EPIA demands Commission take action against member states for renewables cut-backs

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:35 (PV-Tech)

The European Photovoltaic Association (EPIA) has asked the European Union to take action against member states curtailing support to the renewables industry. Read more

G24 Innovations acquired by private investors

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 12:33 (Solarpowerportal)

The struggling Cardiff-based dye sensitised solar cell (DSSC) flexible thin-film manufacturer G24 Innovations has been bought by a consortium of private investors. Read more

SMA supplies technology for hybrid PV/diesel plant in South Africa

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 8:56 (Solarserver)

SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany) has announced that it supplied inverters and intelligent system management for a 1 MW off-grid hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV)/diesel plant in South Africa. The hybrid plant serves a chrome ore mine in a remote part of Limpopo Province, South Africa, as the first hybrid PV/diesel plant of this scale in the nation. SMA supplied 63 Sunny Tripower inverters and a hybrid solar management system solution to Solea AG's (Plattling, Germany) South African subsidiary for the project. Read more

AS Solar installs PV system on ADEREE rooftop

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 18:44 (PV-Tech)

AS Solar has built a PV system atop the Moroccan Agency for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ADEREE) building in Rabat, Morocco, which was celebrated in an official inauguration ceremony. Read more

Solarcentury to develop over 50MW of solar parks in Norfolk, Suffolk and Southampton

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 18:03 (Solarpowerportal)

Planning applications by Solarcentury for over 50MW of solar parks, worth almost £56.5 million, in Norfolk, Suffolk and Southampton, have been approved by the respective councils. Read more

Solar shakeout: GT Advanced Technologies to exit DSS furnace business

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:21 (PV-Tech)

Specialist PV equipment supplier, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) said it would exit the Directional Solidification System (DSS) market altogether due to market conditions that are not expected to recover sufficiently to justify continued involvement in the sector. Read more

Schüco to close solar thermal factory in Bielefeld

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:09 (Solarserver)

Schüco (Bielefeld, Germany) will close its solar thermal collector factory in Bielefeld, probably at the end of March 2013, according to Solar Thermal World. The company will continue to offer solar thermal systems, but only with components from other manufacturers. Schüco states that it is looking for an investor who can take over the entire plant, but may also explore a public auction. Read more

UK DECC sets banding levels for solar PV under the Renewables Obligation

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:04 (Solarserver)

On December 18th, 2012 the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced its long-delayed decision on support for solar photovoltaics (PV) under the Renewables Obligation (RO), setting different bands for roof-mounted and ground-mounted PV plants from April 2013. The Government set roof-mounted solar at 1.7 RO Certificates, to decline by .1 ROC per year over the next four years. Ground-mounted solar is set at 1.6 ROCs, but will decline differently. PV plants between 50 kW and 5 MW will be allowed to choose between the RO and the feed-in tariff system. Read more

SolarCity expands operations in Connecticut; increases workforce

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:15 (Solarserver)

On December 13th, 2012, SolarCity (San Mateo, California, U.S.) announced that it is expanding its operations in Connecticut. The company states that it has opened an operations center in Hartford and is now seeking hires for an additional 15 open positions in the state. Open positions include electricians, installers, sales staff, auditors, and project managers. Read more

SunMaxx unveils new eco kits to facilitate transition to solar thermal power

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:09 (Solarserver)

On December 14th, 2012, SunMaxx Solar (Binghamton, New York, U.S.) announced that it has introduced the Retrofit Eco Kit. The company states that its new product facilitates the transition to solar thermal due to its ingenious design. The kit is equally efficient in both warm and cold climates, SunMaxx emphasizes. Read more

ROC banding: Industry reaction

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:07 (Solarpowerportal)

The solar industry has given a mixed response to today?s confirmation of the Renewable Obligation Certificate bandings for solar until 2017. Read more

Asia Report: China Solar Shares Soar as Government Bails Out Sector

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Shares in Chinese solar companies soared after the government allocated a further 7 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) of subsidies for domestic installations this year, taking the year's total to 13 billion yuan ($2 billion), according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Read more

Solar: A High-Yield, Low-Risk Financial Instrument for Your Investment Portfolio

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Recent talk about the upcoming fiscal cliff has caused many investors to reflect upon the real long-term threats to their own portfolios. It occurred to me that there are some striking similarities between the current rate of return on a solar investment and the rate of return one would have earned on a bond investment during the high-interest-rate Read more

Minnesota's First Community Solar Project Doubles Down on Local

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

As community solar grows in popularity, an innovative solar project by the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association in Minnesota highlights the opportunity of merging local ownership with locally assembled solar panels. Earlier this fall, this cooperative serving communities just north and west of the Twin Cities metropolitan area announced Read more

