Kaneka, imec?s 6? heterojunction silicon solar cell reaches 22.68% conversion efficiency

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 20:06 (PV-Tech)

Fraunhofer ISE recently confirmed that Kaneka and imec?s six-inch, semi-square, heterojunction silicon solar cell has a certified power conversion efficiency of 22.68%. The solar cell has an electroplated copper contact grid on top of a transparent oxide layer, which essentially replaces the traditional silver screen printing and is said to lead to higher efficiencies with lower manufacturing costs. The silicon solar cell was developed at Kaneka?s Osaka lab using it copper electroplating technology, which is based on imec?s copper electroplating background. Read more

Order Focus: Q-Cells chooses Satcon to provide 30MW of inverters for Californian PV projects

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Q-Cells has selected Satcon to provide 30MW of its Equinox Prism Platform solutions to two Californian PV projects, the company has announced. The sites are owned and operated by Californian utilities. Read more

Native Americans Endorse Feed-in Tariffs for Oregon

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:57 (Renewable Energy World)

The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians is encouraging Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber to include feed-in tariffs for renewable energy in his 10-year energy plan. Read more

France reaches 3.2 GW of PV capacity in 1Q 2012, as market declines

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:55 (Solarserver)

France installed 309 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in the first quarter of 2012 to reach 3.2 GW of new PV capacity in 252,000 plants by March 31st, according to figures released by the nation's General Commissioner of Sustainable Development. This new capacity represents a 29% decline sequentially and 14% decline year-over-year, following the "unprecedented" installation of 1.73 GW in 2011. The large majority of new installations during the quarter were plants larger than 100 kW, totaling 256 MW, including 172 MW of PV plants larger than 250 kW. Read more

Enecsys appoints David L. White as new CFO

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:55 (Solarpowerportal)

Cambridge-based micro inverter supplier, Enecsys, has announced the appointment of David L. White as Chief Financial Officer. The company hopes that the appointment of White will help the company better achieve its ambitious global expansion strategy over the coming years.  Read more

British PV market shows tepid recovery, weekly increases by around 620 kW

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:33 (Solarserver)

The U.K. Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has released new figures indicating that the British solar photovoltaic (PV) sector is gradually recovering from its recent market stagnation. The trend since the end of April is a steady weekly increase in deployment of around 620 kilowatt (kW). Read more

Solon supplies 7.5 MW PV modules to Greece

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:30 (Solarserver)

On June 6th, 2012, SOLON Corp. (Berlin, German) announced that it has signed an agreement to supply 7.5 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Arxikon (Athens, Greece). Under the agreement, SOLON will supply about 30,000 monocrystalline PV modules for installation at a number of projects throughout Greece, which are scheduled for grid connection in July and August. Read more

Gestamp begins construction of 2 MW PV plant in Fresno, California

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:24 (Solarserver)

On June 7th, 2012, Gestamp Solar (San Francisco, California, U.S.), a division of Gestamp Renewables, announced that it begun construction of a 2 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Fresno County, California. The PV project, named la Joya del Sol, has secured a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). It is the first PV project within PG&E's Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) program. Read more

AEG builds PV inverter factory in South Africa

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 9:24 (Solarserver)

On June 11th, 2012 AEG Power Solutions BV (Zwanenburg, the Netherlands) announced that it has built a facility to manufacture its solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters and combiner boxes in South Africa. The 3,400 square meter factory near Cape Town in Milnerton is already producing inverters. When complete, the plant will manufacture up to 200 MW of products annually for the South African market, to support the nation's goal to reach 8.4 GW of solar power capacity by 2030. Read more

Calyxo invests in 60 MW PV module production line

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

On June 6th, 2012 Calyxo GmbH (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) announced that it has invested in a second 60 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) module production line at its factory in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany. Calyxo currently operates a 25 MW production line with over 150 employees. The new line will bring its total manufacturing capacity to 85 MW, making it the largest cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film module producer in Europe by the end of 2012. Read more

First Solar to ramp up German production before closing plants at end of year

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 21:10 (PV-Tech)

A report released by Reuters has noted that before it closes its German plants at the end of this year, First Solar will be ramping up production in order to meet what it calls an ?unexpected surge in demand.? The news comes just a few months after the company announced that it would shut down production of its Oder plant in Q4 2012 as it moves its focus away from Europe. Read more

Vermont?s AllEarth Renewables looks to expand to New York

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 21:01 (PV-Tech)

Considered one of Vermont?s fasting growing businesses, AllEarth Renewables announced plans to expand its solar installer network outside of Vermont and into upstate and western New York. The company intends to keep its manufacturing headquarters in Vermont, but looks to the expansion as a way to create local New York solar installation jobs. Read more

Guangdong Aiko Solar adopts components of Scheuten Solar

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 20:38 (PV-Tech)

Only a few months after Scheuten Solar filed for insolvency, it seems that the company has found a new partner to help bring it back to a more powerful position in the PV market. According to a report from PV Magazine, Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology has taken over ?essential components? of the module manufacturer and BIPV specialist. Read more

