Clavijo Group completes 11.5 MW PV plant in Spain

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 23:46 (Solarserver)

Grupo Clavijo (Navarre, Spain) announced the completion of an 11.5 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the town of Zuera, Zaragoza, Spain. The solar farm covers an area of 30 hectares, equivalent to 30 football fields. Read more

BrightSource raises more than US$80 million additional equity financing

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 19:57 (PV-Tech)

BrightSource Energy, whose solar thermal power tower technology can be found at the Ivanpah solar power facility, has announced that it has raised more than US$80 million in additional equity financing. This brings BrightSource?s total equity financing to more than US$615 million and positions the company for significant international growth. Read more

centrotherm announces details of insolvency plan

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 13:58 (PV-Tech)

Germany?s centrotherm photovoltaics has announced details of its insolvency plans, although it still requires the approval of its creditors and the Ulm Insolvency Court. Read more

IMS Research warns of difficulties in PV inverter industry

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 9:44 (Solarserver)

IMS Research (Wellingborough, U.K.) has released a new report which warns of "intense challenges" for the solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter industry in 2013, despite a growing global market. "World market for PV inverters" predicts flat revenue growth in the industry, and warns that falling prices and difficulty penetrating new markets will cause the top 10 inverter manufacturers to suffer. Read more

Centrosolar scales up PV distribution and delivery in the U.S. with SAP Solutions

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 23:52 (Solarserver)

With its continuing growth in the U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) market, Centrosolar America (Scottsdale, AZ), the U.S. subsidiary of Centrosolar Group AG in Munich, Germany, announced the launch of its SAP platform. The system will optimize its operations company-wide, creating a seamless process from production through logistics, sales and service; while positioning the company to scale up its operations and delivery of solar across the country. Read more

ATK wins USD 6.4 million contract from NASA for lightweight solar array development; space exploration missions to use solar electric propulsion

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 23:39 (Solarserver)

On October 23rd, 2012, ATK (Arlington, Virginia, U.S.) announced that it has received a USD 6.4 million contract from NASA's Space Technology Program for the "MegaFlex" solar array development. NASA will use ATK's MegaFlex solar array under a game changing technology competition to develop a lightweight and compact solar array structure. Read more

The Question Day 17: What is the Most Difficult Issue Facing the Solar Industry?

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 19:00 (Renewable Energy World)

It's been a year of both continued expansion and mounting challenges for the global solar industry. RenewableEnergyWorld asked solar industry executives to share their thoughts and insights on one burning question: Read more

Upsolar and Ferplant complete 1MW PV project in Sicily

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 18:06 (PV-Tech)

Solar module manufacturer Upsolar has completed building a 1MW PV project in Portopalo di Capopassero, Sicily, with the help of its local EPC partner Ferplant, a subsidiary of mondoPower. Read more

How Much Do U.S. Tax Benefits Cost per kWh of Solar Production?

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 16:22 (Renewable Energy World)

Many frequently wonder: what is the cost to the taxpayer/ratepayer of the various benefits (federal, state, utility) bestowed on renewable energy projects, and is there a more cost-effective way to support these fledgling technologies? Also, how do U.S. support structures compare in cost to other places, say, Germany, which incentivizes investment in renewable technologies through feed-in tariffs (FITs)? Read more

Newly Launched Hanwha Q.CELLS Becomes World's Third Largest Solar Manufacturer

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 16:10 (Renewable Energy World)

In one swift move, Korean business conglomerate Hanwha Group has officially positioned itself as the third largest solar manufacturer in the world. With the purchase of bankrupt solar cell manufacturer Q.CELLS, the newly launched entity ? appropriately named Hanwha Q.CELLS ? now claims ownership of a total of 2.3 gigawatts of manufacturing capacity across Germany, Malaysia and China. That multinational position also puts Hanwha in the unique position of being able to deliver supply to any region in the world without concern over trade sanctions. Read more

UK solar installations under the feed-in tariff reach 1.3GW

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 15:27 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released its latest quarterly energy statistics, which show that installations under the feed-in tariff (FiT) have reached 1.3GW across the UK. Read more

Connecticut's Solar Lease Program Demonstrates High Borrower Fidelity

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 15:15 (Renewable Energy World)

Third-party financing has become the mechanism for funding solar at the residential level in many markets. For example, third-party financed systems ? which can include solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) and solar leases ? are reported to have made up two-thirds of installations in the California market during the first half of 2012. The reason for their popularity? PPAs and solar leases significantly reduce or even eliminate the high upfront costs associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Read more

U.S. Solar Employment Faces Bright Future as Wind Jobs Flutter

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 15:04 (Renewable Energy World)

Job growth in the U.S. solar industry, fueled by falling panel prices, will outpace employment in wind energy, which faces the looming expiration of a federal credit, according to a report from CleanEdison Inc. Read more

