Suntech PV modules excel in independent PID Test

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 20:54 (Solarserver)

On October 31st, 2012, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (Wuxi, China) announced that its Wd poly, Wd mono and Ve poly series solar photovoltaic (PV) modules have performed well in the potential-induced degradation (PID) test. The modules showed highly resistant to PID. Read more

Little change in NSP?s cell demand from China on October

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 17:10 (PV-Tech)

Monthly solar cell sales at Taiwan-based Neo Solar Power Corporation (NSP) increased only 2% q-on-q in October, remaining near record lows as Chinese module manufacturers continue to cut production. Read more

China adds 2.71 GW of PV in first nine months of 2012

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 15:44 (Solarserver)

China's State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has revealed that the nation has commissioned 2.71 GW of grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) generation in the first nine months of 2012, a 415% increase over the 525 MW added in the first nine months of 2011. This is significantly more than the United States, and depending on fourth quarter installations, could make China the world's second-largest PV market in 2012. SERC also announced that state-owned utility State Grid Corporation of China (Beijing, China) purchased 2.48 TWh of electricity from PV during the nine-month period, a 537% increase over the previous year. Read more

CNPV votes on selling majority stake to local Chinese government

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 15:36 (Solarserver)

CNPV Solar Power SA (Luxembourg) has held a shareholders meeting on a proposal to sell a majority stake of subsidiary CNPV Dongying Photovoltaic Power Company Ltd. (Dongying, China) to a company controlled by the local government of Dongying for USD 10 million. At the time of writing, the company has not yet announced the results of the shareholder's meeting, held on November 5th, 2012. CNPV notes that it has suspended its listing on the Alternext market of NYSE Euronext due to suspension of a major project, and is experiencing "severe liquidity problem". Read more

Suntech modules pass PID testing

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 11:08 (PV-Tech)

A series of Suntech Power Holdings models have passed potential-induced degradation (PID) tests with flying colours. Read more

Order Focus: Cencorp negotiating deal with Sunweb Solar for delivery of conductive backsheets

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:46 (PV-Tech)

Cencorp and Sunweb Solar have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) worth at least ?20 million (US$25,564,000) over the next three years for delivery of Cencorp?s conductive backsheets (CBS). Read more

Order Focus: Ascent Solar selected for US$750,000 award by Air Force SBIR program

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:14 (PV-Tech)

Ascent Solar Technologies was chosen for an Air Force Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant, which holds a value up to US$750,000. Read more

Westmill Solar Co-op buys 5 MW Westmill PV plant

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:11 (Solarserver)

On October 31st, 2012, the Westmill Solar Cooperative completed its acquisition of the 5 megawatt (MW) Westmill solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, making it the largest collectively-owned PV plant in the world. The Co-op also announced that Ethex will provide day-to-day management of the cooperative, with Registry Trust Registrars managing the share registry. OST Energy Ltd. (Brighton, England) will monitor and manage the performance of the PV plant. Read more

NEP Solar?s technology powers the Swiss Solar Award 2012 winning solar thermal plant realized by ewz and Lataria Engiadinaisa SA

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:05 (Solarserver)

Built on the rooftop of the highest-located dairy factory in Europe, four NEP Solar PolyTrough 1200 parabolic collectors, with a total aperture area of 115 m², deliver steam for milk processing. In October 2012 Zurich Municipal Electric Utility ewz and Lataria Engiadinaisa SA (LESA) won the Swiss Solar Award 2012 for the concentrating solar thermal plant (CSP) that supplies steam to LESA. Read more

Report: New Jersey, Pennsylvania solar power is bargain for consumers

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:00 (PV-Tech)

A report conducted by Clean Power Research for the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association (MSEIA) and the Pennsylvania Solar Energy Industries Association (PASEIA) notes that New Jersey and Pennsylvania deliver cost friendly solar power to consumers. Read more

Brown coal mining site turns to solar power plant: SunEnergy Europe completes 5.3 MW PV plant in Hessia, Germany

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 20:59 (Solarserver)

SunEnergy Europe GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) announced the completion of a ground-mounted 5.3 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Hessia, Germany. The PV plant, adjacent to former brown coal open-cast mining site Woelfersheimer Lake, is located on about 10 acres and meets the electricity demand of about 1,500 households. Read more

The Question Day 24: What is the Most Difficult Issue Facing the Solar Industry?

