News of the year 2012

Date: 24.01.2012



Photovoltaics

Researchers: Quantum Dots Boost Solar Cell Efficiency by 45%

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 20:55 (Renewable Energy World)

The U. of Buffalo (NY) says adding quantum dots into solar cells could increase their efficiency by a whopping 45%. Read more

Conergy guides higher than expected 2011 loss and modest lower revenue in 2012

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 19:58 (PV-Tech)

Continued restructuring, inventory sell-off and higher than expected price declines in the fourth quarter, further impacted fourth quarter and full-year financial results at Conergy. Preliminary revenue results were reported to have reached ?755 million in 2011 but losses are expected to be in the range of ?80-?85 million, higher than previously guided losses of ?50 to ?55 million. Operating cash flow was said to be positive in the fourth quarter. Read more

Conergy guides higher than expected 2011 loss and modestly lower revenue in 2012

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 19:58 (PV-Tech)

Continued restructuring, inventory sell-off and than expected price declines in the fourth quarter, further impacted fourth quarter and full-year financial results at Conergy. Preliminary revenue results were reported to have reached ?755 million in 2011 but losses are expected to be in the range of ?80-?85 million, higher than previously guided losses of ?50 to ?55 million. Operating cash flow was said to positive in the fourth quarter. Read more

Algerian manufacturer Edielec pushes forward with delayed 12MW facility

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 17:44 (PV-Tech)

According to Algerian newspaper El Watan, Edielec is to open a 12MW manufacturing facility producing about 54,000 solar modules annually. The plant is to become operational in March. Read more

Lux Research: CIGS PV market to reach 2.3 GW in 2015

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 16:20 (Solarserver)

On January 24th, 2012 Lux Research (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) announced the release of a report which estimates that the market for copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules will double to 2.3 GW and a value of USD 2.35 billion in 2015. "Sorting through the maze of CIGS technologies: Who will cash in on the breakout year?" also states that the technology faces numerous challenges, including declining venture capital. The report predicts that CIGS manufacturers will be successful through strategic partnerships as well as investing in increased capacities and improved production processes. Read more

PROINSO sells 303 MW of PV products in 2011

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 16:16 (Solarserver)

On January 23rd, 2012 PROINSO SL (Fustiñana, Spain) announced that it delivered 197 MW of inverters and 106 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for PV plants in five continents in 2011. The company also notes that 88% of this product was exported from Spain, whereas in 2008 100% of the company's sales had been to the Spanish market. Europe and North America represented 83% of sales, with "emerging" markets representing a 5% share. Read more

Diamond Wipes completes rooftop PV plant in California

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 14:18 (Solarserver)

On January 19th, 2012, Diamond Wipes International (DWI, Chino, California, U.S.), the original US manufacturer of hot and cold disposable wet wipes, announced that it has completed installation of 3,360 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at its manufacturing facility in Southern California. The solar PV system is expected to generate 548,544 kWh of electricity per year. Read more

Q-Cells updates restructuring plan: provides 4-year revenue guidance

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 13:17 (PV-Tech)

Financially challenged Q-Cells said it will restructure its finances in 2 key steps to avoid payment defaults to bondholders. The company confirmed 2011 revenue forecast of around ?1 billion but said total losses for the year had yet to be concluded. Q-Cells guided a further decline in revenue in 2012 to approximately ?865 million. A return to profitability was not expected until 2014, though this would only occur should all three outstanding convertible bond renegotiations prove successful. Read more

Q-Cells updates restructuring plan: provides four-year revenue guidance

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 13:17 (PV-Tech)

Financially challenged Q-Cells said it will restructure its finances in 2 key steps to avoid payment defaults to bondholders. The company confirmed 2011 revenue forecast of around ?1 billion but said total losses for the year had yet to be concluded. Q-Cells guided a further decline in revenue in 2012 to approximately ?865 million. A return to profitability was not expected until 2014, though this would only occur should all three outstanding convertible bond renegotiations prove successful. Read more

Saita installs PV wastewater treatment plant for Belgian cell producer

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 13:07 (PV-Tech)