Report: EU PV market to slump to ?6.57 billion by 2015

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 14:47 (PV-Tech)

Diminishing government subsidies mean overall revenues in the European PV solar market will shrink to ?6.57 billion by 2015, a study by market research company Frost & Sullivan has estimated. Read more

NRG Energy and SunPower mark first 22MW of 250MW solar ranch

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

NRG Energy and SunPower are celebrating the first 22MW of the 250MW California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) being delivered to the electrical grid. Read more

Largest public schools solar project on Maryland?s Eastern Shore

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 13:33 (PV-Tech)

School officials from Caroline County, Maryland, USA, joined representatives from Washington Gas Energy Systems and Kenyon Energy to unveil plans for the largest public school affiliated solar project on Maryland?s Eastern Shore. Read more

Siemens to pull out of Desertec initiative

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Following yesterday?s announcement of Siemen?s exit of the solar business, the company has confirmed that it will pull out of the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) when its membership expires at the end of the year. Read more

Dubai plans for 2,500MW through rooftop solar

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 13:05 (PV-Tech)

Dubai has started laying down a framework to integrate its solar power as the emirate launches a bid to boost its renewable energy capacity through rooftop solar power sources. Read more

S.A.G. Solarstrom AG installs 35 MW of PV systems in 3Q'12; 15.2 MW on conversion areas in Germany

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 12:42 (Solarserver)

On October 23rd, 2012, S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (Freiburg, Germany) announced that it has installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with a total capacity of around 35 megawatts (MW) in the third quarter of 2012. All projects were constructed and put into operation as planned. The company's goal is to achieve an installation volume of more than 100 MW for the whole of 2012. Read more

FCC inaugurates 50 MW CSP plant in Andalusia, Spain

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 12:31 (Solarserver)

FCC Energía SA (Madrid, Spain) has inaugurated a 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Palma del Río (Andalusia, Spain) as the company's first CSP plant in the nation. The Guzmán CSP plant was built by a joint venture established by Citizens Services Group between FCC and Mitsui & Company, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), for an investment of EUR 280 million (USD 360 million). Read more

Hanwha Group launches Hanwha Q.CELLS, third largest solar manufacturer in the world

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 12:23 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Group (Seoul, Korea) on October 24th, 2012 launched the new solar PV enterprise Hanwha Q.CELLS. The launch marks the completion of the acquisition of German solar company Q.CELLS, one of the worlds? largest solar cell manufacturers and a leading PV company. The launch of Hanwha Q.CELLS establishes Hanwha as the third largest solar manufacturer in the world. Hanwha?s 2.3 gigawatts (GW) of manufacturing capacity is distributed across Germany, Malaysia and China, a competitive advantage to supply any region in the world, free of trade sanctions, the company emphasizes. Read more

Topaz marks milestone with millionth PV unit

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, developers of the 550MW Topaz solar farm in California, have installed the project?s millionth PV unit. Read more

West Coast cities top Clean Edge's clean tech index

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 23:43 (Solarserver)

On October 23rd, 2012, Clean Edge reported that it has released its inaugural U.S. Metro Clean Tech Index subscription service. Clean Edge's assesses and ranks regions based on almost two dozen different indicators in green buildings, advanced transportation, clean electricity and carbon management, and clean-tech investment, innovation and workforce. The top 10 metro regions this year are San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, Sacramento, Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, and Austin. Read more

Renewables Take On Fossil Fuels: Vote Now for the Readers' Choice Award

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 21:38 (Renewable Energy World)

Finalists have been chosen for the Projects of the Year Awards, and now it?s time to cast your vote for the Readers? Choice Award. But this year is different.  Not only have we this year opened nominations to a global audience, Renewable Energy World North America is now co-located with Power-Gen International, which is where we will present the aw Read more

Energy Democracy Becomes More Real

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 15:03 (Renewable Energy World)

Will new technologies democratize energy much the way the Internet did information? Industry movement seems to point in that direction with the rise of the smart grid, time-of-day pricing, distributed solar, and the electric vehicle. Together these technologies offer a vision of a less centralized energy system, one where communities and households Read more

Profits from closed wafer division buoy REC 3Q 2012 results, company appoints new CFO

Thursday, 10.25.2012 - 9:29 (Solarserver)

Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC, Sandvika, Norway) released financial results for the third quarter of 2012, reporting a 24% decline in revenues to USD 262 million and a -30% operating margin. However, the company also reported a net profit of USD 70.9 million due to revenues from its discontinued wafer operations. REC has appointed current VP of strategy and business development Kjell Christian Bjørnsen as chief financial officer (CFO), to replace Bjørn Brenna who is leaving the company. The employment of CEO Ole Enger has also been extended to July 2014. Read more