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 16:19 (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

Asia Report: Panasonic Freezes New Investment in Malaysia PV Manufacturing

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which became a major global solar PV manufacturer after taking over rival Sanyo, will freeze new investment in its state-of-the-art wafer, cell and module manufacturing plant in Malaysia amid challenging market conditions and crippling losses across the group. Read more

CNPV Solar Power votes on selling majority shares to local government

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 13:34 (PV-Tech)

Troubled Chinese PV equipment manufacturer, CNPV Solar Power, is holding a shareholder meeting today to vote on selling a majority stake to a local city for US$10 million. Read more

Share offer launched for Newport solar project

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 13:16 (Solarpowerportal)

Low carbon social enterprise Generation Community has issued a £1 million public share offer aimed at attracting investment for a solar project in Newport, Wales. Read more

Motech Industries reportedly in talks to buy Neo Solar Power

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 13:11 (PV-Tech)

Motech Industries is in talks over the potential purchase of rival Taiwanese PV manufacturer Neo Solar Power Corporation, according to media reports. Read more

Welspun to set up 100MW solar project

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:30 (PV-Tech)

Welspun Energy, India?s biggest solar developer, said it will invest Rs 1,000 crore (US$223 million) to set up a 100MW solar power project in Chattisgarh, central India. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Schott ships receivers to Godawari for CSP project in Rajasthan

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:21 (Solarserver)

Schott Solar (Mainz, Germany) has shipped more than 17,000 solar receivers for use in a 50 megawatt (MW) parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) project in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Schott delivered its PTR 70 receivers to Godawari Green Energy Ltd. (Raipur, India) for use in the plant, which is located near Nokh Village in the Jaisalmer District of Rajasthan. If completed before other CSP plants currently under development, this will be India's first CSP plant of this scale. Read more

LDK Solar appoints new CEO and adds five new board members

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 11:55 (PV-Tech)

PV manufacturer LDK Solar has announced the appointment of Xingxue Tong as its CEO with immediate effect. Read more

Intersolar India gets underway: The international solar sector convenes at India?s largest exhibition and conference for the solar industry

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 10:49 (Solarserver)

On November 5th, 2012 at 10:00am (IST), the Intersolar India Conference re-opened its doors at the Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai. The organizers expect to welcome some 700 attendees over the four days of the conference, which is taking place in parallel to the Intersolar India exhibition. Tomorrow, on November 6th, Intersolar India opens its doors to the global solar industry for the fourth time at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC). Read more

China launches anti-dumping investigation of EU solar-grade polysilicon

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 10:06 (Solarserver)

On November 1st, 2012 China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that it will begin an anti-dumping investigation into exports of European solar-grade polysilicon intended for the U.S. market. MOFCOM cites a petition filed in September 2012 by four Chinese polysilicon producers including a subsidiary of LDK Solar Company Ltd. (Xinyu, China) and Daqo New Energy Company Ltd. (Chongqing, China). The agency will combine this investigation with its previously launched anti-dumping investigation into polysilicon produced in the United States and South Korea. Read more

U.S. solar industry workforce grows 13% 2011-2012

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 9:48 (Solarserver)

The Solar Foundation (TSF, Washington D.C., U.S.) has released selected information from its upcoming "National Solar Jobs Census 2012", estimating that the solar industry employs 119,000 Americans in 2012, a 13% growth over 2011. This is significantly more than the 2.3% increase in jobs in the U.S. economy over this period. TSF, SolarTech (San Jose, California, U.S.) and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP, Clifton Park, New York, U.S.) have also released a paper, "Financing the Next Generation of Solar Workers", which explores the workforce needs of the industry. Read more

