Photovoltaic manufacturing equipment bookings down 18% in Q2

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 17:57 (PV-Tech)

Softening end-market demand and production overcapacity have led to a significant decline in new PV equipment bookings in the second quarter of 2011, according to SEMI?s latest version of its ?Worldwide Photovoltaic Equipment Market Statistics Report.? Equipment billings reached US$2.03 billion for the quarter ended on June 30, 2011, an increase of 17% quarter-over-quarter, after declining 19% in the first quarter. However, bookings, a leading indicator were down 18%, compared with the previous quarter to US$1.79 billion. SEMI said that the book-to-bill ratio dipped below parity to 0.88 for the first time in the past six quarters. Read more

Continued growth with PV mounting systems: Schletter doubles engineering and production capacity at Tucson, AZ facility

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:59 (Solarserver)

Schletter Inc. (Tucson, AZ), manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting systems, announces an increase to engineering and production capacity at its 75,000 square foot facility in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to more manufacturing and engineering capability, the Company has several ETL Listed products, including the "Rapid2+" grounding module clamp. Read more

Lux Research: PV industry focusing on higher efficiencies to reduce costs

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:13 (Solarserver)

On September 21st, 2011, Lux Research Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) announced the release of a new report which states that competitive pressures in the crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) industry are driving more manufacturers to develop technologies for high-efficiency PV modules. "Traversing the Road to Higher Crystalline Silicon Efficiencies: Who Stands to Change the Game, and How it Will Play Out" also notes rising research and development spending among equipment suppliers, and that these high-efficiency modules are more likely to be used in utility-scale PV plants. Read more

Sunlogics acquires 50 MW of PV manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:05 (Solarserver)

On September 20th, 2011, Sunlogics PLC (Rochester Hills, Michigan, U.S.) announced that it has acquired Phoenix Solar Holdings Corporation (Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S.) and its operating subsidiaries, EPV Solar Germany GmbH (Senftenberg, Germany) and New Millennium Solar Equipment Corporation (Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S.). In the process of this acquisition, Sunlogics has purchased a solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 30 MW in Senftenberg, Germany, as well as factory with a 20 MW output in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Read more

AMETEK announces 2012 release of fully automated EN50530 test system for PV inverters

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 11:53 (Solarserver)

AMETEK Programmable Power (San Diego, CA) in September 2011 announced a fully automated EN50530 test solution that utilizes three core ?Surround the Inverter? elements: the AMETEK TerraSAS Solar Array Simulator, MX/RS Grid-Simulator and CTS Compliance Test System. Read more

TÜV Rheinland partners with China General Certification Center to provide testing and certification for the Chinese PV market

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 10:46 (Solarserver)

On September 20th, 2011, TÜV Rheinland (Köln, Germany) announced that it has partnered with China General Certification Center (CGC, Beijing, China) to provide solar photovoltaic (PV) testing and certification services for manufacturers seeking to enter the Chinese market. The arrangement with CGC includes agreements made with TÜV Rheinland PTL LLC (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.), TÜV Rheinland Shanghai (Shanghai, China), TÜV Rheinland Taiwan Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan) and TÜV Rheinland Cologne (Cologne, Germany). Read more

Walmart plans to install solar systems on 60 stores in California

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 23:53 (PV-Tech)

Walmart seems to be taking its renewable energy initiative seriously with the recent announcement that it will install solar panels on up to 60 stores throughout California. Once the projects are complete, over 75% of Walmart stores in the California will sport a solar system and, combined, generate up to 70 million kWh of renewable energy every year. Read more

JinkoSolar provides update to chemical incident: date uncertain of plant restarting operations

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 23:19 (PV-Tech)

Damage limitation to JinkoSolar?s image and reputation kicked into gear during a hastily arranged telephone conference call to provide its side of the fluoride chemical waste leak at its cell manufacturing facility in Haining City, Zhejiang Province, China. The leak into a local small river sparked demonstrations and damage to offices and vehicles at the plant that had been picked-up by the international mainstream media. Read more

Solar Millennium?s 150MW Kuraymat solar hybrid plant touts performance 8% over estimated target

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 22:56 (PV-Tech)

