Joint Forces for Solar: Photovoltaics could become the backbone of the US electricity grid

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 17:20 (Solarserver)

The super storm Sandy dominated discussions at the PV Briefing & Networking Forum USA hosted by the initiative Joint Forces for Solar (San Francisco, California, U.S.) in Somerset (New Jersey, U.S.). Both attendees and speakers spoke out in favor of photovoltaics becoming the backbone of the US electricity grid. Faced with several days of power outages, also in New Jersey, and combined with a lack of emergency electricity generators, the majority of participants are convinced that in such catastrophes solar energy could play a vital role in guaranteeing energy security. Read more

Siemens to build PV plants with a total capacity of 100 MW in South Africa

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 14:45 (Solarserver)

Siemens has received the first South African order for construction of two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. The PV plants will be erected in De Aar and Droogfontein in the Nordkap province and are scheduled to go online in 2014. Purchaser is a consortium consisting of Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., its investment partner Globeleq, the South African investment company Thebe Investment Corporation and two local construction companies Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering. Read more

GTM: PV innovations to benefit struggling c-Si manufacturers

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 11:14 (Solarserver)

GTM Research (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) has released a new report which finds that companies across the crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) industry are pursuing advanced technology at a greater pace, in an effort to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. "Innovations in Crystalline Silicon PV 2013: Markets, Strategies and Leaders in Nine Technology Areas" identifies quasi-mono wafers, kerf-less wafers, selective emitters and backside cell architectures among the top technologies being commercialized in 2012 through 2014. Read more

Solar Shakeout: Aion subsidiary Ecoware files for insolvency

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 19:00 (PV-Tech)

Italian PV installer Aion Renewables has announced that its subsidiary Ecoware filed for insolvency this week at the court of Padua, Italy. Read more

ET Solar to supply over more than 7,600 PV modules for 2.3 MW Colorado plant

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 18:19 (Solarserver)

On November 20th, 2012, ET Solar Group Corp. (Nanjing, China) announced that it has signed an agreement to supply more than 7,600 solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for a 2.3 megawatt (MW) PV project in Denver (Colorado, U.S.). The PV plant, notable as a 1000-volt system, is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Read more

Newsvorlage (copy 1IBC Solar completes 5 MW Italian PV plant in 49 days

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 18:15 (Solarserver)

On November 19th, 2012, IBC Solar AG (Bad Staffelstein, Germany) announced that it has completed a 5 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Maniago, Northern Italy. The PV system has been completed and connected to the public electricity grid in just 49 days. The PV plant, on an area covering 140,000 square meters, includes a total of 21,189 PV modules with a nominal rating of 235 watt peak (Wp) each and 321 inverters. Read more

U.S. DOE provides USD 10 million for innovative solar projects

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 18:10 (Solarserver)

In support of the Obama Administration's energy strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy on November 19th, 2012, announced ten small business-led projects to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to the marketplace. Through the SunShot Initiative, this USD 10 million investment will help significantly reduce the total installed cost of solar energy systems and strengthen American leadership in this growing global industry, DEO emphasizes. Read more

Giga Solar Materials plans increased PV paste output at Taiwanese plant

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 16:54 (PV-Tech)

Giga Solar Materials, a Taiwanese specialist in the development of conductive paste for solar cells, is reportedly planning to increase output at its photovoltaic conductive paste plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in order to meet demand from PV equipment manufacturers. Read more

Ukrainian energy bill to cut solar FiTs by 27%

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 16:08 (PV-Tech)

Ukraine?s parliament has approved the second draft Green Energy Bill, paving the way for a 27% reduction in solar feed-in tariffs in the country from 2013. Read more

Pension Insurance Corporation completes £40 million UK solar bond deal

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 15:55 (Solarpowerportal)

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has announced the purchase of the first ever publicly listed solar finance bond. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Maricopa County approves SolarReserve's 150 MW CSP project, and an additional 65 MW PV plant in Arizona

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 14:53 (Solarserver)

SolarReserve (Santa Monica, Calif.) on November 20th, 2012 announced that it has received its Special Use Permit (SUP) by unanimous decision from the Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Arizona for its Crossroads Solar Energy Project. The approval includes 150 megawatts (MW) of electrical generating capacity using SolarReserve's concentrating solar power (CSP) technology and 65 MW of additional solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. Read more

Solar 2012: A Tale of Two Points of View

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 14:06 (Renewable Energy World)

