SunPower to manufacture solar modules in Mexico for North American market

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 17:13 (PV-Tech)

Just across the border with California, is Mexicali, Mexico, which has long been promoting its lower cost-base but unique location to the biggest market in the world. Citing the need to meet demand for the rapidly expanding North American solar market, SunPower has said it will lease an existing building in Mexicali to build its E18 series, E19 series and world record setting E20 series solar panels as well as its T5 solar roof tiles. Read more

Trina to supply 30 MW of PV modules for Chinese PV plants

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:24 (Solarserver)

On August 4th, 2011, Trina Solar Ltd. (Changzhou, China) announced that a subsidiary has signed an agreement to supply Huanghe Hydropower Development Company Ltd. (Xining, China) with 30 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for two plants in China. Trina will supply 20 MW of PV modules for the Golmud project, of which delivery began in June 2011 and is expected to last through August 2011. Read more

Western Australia suspends feed-in tariff payments

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:24 (Solarserver)

The Government of Western Australia has announced that the state's residential feed-in tariff program has reached its quota of 150 MW and was suspended as of August 1st, 2011. Australian clean energy advocates have expressed dismay at the suspension, which advocates blame on changes to incentives. The Clean Energy Council (Southbank, Australia) has asked the Government to consider re-designing the program to be more sustainable. Read more

MEMC maintains revenues in 2Q 2011, acquires U.S. subsidiary of PV project developer FRV

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:23 (Solarserver)

On August 3rd, 2011, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) announced financial results for the second quarter of 2011. The company reported USD 746 million in revenues, a 1% increase over the first quarter of 2011, despite sharp declines in wafer prices. Also on August 3rd, 2011, MEMC announced an agreement to acquire the U.S. subsidiary of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures SL (FRV, Madrid, Spain) for an initial payment estimated at USD 135 million. Read more

PG&E, Sempra Generation sign PPA for 150 MW expansion of Copper Mountain PV plant

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:22 (Solarserver)

On August 4th, 2011, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E, San Francisco, California, U.S.) announced that it has entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Sempra Generation (San Diego, California, U.S.) for electricity from a 150 MW expansion of the Copper Mountain Solar complex in Boulder City, Nevada. First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) will provide the solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for the plant, as well as serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the plant. Read more

IHS iSuppli expects significant 2H11 rally in PV installations

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

Plunging module prices in the first-half of the year are leading to a significant rally in PV installations, culminating in a projected 8GW plus of modules globally installed in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to new projections from IHS iSuppli Photovoltaic Service. Fuelled by significant recovery in demand in key European markets of Germany and Italy, global PV installs are forecasted to reach 21.2GW, an increase of 21%, compared to global installations of 17.6GW in 2010. The forecast, despite shifts in the timing of installations is virtually the same forecast given earlier in the year. Read more

DOE finalizes loan guarantee for Agua Caliente PV project, First Solar closes sale to NRG

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 23:48 (PV-Tech)

The continued construction and eventual interconnection of what will be the world?s largest solar PV power plant now seems assured. The US Department of Energy?s Loan Programs Office has finalized a $967 million loan guarantee for the 290MW (AC) Agua Caliente solar project in Arizona, thus triggering the purchase close of the project by NRG Energy from First Solar. The plant could start generating electricity for PG&E as early as the end of this year. Read more

GCL-Poly to supply 4,200MW of wafers to Realforce Power

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 21:11 (PV-Tech)

China-based PV cell and module manufacturer, Realforce Power Co has entered into a long-term wafer supply deal with GCL-Poly. Under the supply contract, GCL-Poly is providing a total of 4,200MW of solar wafer products starting from July 2011 to December 2016. A price adjustment mechanism is included in the contract, according to the wafer producer. GCL-Poly has provided wafers to the 3-year old start-up for some time. Read more

Commercial Solar Hot Water Arrives in the Midwest

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 20:03 (Renewable Energy World)

If you live in the Midwest, and if you are a solar energy aficionado, you have had great reason to be jealous of most, if not all, of the rest of the country. The great states of Florida, California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and North Carolina have all received headlines of leading-edge technology, especially in the commercial solar hot water space. Read more

ReneSola starts producing in-house steel wire, develops higher capacity casting furnace

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 19:13 (PV-Tech)

ReneSola said it has progressed on two manufacturing fronts, with the start of trial production of its in-house steel wire used for slicing solar wafers and the development of a new generation of higher capacity casting furnaces. Read more

Denver International Airport Expands Solar Generation to Become Largest in U.S.