Separate Renewables Obligation Certificate for rooftop PV

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 13:41 (Solarpowerportal)

The government has confirmed that it will introduce a new Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) banding specifically for medium-sized roof-mounted solar systems. Read more

JA Solar begins shipping PV modules for 40 MW PV plant in Ningxia Province, China

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 11:23 (Solarserver)

JA Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has begun shipping solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to subsidiaries of China Three Gorges New Energy Corporation (CTGNE, Beijing, China) for a 40 MW PV plant in Ningxia Province, China. JA Solar expects to complete shipments by the end of 2012. The order is the result of a successful bidding process. Read more

Dates announced for 2013 Solar Power UK Roadshow

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 10:57 (Solarpowerportal)

A solar installation will be the easiest way for householders and businesses to take back some control over their energy bills. With cost-effective storage solutions just around the corner, solar could be on the way to becoming one of the most essential household purchases by the end of the decade. Read more

IHS issues solar PV market predictions for 2013, expects ongoing consolidation

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 9:10 (Solarserver)

IHS' (Englewood, Colorado, US) solar research team has released its top 10 predictions for the solar photovoltaic (PV) market in 2013, forecasting that industry revenues will bottom out at USD 75 billion in 2013, even as installations rise. IHS also predicts further consolidation in 2013, with many integrated manufacturers going out of business entirely, including Chinese companies. However, the analysis also predicts PV module price stabilization in the second half of 2013, leading to an industry rebound. Read more

OPEL Technologies exits solar PV tracker business

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

On December 14th, 2012 OPEL Technologies Inc. (Toronto, Canada) entered into an agreement to sell the non-cash assets of its solar photovoltaic (PV) tracker business to Northern States Metals (NSM, West Hartford, Connecticut, US) for USD 1 million. OPEL notes that this purchase price does not include any outstanding debts, and NSM will not be liable for any of the company's debts prior to closing. The TSX Venture Exchange has given conditional acceptance of the transaction, subject to conditions. Read more

Drilling for Dollars: Notable Developments in Geothermal Finance

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:09 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal capacity additions are on track to top 100 MW in 2012, making this year one of the best for geothermal deployment in the last decade. This could be a tentative sign that conditions have been improving for geothermal finance (traditionally, finance has been one of the principal barriers to the technology's wider adoption). Projects coming online this year have demonstrated some creativity in leveraging financial opportunities. Here are some highlights. Read more

GDF SUEZ sells 60% stake in Canadian renewable energy portfolio

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 17:35 (PV-Tech)

GDF SUEZ has entered into an agreement to sell a 60% equity interest in its 680MW Canadian renewable generation portfolio to Mitsui & Co and a consortium led by Fiera Axium Infrastructure. Read more

Renewable Energy Projects Get 1.2 Billion Euros in EU Subsidies

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:59 (Renewable Energy World)

The European Union granted 1.2 billion euros ($1.58 billion) in subsidies to 23 renewable- energy projects under a program to promote low-carbon technology as a part of the fight against global warming. Read more

Gildemeister wins ?29.2 million deal for PV plants and energy storage technology

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 16:38 (PV-Tech)

The Energy Solutions division of German technology manufacturer Gildemeister has been awarded contracts worth ?29.2 million (US$38.5 million) to deliver PV power plants and energy storage technology in Romania, Germany and Italy. Read more

Ernst & Young: UAE, Saudi Arabia to lead MENA's generation of renewable energy

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:06 (Solarserver)

On December 16th, 2012, Ernst & Young announced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia as the new entrants from the MENA region to Ernst & Young's Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices (CAI). The indices scores 40 countries across the globe on the attractiveness of their renewable energy markets, energy infrastructure and the suitability for individual technologies. Read more

IRELP Portal to Facilitate Education and Training in Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In the wake of the financial crisis, global unemployment rates have hit 6% with no improvement projected until after 2016. Recent estimates suggest that the most severely affected are today's youth, with their global unemployment rate reaching 12.7%. Even the most educated generation in terms of higher degree attainment, the Millennial Generation born between early 1980s and mid-90s, are struggling to secure employment. Read more

Cap-and-trade systems in California, Quebec linked

Tuesday, 12.18.2012 - 11:49 (Solarserver)

The Canadian Province of Quebec has adopted rules to allow its cap-and-trade system of carbon dioxide regulation to be linked with the system in California. California officials have praised the move, which will allow the two political entities to create a regional greenhouse gas trading system. California's Air Resource Board will now request California Governor "Jerry" Brown to review Quebec's program and the linkage, as required by law. Read more