The welcome end of 2012 approaches and with it hopefully a slowdown in the steady march of solar failures, depressing financials and mind numbing trade disputes. Thankfully, the long, long, long, oh so long US presidential campaign season is over, though another is just 'round the bend. Hopefully the recession in Europe will be short lived and the U.S. and other countries will not slip into another recession. Among these wishes for 2013, 2012 can be remembered for the starkly different attitudes held by participants along the solar industry value chain. Read more

ET Solar supplies PV modules to 2.3MW utility project in Colorado

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 12:37 (PV-Tech)

ET Solar Group has announced a supply agreement of over 7600 300W PV modules to a 2.3MW project in Colorado, USA. Read more

Solarsense?s green credentials earn local award

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 12:12 (Solarpowerportal)

Somerset-based renewable installer, Solarsense, has won the 2012 South West Green Energy Installer of the Year Award. The award recognises the company?s continued commercial success as well as level of community engagement following various local initiatives that it ran over the year. Read more

Concentrating solar power in Morocco: ACWA, MASEN sign PPA for 160 MW Ouarzazate CSP plant

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 9:53 (Solarserver)

The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with a consortium led by ACWA Power (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) for the entire output of a 160 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant planned for Ouarzazate, Morocco. The plant will utilize parabolic trough CSP technology with three hours of thermal energy storage. The project is the first of 500 MW of CSP and solar photovoltaics (PV) planned for the Ouarzazate site. Read more

Canadian solar thermal market falls 20% in 2011

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 9:43 (Solarserver)

Canadian solar thermal revenues fell 20% in 2011 to USD 30 million following a peak in 2010, according to an annual report released by Clear Sky Advisors Inc. (Toronto, Canada). Total collector area sold also fell 29% to 180,000 square meters, with air collector sales falling almost 2/3 to just over 30,000 square meters. However, unusually successful sales level in 2010 should also be noted. Read more

PV Evolution Labs introduces new soiling measurement system

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 12:23 (PV-Tech)

California-based PV testing lab PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) has introduced a new system for measuring power and energy loss due to module soiling in the field. Read more

Sweden Won't Heed Industry Call for Higher Wind Energy Targets

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Sweden will not respond to calls from wind-power developers to boost targets for alternative energy output, for fear of undermining investor confidence. Read more

Scotland Schools the States on Offshore Wind Initiatives

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 14:40 (Renewable Energy World)

While the United States is busy charging headlong towards a fiscal cliff and the likely expiration of the wind energy Production Tax Credit, the country of Scotland is busy showing everyone how things really ought to be done. Read more

Miliband calls for Energy Bill decarbonisation target

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 18:03 (Solarpowerportal)

Labour leader Ed Miliband has launched a scathing attack on the government?s handling of energy policy. Read more

US allocates US$6 billion for sustainable energy development in Asia Pacific

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 13:06 (PV-Tech)

The US, Brunei and Indonesia have proposed a new joint framework aimed at securing affordable and cleaner energy suppliers for the Asia Pacific region. Read more

GCL-Poly polysilicon production booms year-over-year, falls in 3Q 2012

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 11:08 (Solarserver)

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. (Hong Kong, China) has released preliminary production and shipment figures for the first nine months of 2012, reporting a 78% year-over-year increase in polysilicon production to 32,900 metric tons and a 44% increase in wafer production to 4.73 GW. GCL-Poly sold less than a third of this polysilicon, totaling 9,670 metric tons, at an average price of USD 23 per kg over the nine-month period. The company also sold 4.32 GW of wafers. Read more

PV, CSP comprise 4.8% of Spanish electricity production in September 2012

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 9:48 (Solarserver)

Spain's National Energy Commission (CNE) has released a monthly report which states that solar photovoltaics (PV) contributed 3.2% of the nation's electricity generation during September 2012, while concentrating solar power (CSP) provided 1.6%. PV and CSP generation have been declining steadily month to month. PV supplied only 674 GWh in September 2012, as opposed to 932 GWh in July, with CSP providing another 338 GWh, down from 537 GWh two months prior. Overall, Spain received 31% of its electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectricity, in September 2012. Read more

Renewable Energy World Celebrates Global Non-Profits that Advance Sustainability

Thursday, 11.22.2012 - 6:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Whether you welcome it with enthusiasm or pretend it's not happening, the holiday season is upon us. This year, all of us here at RenewableEnergyWorld would like to highlight organizations that uphold the spirit of giving, charity and work for the greater good. Below you will find some of the many organizations with goals to promote and establish renewable energy worldwide. Read more