Solar Provides 10 Percent Of Germany's Electricity In May

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 20:25 (Renewable Energy World)

Last month was a big one for the German solar industry. According to figures released by a German water and energy trade association, distributed solar photovoltaic systems produced 10 percent of Germany's total electricity consumption for the month of May. That's a 40 percent increase over May of 2011. Read more

Solar Provides 10 Percent of Germany's Electricity in May

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 20:25 (Renewable Energy World)

Last month was a big one for the German solar industry. According to figures released by a German water and energy trade association, distributed solar photovoltaic systems produced 10 percent of Germany's total electricity consumption for the month of May. That's a 40 percent increase over May of 2011. Read more

Solar Gets Sexy in the City

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 20:11 (Renewable Energy World)

?The number one crisis facing our planet right now is the environment...? Actor Chris Noth shared these sentiments with EcoOutfitters.net at the Rainforest Alliance 2012 Gala awards dinner this past May. ?We can see it in the seasons that aren't here anymore, in all kind of subtle ways and in big ways. People have been lulled to sleep, and groups l Read more

Intersolar EU: REC launches first commercially available backside passivation module

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 19:09 (PV-Tech)

REC has launched the first commercially available, multicrystalline PV module that utilizes cells with backside passivation technology at Intersolar Europe, the company has announced. The REC Peak Energy Plus series can generate 5W more compared to earlier versions of the module, having an output between of 255Wp. The company is positive to increase the output further in the future. Backside passivation technology enhances the cells reaction to red light and thereby increases the cells performance. Read more

CASM: Imports of solar products from China plummeted in April

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 18:19 (PV-Tech)

The inevitable fall-out from last month?s US Dept. of Commerce ruling against the import of Chinese solar products is now measurable in numbers, as the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) has revealed details of import figures for April. With US Customs and Border protection closely monitoring all imports to prevent companies dodging the anti-subsidy duties, imports in April came to US$70.7 million, down 66% compared to the previous month?s US$206 million. Read more

Intersolar EU: IBC Solar signs agreement with LG Chem for Li-ion storage system development

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 17:52 (PV-Tech)

IBC Solar has signed an agreement with South Korean chemical company LG Chem that will see the development of advanced lithium-ion storage solutions for solar energy. As a result of this collaboration, IBC has added to its power storage systems range with the new IBC SolStore 6.3 Li battery. Read more

Intersolar EU: MBJ Solutions showcases SolarModule EL-inline inspection system

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 16:06 (PV-Tech)

MBJ Solutions, a company focussing on the electroluminescence inspection of solar cells to detect cracks and defects invisible to the eye, will be showcasing the SolarModule EL-inline electroluminescence inspections system at this year?s Intersolar Europe. Read more

Intersolar EU: Krannich Solar offers five-point program for installers

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:41 (PV-Tech)

Krannich Solar has announced the presentation of a five-point program for installers at Intersolar Europe. Read more

Where Did All the Solar Go? Calculating Total U.S. Solar Energy Production

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:29 (Renewable Energy World)

Good data can be hard to come by. Let's take solar production data. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), solar electricity production facilities ? including photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) ? produced a total of roughly 1,800 GWh in 2011. That's a 50 percent increase over 2010. Even so, as a percent of total energy produced, the number is so small, in Figure 1 (below), it's easy to confuse solar energy production with the horizontal axis. Read more

Submerging Solar: New Frontiers for Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:13 (Renewable Energy World)

It sounds like a child's question: can you generate solar power underwater? The answer, according to Phillip Jenkins and his team at the US Naval Research Laboratory, is yes. The researchers recently demonstrated a method for harvesting solar power underwater at depths of 30 feet. Read more

Intersolar EU: PV-Kraftwerker introduces assembly robot ?Momo?

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 15:08 (PV-Tech)

At Intersolar Europe, PV-Kraftwerker will be showcasing ?Momo?, its assembly robot that can build open area solar parks. The robot is able to mount PV modules onto support racks through a gripper system, sensors and a 3-D camera, which also catches any aberration from the standard and corrects and adjusts deviations. The robot has no trouble covering large distances and the modules rarely suffer breakages on any sort of terrain, as PV-Kraftwerker?s Eberhard Schulz mentioned. Read more

Intersolar EU: Delta-T Services showcases SPN1 Sunshine Pyranometer

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 14:24 (PV-Tech)

Delta-T Services will be showcasing the SPN1 Sunshine Pyranometer at this year?s Intersolar Europe. The instrument is an important research device for PV developers because it measures both, global and diffuse radiation as well as sunshine state in the same instrument and can detect and identify the most efficient sites for PV installations. Read more

First Solar and Intermolecular start work on CdTe efficiency roadmap

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 14:18 (PV-Tech)

First Solar has teamed up with Intermolecular to establish a collaboration and licensing agreement that is aiming to accelerate the efficiency roadmap for CdTe modules using Intermolecular?s High Productivity Combinatorial (HPC) platform. The new program will see First Solar use the HPC platform to carry out its CdTe efficiency experimentation at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional methods. Read more