Solar Millennium has claimed that its Kuraymat, Egypt solar-thermal power plant, in operation since June, has been surpassing field performance by 8%. The parabolic trough technology hybrid plant holds an overall 150MW electric capacity and in addition to solar energy, uses natural gas to allow for 24-hour operation. Read more

Dunmore, DuPont PV Solutions increase capacity for supply of solar materials

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 20:37 (PV-Tech)

Dunmore advised of its newly added capacity for the manufacturing of solar backsheets, which incorporate DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions? Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) film. The added capacity aims to give manufacturers a larger supply so that they can increase their production and diminish material inventory fluctuations across the industry. Read more

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Set to Begin

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 19:58 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is taking shape as teams work around the clock to assemble 19 solar homes on the National Mall's West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., in time for the 10 a.m. September 23 opening. The Solar Decathlon is an international DOE competition that offers university teams a chance to design and build homes that run entirely on solar energy. Teams ship their structures to the site, assemble them, and then compete in ten contests. Read more

First Solar Won't Meet Deadline for $1.9 Billion DOE Loan

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 18:42 (Renewable Energy World)

First Solar announced Thursday it would not meet the Sept. 30 deadline requirement to receive the $1.9 billion Department of Energy loan it received to build a 550-megawatt solar project in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. Read more

Wrexham Council launches £60m solar housing scheme

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 17:50 (Solarpowerportal)

Three thousand houses in Wrexham are to be fitted with solar panels thanks to a new multi-million pound scheme from the county council. The panels form part of the council’s wider carbon reduction strategy and could reduce energy bills by up to £200 per household. Read more

STA discusses solar?s future with Downing Street

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 16:31 (Solarpowerportal)

While Chris Huhne remained silent on solar at the Liberal Democrat’s annual conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, 100 miles away several of the industry’s leading names were discussing its future with David Cameron’s senior energy advisor, Ben Moxham. Read more

First Solar fails to gain US DOE loan guarantee for 550MW Topaz solar farm

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 15:54 (PV-Tech)

Concern has been mounting over the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ability to continue with its multi-billion dollar federal loan guarantee programs after the bankruptcy of Solyndra, soon after receiving more than US$500 million and the political storm that ensued. Since then, concern has spread to First Solar that three huge solar farms it was planning to build in the US with loan guarantees from the DOE could be in jeopardy. Today, First Solar said that the planned 550MW Topaz solar farm in San Luis Obispo County, California would not meet the statutory deadline to receive a federal loan guarantee as there was insufficient time to process all requirements before the September Read more

The Question Day 8: How Can the U.S. Solar Industry Meet Expectations?

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

RenewableEnergyWorld asked solar executives and our social media community to lend their voices and define what three strategies they think will lead to a thriving solar industry. Answers were varied, and many valid opinions were brought to light. Responses will be updated here daily, and feel free to look at previous insights by clicking on the page links below. Read more

Walgreens pharmacy chain logs 100th solar installation

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 14:24 (PV-Tech)

Chicago, Illinois-based Walgreens pharmacy will hold a ceremony to mark the opening of its 100th solar installation on Friday, September 23 at its Mason, Ohio location. The company is employing the services of SoCore Energy to install 53 rooftop solar systems across 20 counties in Ohio, laying claim to being the company with the US?s largest retail solar presence. Walgreens has plans to install over 130 such solar systems by the end of the year. Read more

Silverback Solar increases racking system warranty to 20 years

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 13:40 (PV-Tech)

Solar racking and mounting system supplier Silverback Solar has extended its engineered racking system warranty to 20 years. Although the previous warranty duration was not specified, the company has made the decision following 10 years? real-life testing of the systems? impervious coatings on the attachment and connector equipment, as well as Allied Tube and Conduit?s Gatorshield steel tubing, which is an integral part of Silverback?s mounting systems. Read more

Seaward Solar launches new solar PV documentation packs

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 13:03 (Solarpowerportal)

New solar inspection test report and certificate documentation packs from Seaward Solar make it easy for installers of solar PV systems to complete the necessary test reports in compliance with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and IEC62446. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Siemens, Sun to Market develop training simulator for CSP plant operators

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:52 (Solarserver)

