Princeton Power Systems installs energy storage system for a PV array at BMW technology office, including lithium-ion batteries, demand response inverter

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 17:32 (Solarserver)

On July 30th, 2012, Princeton Power Systems (Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.) announced that it has installed its energy storage system at BMW Group's technology office in Mountain View, California, U.S. The energy storage system consists of a 100 kilowatt (kW) Demand Response Inverter (DRI-100) and lithium ion batteries with a capacity of 30 kilowatt hours (kWh). Read more

IMS Research: Chinese installation targets a response to export slump; over 10 GW of new PV capacity expected over the next two years

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:48 (Solarserver)

IMS Research (Wellingborough, U.K.) has released a new report which states that China's increase in its solar photovoltaic (PV) installation target to 50 GW by 2020 is the result of a sharp decline in exports in the second quarter of 2012. The company also predicts that the nation will install over 10 GW of PV over the next two years. "China PV Market - Supply & Demand Quarterly - Q2'12" notes that while all PV manufacturers are struggling under highly competitive market conditions, Chinese producers are further impacted by the ongoing trade war with the United States and now Europe. IMS Research estimates that average polysilicon utilization fell below 50% in the second Read more

EuPD Research: PV end-customers considering long-term viability of manufacturers

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:41 (Solarserver)

EuPD Research (Bonn, Germany) has published the results of a study of end-customers in the German solar photovoltaic (PV) market, noting that the brands Sharp and Samsung have differentiated themselves in terms of end-user confidence in their survival. The company estimates that end-customers expect these two companies to remain on the market for at least 10 years. "End customers in focus - revealing needs for 2012 and beyond" is based on a survey of over 1,500 owners and designers of PV systems in Germany, focusing on service, storage solutions and the future prospects of manufacturers. Read more

ClearSky: Ontario PV market to reach 368 MW in 2012

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 12:22 (Solarserver)

ClearSky Advisors (Toronto, Canada) has released a new forecast of Ontario's solar photovoltaic (PV) market, predicting only 31% growth in 2012 to reach 368 MW. The company states that there are several factors which contribute to slower than anticipated growth, including the lack of new contracts in the microFIT segment. ClearSky also notes that many utility-scale PV projects which developers had planned to commission in spring 2012 are still stuck in the Renewable Energy Approval process. Read more

Walmart completes 100th rooftop PV plant in California

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 12:15 (Solarserver)

Walmart (Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S.) has commissioned its 100th rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in California on its store in San Diego. SolarCity (San Mateo, California, U.S.) has installed 70 of these 100 PV plants, which will cover between 10% and 30% of each store's electricity needs. Of the 100 stores, 43 are located in the Los Angeles area, 17 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and 11 in the San Diego area. Read more

August 1: all change

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 11:23 (Solarpowerportal)

The beginning of August marks the first day of the revised feed-in tariff model for solar photovoltaics in the UK. From today, FiT rates will once more be revised downward along with the tariff lifetime as part of a new degression model. Read more

Abengoa reports strong results in 1H 2012

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 10:00 (Solarserver)

Abengoa SA (Seville, Spain) has released results for the first half of 2012, reporting a 17% year-over-year increase in revenues to EUR 3.69 billion (USD4 billion), with double-digit increases in both its Engineering and Construction (E&C) and Concession-type Infrastructures segments. The company also reports a 15% EBITDA margin and a net income of EUR 110 million (USD 135 million) over the period. Abengoa has maintained its previous guidance for 2012 revenues, despite "uncertainty" in the Spanish electricity sector following the suspension of feed-in tariffs in January 2012. Read more

University of Toronto, KAUST researchers develop 7.0% efficient CQD-based PV cell

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 9:50 (Solarserver)

Researchers from the University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) and King Adbullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia) have fabricated a solar photovoltaic (PV) cell based on colloidal quantum dot (CQD) films with a 7.0% conversion efficiency. The researchers also state that this cell is based on inexpensive materials. The work leading to this world-record efficiency for CQD was first published in a letter in journal "Nature Nanotechnology". Read more

GBI Research: Government policies hold the key to solar thermal power future

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 17:37 (Solarserver)

GBI Research (New York, New York, U.S.), a provider of business intelligence reports, has released a new report stating that solar thermal power, or concentrating solar power (CSP), can have a sizeable impact on the world's renewable energy industry if governments across the globe will maintain supporting policies. According to the report, solar thermal power projects in the pipeline will lead to a global CSP market that is expected to grow from a 2011 installed capacity total of 1,546 megawatts (MW) to 47,462.9 MW in 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%. Read more

ESIA to co-organize GulfSol conference in Dubai, UAE

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 17:28 (Solarserver)

The Emirates Solar Industry Association (ESIA) announced that it will co-organize next year's inaugural GulfSol exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE. "This assistance from ESIA on the conference will ensure that we are able to provide a world-class forum right in the middle of the exhibition area, with free entry to all exhibition attendees. There will be no better solar gathering place for technology and market awareness than GulfSol 2013 as a result," Exhibition Manager Nick Thomson stated. Read more

JA Solar PV products receive Intertek's Green Leaf Mark

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 17:22 (Solarserver)

On July 27th, 2012, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China) announced that its three solar photovoltaic (PV) cell models and three PV module types have completed Intertek's Carbon Footprint Evaluation program and have been granted the Green Leaf Mark by Intertek. Read more

Octopus Investments: ?solar still has a great future?