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 18:14 (Renewable Energy World)

With the completion of a 4.4-megawatt ground-mounted solar power system, the Denver International Airport now has more than eight MW of solar power ? more than any commercial airport in the U.S. It now receives over 6 percent of its electricity via solar power. Read more

Octopus confirms future investment in UK solar

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 18:12 (Solarpowerportal)

After supporting over 30MW of large-scale solar in the UK, Octopus Investments has confirmed its intention to make further investments in solar energy, with funding from some of its lower risk, capital preservation-focused investments. Read more

First Solar Earning Tumbles, Looks to Growing Markets for 2011 Rebound

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:35 (Renewable Energy World)

American-based thin-film giant First Solar saw its profits take a steep hit in the second quarter behind market uncertainty in Europe. But on Thursday, the company said it expects a strong second half of 2011 fueled by growing markets in the U.S., India, China and Japan. Read more

SCHOTT Solar to supply 67,000 solar PV modules to Thailand; 16 megawatts of power to two locations

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:25 (Solarserver)

SCHOTT Solar AG (Mainz, Germany) is strengthening its project business and activities abroad and just announced that it has received a large order from Thailand. The solar company will be delivering 67,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules for two solar power plants that Phoenix Solar Singapore is building just north of Bangkok since June. The two sites will achieve peak output of 9.7 and 6.2 megawatts (MW). From December 2011 on, they are expected to supply an annual yield of around 25,000 MWh of environmentally friendly solar electricity to as many as 10,000 Thai households. Read more

Concentrating solar power: BrightSource announces new power tower / molten salt storage CSP plant design

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 16:24 (Solarserver)

On August 3rd, 2011, BrightSource Energy Inc. (Oakland, California, U.S.) unveiled a new concentrating solar power (CSP) plant design, which utilizes power tower technology and molten salt thermal storage. The company's SolarPLUS design combines BrightSource's Luz Power Tower (LPT) system with two tanks of molten salt storage, using higher temperature and pressure than other CSP plant designs. Read more

Donauer Solartechnik installs solar system at health centre in Gambia

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 15:49 (PV-Tech)

With a third of its population below the international poverty line and many more living without access to electricity or clean water, Gambia is one of the world?s poorest nations. It is also one of the world?s great untapped solar resources. Read more

IHS iSuppli: Solar PV installations will rise in second half - but module revenue growth stalls

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 14:19 (Solarserver)

Despite a recovery in global solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the second half of the year, plunging prices will result in zero revenue growth for the PV module business in 2011, according to research from the IHS iSuppli Photovoltaic Service from information and analysis provider IHS (El Segundo, Calif.). The first six months of 2011 due to IHS saw 6.6 gigawatts (GW) worth of PV installations worldwide, down 4 percent from 6.8GW during the same period in 2010. HIS expects global PV installations to accelerate to 14.7GW in the second half of 2011. For the entire year, installations will amount to 21.2GW, up 21 percent from 17.6GW in 2010. Read more

Ikaros Solar opens free educational workshops across the UK

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 13:11 (Solarpowerportal)

Ikaros Solar UK, the commercial solar installation company, is inviting business owners and landlords to free workshops across the country to help educate them on the potential of solar power. Over the coming months Ikaros will hold seminars on how to generate savings and financial returns by utilising renewable energy. Read more

First Solar revenues decline 6%, margins tighten in 2Q 2011

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 13:10 (Solarserver)

On August 4th, 2011, First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) announced a 6% quarter-to-quarter decrease in revenues to USD 533 million in its second quarter 2011 results, its second quarter of declining revenues. The company blames lower average selling prices, as well as policy uncertainties in Italy, Germany and France for the decline. First Solar also reported an operating margin of 12% during the quarter, a decline of more than 10% from the previous quarter. Read more

Ernst & Young: solar attracts USD 234 million in U.S. venture capital funding during 2Q 2011

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 13:09 (Solarserver)

On August 3rd, 2011, Ernst & Young LLP (New York, New York, U.S.) announced that U.S. venture capital investment in solar companies reached USD 234 million in the second quarter of 2011. This represents 21% of a total of USD 1.1 billion invested in U.S. cleantech companies during the quarter. BrightSource Energy (Oakland, California, U.S.) secured the largest venture capital deal of the quarter at USD 168 million. Read more

PV manufacturing equipment: GT Solar reports record bookings, backlog in quarterly results

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 13:07 (Solarserver)

On August 3rd, 2011 GT Solar International Inc. (Merrimack, New Hampshire, U.S.) released financial results for the quarter ending July 2nd, 2011, reporting USD 231 million in revenues, a 15% decrease from the previous quarter but a 71% growth over the same quarter in 2010. The company also reported a backlog of USD 2.3 billion in its first quarter fiscal year (FY) 2012 results, and USD 1.3 billion in new orders, the highest ever achieved by the company. Read more

GlassPoint Solar to build 7MW solar thermal powered oil recovery system in Oman

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 13:05 (Solarserver)

On August 3rd, 2011 GlassPoint Solar (Fremont, California, U.S.) announced that it has won a contract from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO, Muscat, Oman) to build an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system powered by a 7 MW solar thermal plant. The solar thermal system will use GlassPoint's single transit trough (STT) technology, and the company says the system will produce 11 tons of steam at temperatures of 312 degrees Celsius and pressures of 1,450 PSI. Read more

United Solar finish 438kW rooftop PV system in Ontario

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 11:41 (PV-Tech)

United Solar has finished work on a 438kW rooftop PV system on Daimler Buses? manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Canada. Read more

United Solar completes 438kW rooftop PV system in Ontario

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 11:41 (PV-Tech)

United Solar has finished work on a 438kW rooftop PV system on Daimler Buses? manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Canada. Read more

Waste Not, Want Not: Unexploited Biomass Resources In Europe

Friday, 8.5.2011 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

New EU targets for carbon reduction mean that many countries are launching ambitious plans to increase energy production from biomass. Jørgen Hinge et al. scanned the European market for unexploited and 'alternative' biomass resources. Read more