)

Solar Frontier (Tokyo, Japan) on Auhsut 11th, 2011 announced that its CIS-based thin-film modules have been certified as RoHS compliant. While solar modules are currently exempt from RoHS compliance, Solar Frontier is one of the few manufacturers able to meet the requirements and has completed voluntary testing by TÜV Rheinland to make it official. The ?Restriction of Hazardous Substances? adopted by the European Union in 2003 sets a 0.01% concentration limit on cadmium, and a 0.1% limit on lead, mercury and three other hazardous substances, for any component of a certified device. Read more

Canadian Solar becomes the majority PV module supplier to a 10.7 MW French solar power plant of EOSOL Energies Nouvelles

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 15:04 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. on August 11th, 2011 announced that the company will supply 8 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to EOSOL Energies Nouvelles' new ground-mounted solar power plant that will have an installed capacity of 10.7 MW. The new solar power plant will be built in Saint-Leger in the south west of France with a total of 39,500 modules installed on an area of 180,000 m². The solar power plant is expected to be activated in October 2011. Read more

Samsung, Ontario Sign $3 Billion Wind, Solar Deal

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 14:25 (Renewable Energy World)

South Korea-based Samsung C&T Corp. has signed a $3 billion (Canadian) contract to build wind and solar energy plants in Ontario. Read more

PV system integrator Phoenix Solar AG 2Q 2011 results: Revenues more than tripled compared to the first quarter of 2011

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:39 (Solarserver)

On August 11th, 2011, Phoenix Solar AG (Sulzemoos, Germany, U.S.) released financial results for the second quarter of 2011, reporting USD 154 million in revenues, more than triple the amount reported in the first quarter of 2011. Phoenix Solar reported a EBIT margin of -8.7% in the second quarter, and a net loss of USD 11.6 million. However, the company also held USD 441 million in orders on hand as of June 30th, 2011. Read more

Lux Research: Solar installations to grow by 15.5%, But revenues will remain flat through 2016

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:39 (Solarserver)

Solar subsidies have been capped, cancelled, and cut over the past several years, but solar installations have continued to rise ? driven primarily by increased demand from one market: Germany. However, as manufacturers approach near-term limits on cost reductions, German demand will begin to decline, Lux Research Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) reports. As a result, demand will shift to Asia and North America and the solar market will grow in terms of megawatts installed, but revenues will stay flat as price declines outpace volume growth. Read more

SolarWorld AG increases shipments and revenue; Group generated a net income of EUR 12.5 million in Q1, and of EUR 9.9 million in Q2

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:36 (Solarserver)

In the course of the first six months of 2011, SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) expanded its business continuously. The group increased the shipment of wafers, solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and kits from 185 MW in the first quarter of 2011 to 196 MW in the second quarter of 2011. Revenue went up by 29.7 percent from EUR 233.0 million in Q1 to EUR 302.1 million in Q2. EBIT rose from EUR 27.9 million in the Q1 to EUR 40.2 million in Q2. EBIT margin improved from 12.0 percent in Q1 to 13.3 percent in Q2. The group generated a net income of EUR 12.5 million in Q1 and of EUR 9.9 million in Q2. Read more

CENTROSOLAR continues to expand its international PV market position in the first half of 2011

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:26 (Solarserver)

CENTROSOLAR Group AG (Munich, Germany) ended the first half with revenue of EUR 150.5 million (previous year EUR 209.2 million). The second quarter in particular (revenue EUR 79.3 million, as against EUR 124.2 million in previous year) saw a substantial decline in market prices which temporarily weighed on revenue and earnings, the PV company reports. The fall in prices was triggered by the Italian government effectively suspending financial incentives for solar systems for 2-3 months in March. In Germany, too, demand has remained weak in the year to date. Although CENTROSOLAR has succeeded in increasing its market shares and even slightly expanding its sales volumes for Read more

SMA Solar sales surpass projections: reiterates full-year guidance

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 13:18 (PV-Tech)

PV inverter market leader, SMA Solar Technology simply blew past analyst expectations for its second quarter financial results. Despite management commentary that demand in Europe had remained ?dulled? and the US market didn?t emerge to off-set Europe?s weakness in the first-half of the year, SMA reported 3.1GW of inverter output sold, almost at the same level as 2010 and double the level in the first quarter of 2010. Read more

China Calls on A123 to Aid Wind Integration

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 17:01 (Renewable Energy World)

China's third-largest wind turbine manufacturer is evaluating battery storage devices to help the country meet its goal of adding 170 GW of wind power by 2020. Read more

U.S. Army launches new task force to develop large-scale renewables

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 18:31 (Solarserver)

On August 10th, 2011, the U.S. Army announced the formation of a new task force to develop large-scale renewable energy projects and help it meet a goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. The U.S. Army states that the Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) Task Force will help it face the challenge of rising fuel costs, and achieve energy security, even in the event that civilian power grids are unavailable. Read more

Order Focus: Satcon technology to power 10MW PV plant in New Jersey

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 17:49 (PV-Tech)

Quanta Renewable Energy Services and Ryan Company have chosen Satcon Technology?s Prism Platform Solutions to equip its 10MW PV plant in Cumberland County, New Jersey. Read more

International Accounting Convergence Will Affect Renewable Companies

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 17:30 (Renewable Energy World)

Companies in emerging industries such as renewable energy probably believe they have enough to worry about without dealing with the convergence of U.S. and international accounting standards. However, as the financial system struggles to keep up with world events and technology, renewable firms need to keep up as well. Read more

KfW Entwicklungsbank signs ?25 million loan for 125MW plant in India

Friday, 8.12.2011 - 14:49 (PV-Tech)

German development fund KfW Entwicklungsbank has signed a reduced-interest loan of ?25 million for a 125MW solar plant in the state of Maharashtra in India. Read more