Laos to Start Building Mekong Hydropower Dam This Week Amid Opposition

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 16:23 (Renewable Energy World)

Laos will start construction this week on a $3.6 billion hydropower dam on the Mekong River that has been delayed for 18 months amid opposition from downstream countries and activist groups. Read more

Sun Shines on Old Idea to Make Hydrogen

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 17:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Back in 1998, when gasoline prices were $1.03 per gallon, John Turner of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) dropped jaws all over the energy world by demonstrating that he could use sunlight to extract hydrogen from water at a remarkable 12.4% efficiency. Read more

LightSail Energy completes Series D financing with US$37.3 million

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 21:28 (PV-Tech)

Big name investors contributed US$37.3 million in LightSail Energy?s, an energy storage technology company, Series D funding round. Read more

Lincoln Renewable Energy signs 20 year PPA for California plants

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 20:40 (PV-Tech)

Lincoln Renewable Energy (LRE) and Southern California Edison (SCE) signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for two of LRE?s California solar plants. Read more

Hurricane Sandy: "It's Global Warming, Stupid"

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 20:31 (Renewable Energy World)

On a recent broadcast of the news show Democracy Now hosted by Amy Goodman, Cynthia Rosenzweig, co-chair of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, went out of her way to begin her comments on Hurricane Sandy and the effects of global warming to issue a disclaimer: "but first Amy, I need to make something very clear: any one storm cannot be associated directly with climate change?we have to be very careful not to say Hurricane Sandy was caused by climate change." Read more

How Tidal Power is Riding the Crest of a Wave

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 19:58 (Renewable Energy World)

Tidal power has come of age. After decades of research, innovative development and questions over its viability, tidal power has made some impressive ventures into the real world of energy production. The technology has now passed through its childhood phase, entered adolescence and is on its way to being a fully developed contributor to our energy needs. Read more

Poll: Costs discouraging energy efficiency adoption

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 14:23 (Solarpowerportal)

Concerns over up-front costs are deterring homeowners from investing in energy efficiency measures, according to a survey. Read more

Low carbon proponents press government for green energy target

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:40 (Solarpowerportal)

Three prominent low carbon trade bodies have joined forces to press the government to include a target to decarbonise the power sector in its forthcoming Energy Bill. Read more

Australians Solar Council rejects Climate Change Authority proposal for Renewable Energy Target

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:13 (Solarserver)

The Australian Solar Council (ASC, Frenchs Forest, Australia) has raised concerns regarding the Climate Change Authority's review of the Renewable Energy Target Discussion Paper, describing "discrimination" against household solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. ASC states that under the proposal, small-scale PV would be "punished" if it contributed more than 1.5% to electricity prices or if payback prices fell to less than 10 years. The organization promised to protest these proposals at consultations on November 5th, 2012. Read more

Pike Research: North America to add 400 GW of renewables through 2015

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:08 (Solarserver)

Pike Research LLC (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which predicts that North America will add more than 400 GW of renewable energy capacity from 2012 through 2015, as the world leader in new renewable energy. "Smart Energy Annual Report 2012" estimates that Europe will be the second-largest region for distributed electricity generation, totaling more than USD 500 billion through 2015. The report also finds that the Asia Pacific region will be the fastest-growing. Read more

New book: The Energy Education of Fossil Fools; How Obama & Romney can still save the world

Monday, 11.5.2012 - 12:05 (Solarserver)

On November 1st, 2012, Post Carbon Institute (Santa Rosa, California, U.S.) and Watershed Media have jointly published a new book titled: ?ENERGY: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth?. The 278-page book offers a compelling introduction to energy literacy, helping readers see through industry hype and reject political rhetoric inconsistent with the reality of our shared energy predicament. Read more