On September 20th, 2011, Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany) and Sun to Market Solutions SL (Leganes, Spain) announced that they are developing a full-scope integrated test, commissioning and training simulator for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The companies states that the objective of the full-scope integrated control room simulator is to provide a "virtual plant" for engineering tests, commissioning and assessment for CSP plant operators. Read more

Alpha & Omega Semiconductor announces efficient solutions for solar micro-inverters

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:49 (Solarserver)

On September 20th, 2011, Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd. (Sunnyvale, Calif.), a designer, developer and supplier of a broad range of power semiconductors, announced new "AlphaMOS" solutions for emerging DC to AC power inverter applications. According to the company, the new line up of products is ideally suited for use in solar micro-inverter modules, which are becoming the popular topology in residential and portable solar applications. Read more

SolarCity names Thomas Leyden vice president of commercial sales

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:40 (Solarserver)

On Sept. 20th, 2011, SolarCity (San Mateo, Calif.), a solar company providing financing, design, installation, monitoring and energy efficiency services, announced that it appointed Thomas Leyden as vice president of commercial sales. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Siemens to build solar field for 22.5 MW CSP plant in Spain

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 12:20 (Solarserver)

On September 21st, 2011, Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany) announced that it has received an order from UTE Termosolar Borges (Barcelona, Spain) to supply and construct a solar field, including mirrors and receivers, for a 22.5 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Catalonia, Spain. The company announced on the same day that it has delivered high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology to allow the construction of a transmission line to bring electricity from renewable energy generation from the Spanish mainland to the island of Mallorca. Read more

Schneider Electric launches Conext line of single-phase solar inverters

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 11:57 (Solarserver)

On September 19th, 2011 Schneider Electric SA (Rueil-Malmaison, France) announced that it has launched its Conext line of single-phase solar inverters in the North American market. The company states that its Conext 5 kW inverters are currently available to ship, and that 2.8 kW to 5 kW models will be available by the end of 2011. Read more

Future bright for green jobs if solar policy maintained

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 11:22 (Solarpowerportal)

According to a new model released by Engensa, if the UK feed-in tariff (FiT) is maintained at the current rate it will create over 10,000 jobs by early next year. Engensa figures also reveal the total boost to the UK economy between April 2010 and March 2012 is set to sit at £65.5 million.  Read more

Order Focus: ZNShine Solar to install Meyer Burger?s lamination lines in Changzhou facility

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 10:09 (PV-Tech)

3S Modultec, Meyer Burger?s module technology arm, has won an order to supply its lamination lines to vertically integrated module supplier ZNShine Solar. China-based ZNShine, a member of the ZNShine Group, is currently undergoing an expansion of its facilities in a bid to increase production capacity over the next two years. Read more

Six collegiate Solar Decathlon teams chose SunPower panels for solar home design competition

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 1:57 (PV-Tech)

As the 2011 US Department of Energy?s (DOE) Solar Decathlon readies to officially kick-off its fifth biennial competition, SunPower advised that six of the 19 collegiate teams competing chose the company?s solar panels for their solar homes. Read more

Isolux Corsán completes three UK solar plants for a combined 15MW installed capacity

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 0:54 (PV-Tech)

Isolux Corsán?s first venture into the UK solar market has been successfully completed with the commenced operation of three, 5MW power plants in Langform, Churchtown and Manor in Cornwall. The ?40 million project is said to be the largest, combined, in the UK holding a 15MW-installed capacity. Read more

IKEA commences operation of its 11th US solar energy project atop Emeryville, California store

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 0:22 (PV-Tech)

IKEA officially started generating solar power with its 11th completed US solar project; a new 538kW, 68,000 square foot PV system at its Emeryville, California location. Using 2,394 Gloria Solar panels, the system is anticipated to produce nearly 760,300kWh of solar electricity per year. Read more

China Releases Technical Standards for Wind Power Industry

Thursday, 9.22.2011 - 18:16 (Renewable Energy World)

China's National Energy Administration (NEA) in early August approved a series of technical standards designed to better regulate the development of its wind energy sector. The 18 technical standards cover grid access for large wind farms, development of offshore wind, monitoring wind turbine operations, quantitative benchmarks for assessing the quality of output, and manufacturing requirements for key equipment. The new standards will go into effect on the first of November. Read more