Industrial wastewater treatment (IWT) system manufacturer Saita srl has successfully installed an IWT for an unnamed Belgian solar cell manufacturer. This installation, which claims to recycle 97% of the wastewater used in the multicrystalline cell manufacturing process, marks the second such system installed by Saita, and the Italian company has set its sights on expanding the uptake of such systems across the PV manufacturing industry. Read more

Auriga director publishes research notes criticizing Chinese government involvement in the PV industry

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 13:05 (Solarserver)

On January 23rd, 2012 the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) announced the release of an analysis by Auriga USA Managing Director Hari Chandra Polavarapu, which states that Chinese government involvement in the nation's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry distorts markets and impedes competition to drive efficiency and innovation. CASM's promotion of this analysis is the latest move in an ongoing conflict within the global and U.S. solar industries over the role of the Chinese government. CASM members have successfully petitioned for an investigation of Chinese support for its PV manufacturers, and have been opposed not only by Chinese manufacturers and the Chinese Read more

Wells Fargo finalizes financing for 53.5 MW New Mexico PV project

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:50 (Solarserver)

On January 23rd, 2012 Wells Fargo & Company (San Francisco, California, U.S.) announced that it has completed equity financing for a 53.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Wells Fargo also provided the construction financing as well as permanent equity financing, representing the bank's largest renewable energy construction loan to date. SunEdison commissioned the PV project, which is comprised of multiple PV plants on multiple sites, in December 2011. Read more

Mage Solar opens logistics center for photovoltaic systems near London

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:36 (Solarserver)

On January 19th, 2012, MAGE SOLAR (Ravensburg, Germany), part of the globally operating MAGE GROUP, announced that it has opened a logistics center in Dagenham, near London, England. The new logistics center will supply photovoltaic (PV) system components to the company?s installation partners in Great Britain. The warehouse and logistics center will improve customer proximity in the British market, the company emphasizes. MAGE SOLAR selected world's leading logistics service providers, Kuehne + Nagel, which has many years' experience in the storage and transportation of highly sensitive photovoltaic components. Read more


Thermal Power/Heating

From Soitec and Sumitomo: New Gallium-Nitride Tech for Solar and LED

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 22:16 (Renewable Energy World)

The use of gallium nitride for solar power electronics and light emitting diodes (LED) holds a lot of promise, but the material is expensive and difficult to make. Here comes Soitec and Sumitomo Electric Industries, which announced Tuesday that they have completed their lab work on producing gallium nitride wafers and are moving into pilot production. Read more

Holding Solar Financing Companies Accountable

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 19:18 (Renewable Energy World)

The increase in residential and light commercial project funding from leases and PPAs is a boon to the solar industry but comes with unique risks that require careful management. With financiers and investors holding these smaller assets for 10 to 20 years, their risk now must be managed more seriously, like that of industrial and utility scale projects. Quality of equipment, field-level workmanship and ongoing performance will be critical for investors to appropriately assess the risk in financed systems. These risks are manageable, but will have severe consequences for the entire industry if not addressed. Several of these risks are discussed below, along with potential Read more

Some Skepticism on Solar Thermal Power's Storage Potential

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 16:23 (Renewable Energy World)

Earlier this month, New York Times reporter Matt Wald had a piece on the role of energy storage in supporting the expansion of renewable energy.  However, his specific focus on solar thermal power generation overlooks the potentially high costs of relying on solar thermal power as well as the potential for distributed “storehousin Read more

Korean investor eyes Ghana with aim of funding 300MW of solar projects

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 16:11 (PV-Tech)

Investment companies are continuing to investigate opportunities in emerging markets, one of which is Ghana, which is being studied by a Korean company with a view to investing in the company?s solar market. The Ghana Energy Commission and Halla Energy and Environment, a Kyonggi-do, South Korea-based EPC company, have been in discussions to establish a framework under which the latter could invest in the development of 300MW of solar energy in the country. Read more

Haiti leader launches US$45 million solar power program

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 15:49 (PV-Tech)

