Eight19 now operating pay-as-you-go off-grid PV system in 4 countries

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 18:48 (PV-Tech)

South Sudan, via collaboration with international charitable organisation, WorldVenture is the fourth country in which Eight19 is now operating its pay-as-you-go off-grid PV system. The plan is to deploy 1000 units in the first half of 2012 in South Sudan and a total of 3,000 units of its small flexible OPV modules in Kenya, Zambia and Malawi. Read more

Eight19 now operating pay-as-you-go off-grid PV system in four countries

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 18:48 (PV-Tech)

Through collaboration with international charitable organization WorldVenture, South Sudan is now the fourth country in which Eight19?s pay-as-you-go off-grid PV system is in operation. The plan is to deploy 1,000 units in the first half of 2012 in South Sudan and a total of 3,000 units of its small flexible OPV modules in Kenya, Zambia and Malawi. Read more

Will Italy's FiTs Survive the Fall of Berlusconi?

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Never one to do anything by half-measures, a somewhat surprising legacy of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government has been to send installed capacity in Italy's photovoltaic (PV) market soaring through the roof. Reacting to a resounding public vote against nuclear power in 2011, a fourth edition of feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) was announced for the sector and though somewhat reduced, they were still high enough to keep Italy's "PV counter" ticking faster than ever. Read more

PROINSO supplies modules, inverters to ten 50 MW PV plants in Colombia

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:28 (Solarserver)

On February 20th, 2012 PROINSO SL (Fustiñana, Spain) announced that it has supplied solar photovoltaic (PV) materials including PV modules and inverters to 10 PV plants at 50 MW each in several regions of Colombia. PROINSO states that it delivered the modules and SMA inverters to PV plants in Bogotá, Colombia and surrounding areas. The company counts six installers in its global network of Qualified Installers in the nation. Read more

Schletter introduces new 2.5 kW FS Kits for ground-mount PV systems

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:18 (Solarserver)

On February 16th, 2012, Schletter (Tucson, Arizona, U.S.) announced that it has introduced a new 2.5 kW FS Kit for residential and small commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) applications. The FS System is used in some of the world?s largest, most robust ground mount installations. The new FS Kit utilizes the same quality system, but on a smaller scale, the company emphasizes. Read more

Sunways sales almost halved in 2011 despite Q4 record module shipments

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 11:45 (PV-Tech)

Weak demand that continued until the fourth quarter of 2011 led to Sunways sales annual sales decline by almost 50%, compared to 2010. Record module shipments in the fourth quarter did little to dent the revenue declines as ASPs declined significantly compared to the prior year period. Preliminary full-year 2011 results show sales of ?115.4 million, compared to ?222.7 million in 2010. Read more

Chinese Tier-2 Modules Offered Below $1/W

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 6:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Prices for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules fell below the $1/W mark in January 2012, and in some cases well below even that, marking the first time that global average prices have fallen below this milestone, according to IMS Research. Read more

Apple Tips Plans For Solar, Biogas Systems at NC Data Farm

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 19:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Last year Apple commissioned its new 500,000 acre data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The facility, costing an estimated $1 billion facility to build, is the company's biggest data center several times over, aimed to support everything from iTunes to its iCloud services to the Siri voice functionality in the iPhone 4S. Read more

Tenesol working on a ?4.5 million solar telecoms project in Morocco

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 19:30 (PV-Tech)

Following-on from a ?25 million project partnership between Tenesol and Morocco?s National Electricity Office for PV power systems to be deployed across 26,000 rural homes in Morocco, the SunPower subsidiary is also currently working on a ?4.5 million solar telecoms project in Morocco. The company is supplying more than 4,500 PV panels to Maroc Telecom for use at 42 sites across the country. Overall, Tenesol claims to have installed 3,000 systems for the telecoms industry. Read more

Eight19 brings pay as you go solar to South Sudan

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 18:30 (Solarpowerportal)

Eight19, has launched its innovative IndiGo pay-as-you-go personal solar electricity system in South Sudan following the successful rollout in Kenya last year. Read more

Apple to construct 42 million kWh plant in North Carolina, US

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 17:57 (PV-Tech)

Apple has announced in its Facilities Report it is to construct the largest end user owned, onsite solar array in the US. Read more

Apple to construct 20MW plant in North Carolina, US

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 17:57 (PV-Tech)

Apple has announced in its Facilities Report it is to construct the largest end user owned, onsite solar array in the US. Read more

Largest-ever OPV module created at NREL?s labs

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 17:40 (PV-Tech)

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has, in collaboration with New Energy Technologies, produced the world?s largest-area OPV module ever at 170cm2. The companies? engineers have worked together on developing New Energy?s SolarWindow technology that allows the generation of electricity on see-through glass windows. Read more