Intersolar EU: Heraeus debuts new silver metallization pastes

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:52 (PV-Tech)

Heraeus will be launching a variety of new silver metallization pastes at Intersolar Europe including its new SOL9600 front-side silver paste for solar cells and the SOL315 paste for New Passivation layer cells. The focus will be on maximizing performance and efficiency as well as reducing cost per watt of solar cells. Read more

Solar Frontier unveils new 140-160 W PV modules

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:19 (Solarserver)

On June 11th, 2012, Solar Frontier KK (Tokyo, Japan) announced the commercial availability of an upgraded product line of its copper indium selenium (CIS) thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, offering ratings between 140 and 160 W. Solar Frontier's new "S" series modules offer a positive sorting of -0/+5Wp, translating to assured power ratings at or above the label value. The company's new 160 W products offer a 13% module efficiency. Read more

Upsolar?s Greek activities see 33MW shipped in two-year period

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 13:10 (PV-Tech)

Recently adding another 1.2MW module order to its books, Upsolar has announced that its Greek activities have seen the shipment of 33MW of its PV modules to projects in the country since it first entered the market in March 2010. The 1.2MW order comes from RSEnergy Hellas Solartechnik, a Greece-based EPC firm that has several ground-mounted and industrial rooftop projects planned for the country. Read more

Trina Solar partners with E3/DC to develop solar storage solutions

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 12:59 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar photovoltaic manufacturer, Trina Solar Limited, has announced a new partnership with Germany-based E3/DC to develop next generation energy storage solutions for homes and small businesses. Read more

Intersolar EU: BenQ Solar showcases AC Unison and mini grid solution for residential market

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 12:48 (PV-Tech)

BenQ Solar will be showcasing its integrated AC Unison solution as well as its mini-grid solution for the residential market for the first time at Intersolar Europe. Both solutions are expected to become available to customers by the end of 2012. The AC Unison solution is a high efficiency module complete with a micro inverter and a monitoring system and it can be installed under a variety of conditions and various climates. The mini grid solution stores energy during the daytime and can utilize power from other sources as well to reduce energy costs in the residential market. Read more

Canadian solar supplies 1MW of PV modules to German testing facility

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 12:20 (PV-Tech)

Canadian Solar has supplied a research and testing plant in Germany with 1MW of its ELPS PV modules. The PV plant is located in Werlte in the Emsland area, on a three hectare site. A collaboration of the Institut fur Erneuerbare Energien GmbH & Co. KG (IEE), the 3N-Kompetenzzentrum Niedersachsen Netzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe and the municipality Werlte initiated the development of the 1MW project in order to gain new insights into increasing efficiency of solar modules. Construction begin is expected in June 2012. Read more

Global Solar Energy looks for buyers

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 12:03 (Solarserver)

On June 7th, 2012, Global Solar Energy Inc. (Tucson, Arizona, U.S.) announced that it has engaged FTI Capital Advisors LLC (Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.) to pursue new investor participation which could lead to a change in ownership of the company. Global Solar notes that it currently holds 75 MW of flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) production capacity in the U.S. and European Union, including supplying PV cells for Dow's Powerhouse Solar Shingle product line. Read more

ESTIF: European solar thermal markets show flat growth in 2011

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 11:58 (Solarserver)

On June 11th, 2012, the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) released annual statistics on the continent's solar thermal markets, noting that flat growth of almost 2.6 GW-thermal installed in 2011 represents an end to a decline over the last two years. "Solar Thermal Markets in Europe - Trends and Market Statistics 2011" reports diverse conditions in national markets in 2011, with Germany remaining the sector's driving force and Southern European markets suffering. The organization also notes that to renew growth, the industry must develop new market segments and improve price competitiveness. Read more

Solar investment double that of wind as renewable investment hits all-time high

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 11:16 (Solarpowerportal)

Investment in solar technology was nearly double that of wind during 2011, meaning that solar passed wind power as the most popular form of renewable generation for global investors in 2011. Read more

Intersolar EU: SolarWorld introduces new technologies to increase efficiency

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld will be showcasing its exclusive new technologies to increase the efficiency of monocrystalline and polycrystalline PV modules at Intersolar Europe. The technology is able to increase the efficiency of modules by five to 10%. The modules will be available to customers by the second half of 2012. Read more

Solectria 1MW installation provides energy for Santa Barbara County

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 17:32 (PV-Tech)

Solectria Renewables has announced that a 1MW PV installation equipped with its inverters has been commissioned by the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors to provide energy to the Calle Real Campus. The installation is further equipped with 4,500 SolarWorld modules. EPC services provider Endelos Energy and the Santa Barbara County agreed to only use American-made products for the PV array. Read more

Astronergy finalizes 50MW Bulgarian PV plant

Tuesday, 6.12.2012 - 16:32 (PV-Tech)

Chint/Astroenergy has completed a 50MW PV plant in Bulgaria, the company has announced. Once in operation, the plant will generate 1,858.548,000kWh of energy over a span of 25 and the energy will be fed into the local grid under a fixed FiT. Read more