Associated Press has reported that Haiti?s president Michel Martelly hopes to double the number of rural households that receive electricity within two years through loans to buy solar kits. Dubbed ?give me light, give me life?, the programme is part of a US$45 million energy package that aims to bring electricity to families that live in two of the most remote corners of the country ? the Grand-Anse and the northwest province. Read more

3 Things You Can Do To Create Commercial Solar Thermal Leads

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

1) Go to events where your customers are. And by customers, we mean your apartment building owners, hospital administrators, laundromat owners, hotel owners, nursing home owners, and all of the other businesses that use a lot of hot water. And where are they? They’re at their own trade shows, talking about their challenges. Solar therm Read more

California ISO strategic plan for grid operation includes greater integration of wind, solar generation

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 14:44 (Solarserver)

On January 20th, 2012 the California Independent System Operator (ISO, Folsom, California, U.S.) released a new five-year strategic plan, which includes adapting operations to an estimated four-fold increase in wind and solar generation within its transmission grid, as well as an increase in electric vehicle charging. In "Reliable Power for a Renewable Future", the California ISO notes that greater use of distributed generation, energy storage, and smart grid developments are also increasingly affecting grid and market operations. The organization states that the sum of these changes represents the industry's most significant challenges in the past 100 years. Read more

Gainesville Regional Utilities 2012 solar feed-in tariff, PV rebate programs fully subscribed

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 14:36 (Solarserver)

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU, Gainesville, Florida, U.S.) has announced that due to strong demand, both its feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar photovoltaic (PV) plants and its rebate funds for residential PV systems have both been fully claimed for fiscal year 2012. The next application for the utility's FIT is on January 1st, 2013, and applicants may apply for FY 2013 rebates beginning October 1st, 2012. The utility has not disclosed the total volume of FIT contracts awarded in 2012, but provided contracts for 2.7 MW of PV in 2011, and will publish the amount of available capacity for 2013 before the FIT becomes available. Read more

ET Solar to supply 6 MW of PV modules to French roofing company LARIVIERE

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 14:24 (Solarserver)

On January 20th, 2012, ET Solar Group Corp. (Nanjing, China) announced that it has entered into an agreement to supply solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to LARIVIERE (Angers), a distributor of roofing products in France. Under the agreement, ET Solar will supply 6 MW of PV modules to LARIVIERE, which is a subsidiary of SIG plc. Read more

Wells Fargo completes equity financing for 53.5MW SunEdison New Mexico solar project

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 13:57 (PV-Tech)

Wells Fargo has announced the completion of equity financing for SunEdison?s 53.5MW multi-site solar project in New Mexico, activated in December. This was produced through a power purchase agreement between SunEdison and Southwestern Public Service Co., previously announced in September. Read more

NREL: Less affluent customers embracing solar PV leases

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:56 (Solarserver)

On January 20th, 2012 the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL, Golden, Colorado, U.S.) announced the release of a new study which argues that solar lease options are broadening the demographics of solar photovoltaic (PV) customers in Southern California. "The Transformation of Southern California's Residential Photovoltaics Market through Third-Party Ownership" was first published in the journal Energy Policy. The study finds that while traditional purchases of PV systems are concentrated in neighborhoods with average annual household incomes above USD 150,000, more neighborhoods with average incomes between USD 100,000 and 150,000 are Read more

Cornwall Council celebrate solar success

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:37 (Solarpowerportal)

Cornwall Council has successfully proceeded with plans to install solar PV on more than 50 sites across Cornwall, including schools, colleges, libraries and leisure centres. Read more

Cornwall Council celebrates solar success

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:37 (Solarpowerportal)

Cornwall Council has successfully proceeded with plans to install solar PV on more than 50 sites across Cornwall, including schools, colleges, libraries and leisure centres. Read more

Italian subsidies for PV systems on agricultural land cancelled by ministers

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:19 (PV-Tech)

The Italian council of ministers has approved an amendment to the Quarto Conto Energia to cease the proviso of incentives for PV solar systems on agricultural land from 2013. However, the change will not apply to plants built within the next 12 months. The government is aiming to encourage and boost competition in the national economy, causing a boom in solar PV-related manufacturing. Previously, the law demanded a 1MW limitation to installations on the condition that less than 10% of the land was covered with panels. Read more