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:41 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK?s largest commercial solar developer, Octopus Investments and its dedicated in-house developer Lightsource Renewable Energy, has reiterated its commitment to the nascent UK solar market despite new legislation that significantly reduces support for the technology across the UK. Read more

Kam Mofid joins Real Goods Solar as CEO

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

US-based solar energy provider Real Goods Solar has appointed Kam Mofid as its new CEO. Mofid replaces the company?s former CEO Bill Yearsley after he decided to leave the organization to pursue other interests. Yearsley has agreed to assist the transition. Read more

BTU International sales remain in a trough

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

Management at thermal processing equipment specialist, BTU International remain pragmatic about a potential recovery in equipment sales to PV manufacturers as second quarter revenue slumped to US$14.6 million, down 10.3%, compared to US$16.3 million in the preceding quarter. This was despite improved sales from the electronics sector in the last couple of quarters. Read more

NexPower enters Japanese solar market with 10MW of thin-film shipments

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:02 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based a-Si thin-film manufacturer, NexPower Technology has used three different channels to market in an effort to capture business from the burgeoning Japanese PV market. The company said, though didn?t breakout the quantities that it had shipped 10MW of modules to Japan in the first-half of 2012 to local distributors, EPC firms and PV project developers. Read more

SunGift appoints Neil Durno as Head of Business Development

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:04 (Solarpowerportal)

Exeter-based installer SunGift Solar has appointed management specialist Neil Durno as its new Head of Business Development. The new appointment will see Durno take responsibility for the South West solar specialist?s commercial projects, customer experience, and supplier development activities.  Read more

Hawaii Drives Past Solar Power Cost Barrier, Surprised by Additional Roadblocks

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Solar has crossed a major threshold in Hawaii.  The state?s homes and businesses can cut their electric bills with unsubsidized solar power, but are also discovering that cheap solar is not a panacea.  As the tide of solar costs has receded, a number of unexpected barriers have emerged. An island state reliant on imported oil for 83% of its electri Read more

Massachusetts Solar PV Market Returns to Normal with Electrical Licensing Decision

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In 2009, the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians (BSEE) took an unprecendented step and required that all solar PV installation work performed in Massachusetts could only be performed by licensed electricians.  Recently this ruling was overturned, which allows the solar PV industry to return to how it was operating before 2009. T Read more

Walmart hits 100th solar installation milestone in California

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 14:08 (PV-Tech)

US retail giant Walmart is continuing to fulfill its promise to invest in renewable energy and has installed solar panels on the rooftop of its College Avenue store in San Diego to generate electricity. This marks the company?s100th solar installation in California and is in line with its aim to expand its solar portfolio to more than 75% of its stores in the state, approximately 130 stores, by the end of 2013. Read more

JA Solar to take control of polysilicon maker

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 9:55 (Solarserver)

JA Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has entered into an agreement by which it will gain a 65% equity interest in polysilicon maker Hebei Ningjin Songgong Semiconductor Company Ltd. (Ningjing County, Hebei, China) from M.SETEK Company Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan). JA Solar will pay USD 38.9 million for the share transfer, which it expects to complete by the end of the year. The transfer will help to settle M.SETEK's debt to JA Solar over the delivery of polysilicon interrupted by the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011. Read more

Bioenergy? Not So Fast

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

There?s no one, set-in-stone blueprint for Germany?s energy transition. A lot of it will be made up along the way and plans will change as we learn more. One of the Energiewende?s pillars, for example, namely bioenergy, has just been subjected to a blistering critique by Germany?s foremost scientists. None other than the prestigious German National Read more

Geothermal in South America: Major Prospects for Development

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:54 (Renewable Energy World)

If any part of the world should be concerned about the effects of climate change, it is South America. Despite contributing some of the lowest emissions globally, many of the countries in the region are located in global-warming hotspots. Read more

Greece adds 97MW of PV capacity in June 2012

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

According to Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO), Greece has installed an additional 97MW of grid-connected PV capacity in June 2012 bringing its total PV capacity to 724MW. HTSO also revealed that the country?s PV systems generated 161.5 GWh of electricity in the same month. Read more

Caplor Energy celebrates Maylands Business Centre tender victory

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 17:08 (Solarpowerportal)

Caplor Energy has announced that it has been awarded the contract to install a commercial-scale solar PV system on one of the country?s largest business parks. Read more

Most of Energy Conversion Devices assets now sold

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

According to the US Court dealing with the bankruptcy of Energy Conversion Device sand its wholly-owned subsidiary United Solar Ovonic, the majority of assets have been successfully sold, meaning the companies affairs can begin winding-up. Eligible voting creditors were said to have approved the actions. Read more

UK?s largest rooftop array generates 1GWh of clean energy in one year

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 16:11 (Solarpowerportal)

A year after 7,000 solar panels were fitted to the roof of Promens Packaging?s plant in Beccles, Suffolk, the installer behind the project has announced the generation of the array?s millionth unit of green electricity. Read more

Community Development Finance Institutes: Providing Clean Energy Capital

Wednesday, 8.1.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Oftentimes, larger institutions do not finance small renewable energy and energy efficiency projects due to their lack of scale and higher risk profile. But, this is exactly the niche community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are filling by making it possible for small developers, businesses, and underserved homeowners to finance clean energy projects. Read more