Solar Plaza: Belgium installs 880 MW of new PV in 2011

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 16:11 (Solarserver)

Solar Plaza (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) has released an estimate that Belgium installed 880 MW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2011, a record for the nation. The company states that Belgium expects similar growth in 2012. Solar Plaza states that with this new capacity, the nation has the second-highest installed PV capacity per capita in the world, after Germany. Solar Plaza cites industry figures who note that this development comes despite warnings that the PV market would decline in 2011 due to subsidy cuts. Read more

The "Power Behind the Panel" Getting More In Front: Trina Launches New Solar Advocacy and PR Campaign with Patrick Dempsey

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Last week, Trina invited me and about 100 other guests to a private Beverly Hills home where Mark Kingsley, Trina’s Chief Commercial Officer (pictured below), and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey unveiled “15 Minutes,” a new solar PR and advocacy campaign. The invited guests included solar professionals and solar ad Read more

Trina Launches New Solar Advocacy and PR Campaign with Patrick Dempsey

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The "Power Behind the Panel" is getting more in front. Last week, Trina Solar invited me and about 100 other guests to a private Beverly Hills home where Mark Kingsley, Trina’s Chief Commercial Officer (pictured below), and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey unveiled “15 Minutes,” a new solar PR and advocacy campaign. Read more

U.K. obtains French support to expand nuclear industry

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:36 (Solarserver)

On February 17th, 2012 The U.K. Government announced agreements for French cooperation to grow the nation's nuclear power industry, in a meeting between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. In public statements, the Government is attempting to cast expanding the nuclear industry as building the green economy. However, this focus on nuclear power comes in sharp contrast to the ruling Conservative Party leadership's frequent conflicts with the U.K. solar industry. Read more

First Solar chairman among three new executives in leadership of Advanced Energy Economy

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:12 (Solarserver)

On February 16th, 2012, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE, San Francisco, California, U.S.), a national business organization promoting U.S. companies as global suppliers of innovative energy technologies and solutions, announced the addition of First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.), Duke Energy Corp. (Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.) and Wind Capital Group (Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.) executives to its board of directors. Read more

ESU completes sale of 3.7MW installations beating UK FiT

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:02 (PV-Tech)

Europe Solar Utility (ESU) has announced the sale of one of the last solar PV installations to be completed under the UK?s previous feed-in tariff, to an undisclosed investor. The three installations, which total 3.7MW, have been built on land owned by water regulator Thames Water. The area is equivalent to ten football pitches and will generate up to 3,500MWh ? enough to run around 750 homes, saving Thames Water around £100,000 a year. Read more

ESU, Thames Water and Ennoviga construct 3.7MW installations beating UK FiT

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:02 (PV-Tech)

Europe Solar Utility (ESU) has announced the sale of one of the last solar PV installations to be completed to be completed under the UK?s previous feed-in tariff to Ennoviga Solar. The three installations, which total 3.7MW, have been built on land owned by water regulator Thames Water. The area is equivalent to ten football pitches and will generate up to 3,500MWh ? enough to run around 750 homes, saving Thames Water around £100,000 a year. Read more

Solar industry slams ?misguided? Supreme Court appeal

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:47 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has announced that it is seeking permission to appeal in the Supreme Court the Judicial Review ruling that the department’s attempts to make retrospective changes to the FiT were “legally flawed”. Read more

Five years of the Intersolar Award: Application process for 2012 underway; innovation award for the solar industry to debut "Solar Projects" awards

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:40 (Solarserver)

From February 1st to March 30th, Intersolar exhibitors can apply for the 2012 Intersolar AWARD. The winners are international companies who have proved their innovative strength with outstanding services and products. The 5th anniversary will see the jury once again award up to three winners from the categories of "Photovoltaics", "Solar Thermal Technology" and "PV Production Technology". For the first time, exhibitors from Intersolar China are invited to put forward their applications alongside exhibitors from Intersolar Europe in Munich, Intersolar North America in San Francisco and Intersolar India in Mumbai. Read more

BioSolar claims first customer prepping its backsheet material for recertification by UL

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:36 (PV-Tech)

Bio-based PV module backsheet developer, BioSolar claims that a customer is preparing a batch of solar panels with its ?BioBacksheet? material for full panel recertification by Underwriter?s Laboratories (UL). In March, 2011 the company announced it was supplying sample material for PV module manufacturers based in Asia for evaluation. Read more

EDF Energies Nouvelles commissions 692 MW of new capacity in 2011; wind and solar generation contributed to a 17% increase in the division's EBITDA

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:24 (Solarserver)

In its release of 2011 financial results, EDF SA (Courbevoie, France) reported that its renewable energy division, EDF Energies Nouvelles, commissioned 692 MW of new electricity generation capacity during the year. EDF did not provide a breakdown by technology, but noted that wind and solar generation contributed to a 17% increase in the division's EBITDA in 2011. The company also notes that the economic crisis affected renewable energy development in Southern Europe. Read more