Spire, PowerPlay commission 2MW PV plant at Berkshire School in Massachusetts

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 0:52 (PV-Tech)

PowerPlay Solar Development, working with Spire Solar Systems, has commissioned and started operation of a 2MW, 9-acre solar plant at Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The companies advised that this is the largest operating solar facility of its kind at any school or college in New England to date. Read more

Correction: MiaSolé lets 10% of workforce go, most layoffs in engineering and equipment sectors

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 0:39 (PV-Tech)

Updated: According to a report published by greentechsolar, CIGS maker MiaSolé has let 10% of its workforce go, with most of the layoffs taking place in the engineering and equipment design divisions. The report claims that a company spokesperson verified the layoffs, but did not specify on the extent of the reduction in the workforce. Read more

Report: MiaSolé lets 30% of workforce go, most layoffs in engineering and equipment sectors

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 0:39 (PV-Tech)

According to a report published by greentechsolar, CIGS maker MiaSolé has let 30% of its workforce go, with most of the layoffs taking place in the engineering and equipment design divisions. The report claims that a company spokesperson verified the layoffs, but did not specify on the extent of the reduction in the workforce. The report from greentechsolar further stated that while, at one time, MiaSolé was producing 15,000 modules per week, various sources have specified that its production numbers have dropped significantly. Read more

Solarwatt modules pass heavy snow load testing

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 0:24 (PV-Tech)

Solarwatt advised that its P210, M220, M250, M180 and M200 series solar modules had passed snow load testing, which saw the modules withstanding extreme snow loads, which are not uncommon in the high Alpine regions. The mechanical load tests were completed at the company?s VDE-certified laboratory based on IEC 61215 and DIN 1055 standards. Read more


Biomass/Pellets

There are no news available

 



Wind Energy

There are no news available

 



Hydropower

Viewpoints from the Board Room: Interview with Voith Hydro CEO and President Kevin Frank

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Kevin Frank was named chief executive officer and president of Voith Hydro Inc. in November 2010. Frank discusses technology, policy and the factors driving the hydropower market. Read more


Hydrogen/Fuel Cell

There are no news available

 



Geo Thermal/Heat Pump

There are no news available

 



Energy Policy/Climate/CO2

Grid-scale energy storage will be economically viable in the UK

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 16:22 (Solarpowerportal)

A new report published by analysis company Bloomberg New Energy Finance has found that cost effective, grid-scale energy storage could be closer than previously thought. Read more

CODA launches business unit to support grid energy storage

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 14:29 (Solarserver)

On January 20th, 2012 CODA Holdings (Los Angeles, California, U.S.) announced the launch of a new business unit to provide lithium-ion battery storage systems to support electricity grids. CODA Energy will offer battery systems to accompany generation, distribution, behind-the-meter commercial and industrial applications, microgrids, transportation and EV-fleet management. Read more

University of Buffalo, U.S. military researchers create PV cells that convert infrared light to electricity

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 12:46 (Solarserver)

On January 20th, 2012 Researchers from the University of Buffalo (Buffalo, New York, U.S.), Army Research Laboratory (Adelphi, Maryland, U.S.) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Ohio, U.S.) announced that they have developed a new nanomaterials-based technology to allow solar photovoltaic (PV) cells to convert infrared light into electricity. The researchers achieved infrared light conversion by embedding charged quantum dots into PV cells, and say that this can increase PV cell efficiency up to 45%. The team's findings were first published in the journal Nano Letters in May 2011. Read more

Lightway Green New Energy adopts PowerGuard?s PowerClip extended warranty protection

Tuesday, 1.24.2012 - 0:07 (PV-Tech)

PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services advised that Lightway Green New Energy has adopted the company?s PowerClip extended warranty protection. The insurance, developed and underwritten by PowerGuard, offers back-to-back coverage for a 10-year materials and workmanship warranty. Furthermore, it includes a linear power performance guarantee over a 25-year period for panels sold by Lightway and covered by the warranty. Read more


Solar-/Electromobil

There are no news available

 



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