Gehrlicher Solar and Masdar PV complete 7.7kWp roof-top installation in Belgium

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:22 (PV-Tech)

The coalition of Masdar PV and Gehrlicher Solar has completed a 7.7kWp roof-top installation in Belgium, claimed to be the second of its kind, for French company InnoVent. Read more

Isofoton enters F1 visor sponsorship deal with Mercedes AMG Petronas

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Mercedes AMG Petronas has, on the day it launches its new F1 W03 car, revealed that is has partnered up with Spanish PV cell manufacturer Isofoton for a strategic partnership deal. The agreement will see Isofoton?s branding appear on the helmet visors of Mercedes drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, and is the latest in a spate of sporting sponsorships being entered into by solar PV companies over the past two years. Read more

PV producer Nanosolar secures USD 20 million in new funding

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:13 (Solarserver)

On February 17th, 2012, thin film solar PV manufacturer Nanosolar Inc. (San Jose, California, U.S.) announced that it has closed a USD 20 million funding round. Current investors Mohr Davidow Ventures and OnPoint Technologies, Inc. participated in the round with new investor aeris CAPITAL. Read more

Europe Solar Utility sells 3.7 MW solar installations

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 11:59 (Solarpowerportal)

Europe Solar Utility (ESU) has announced the sale of 3.74MW of operating solar built on land and buildings owned by Thames Water. Read more

Europe Solar Utility sells 3.7MW solar installations

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 11:59 (Solarpowerportal)

Europe Solar Utility (ESU) has announced the sale of 3.74MW of operating solar built on land and buildings owned by Thames Water. Read more

First Solar resolves permitting issue for Antelope Valley Solar One PV plant

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 9:02 (Solarserver)

First Solar (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) has resolved a permitting issue with the County of Los Angeles, California over its 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar One (AVSR) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, according to the company. The resolution of this permitting issue clears the way for the finalization of a USD 646 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee, a condition of the plant's sale to Exelon Corporation (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.). Read more

SEIA petitions FERC to allow for integration of solar through fast track interconnection

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 8:52 (Solarserver)

On February 16th, 2012, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington D.C., U.S.) submitted a petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to increase the amount of solar generation that can be added to the grid under "fast-track" interconnection. Currently, projects can utilize fast track interconnection only if they are less than 2 MW in capacity and the total distributed generation in the area is less than 15% of annual peak load. SEIA has requested an exception to the "15% rule" for solar technologies, stating that this rule has become a barrier to solar market access. Read more

Solar architecture: Ortner Baukunst builds pavilion with Odersun BIPV modules at Potsdam University

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:25 (Solarserver)

On February 17th, 2012, Odersun AG (Frankfurt, Germany) announced that it has supplied its "CISCuT" thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules for a pavilion designed by Ortner + Ortner Baukunst (Berlin, Germany) on the campus of Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. Designed as a ?live gallery?, the 35-meter-long PV pavilion will be used for social events and presentations. Read more

Hoku gets limited concession on power payments for polysilicon plant

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 17:42 (PV-Tech)

The fuss over electricity payments by Hoku Materials to Idaho Power for its polysilicon plant, have been resolved with a reduction in payments through June 30, 2013. With the delayed start-up of the plant due to financial constraints, previously expected power consumption rates by the plant weren?t realised but the utility still claimed for US$2 million a month in payments, previously agreed. The cash strapped firm will now pay approximately US$800,000 per month. Read more

British Gas offers £50 for referring vulnerable individuals in need of free insulation

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 16:30 (Solarpowerportal)

British Gas is offering £50 to anyone who refers vulnerable individuals to British Gas for free loft or cavity wall insulation. Read more

Finding Talent the Creative Way: Are Your Race Horses Pulling Plows?

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

When it comes to hiring, the biggest issue renewable energy employers face today is finding the right engineers with the right skills for their businesses. This can be identified as "talent mismatch," or an imbalance in the labor market between the people applying for positions and the skills required. The very nature of the renewable industry, with its constantly evolving technologies, presents great challenges for employers when it comes to finding the right matches for their mission-critical positions. But there are progressive actions that renewable energy employers can take to secure the right talent for future productivity. In fact, there are three simple considerations: Read more

U.S. DOE awards USD 6.5 million to tribal clean energy projects

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:31 (Solarserver)

On February 16th, 2012, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than USD 6.5 million for 9 clean energy projects that will allow Native American Tribes to advance clean energy within their communities by assessing local energy resources, developing renewable energy projects and deploying clean energy technologies. ?As President Obama highlighted in the State of the Union, the Administration is committed to building an American economy that lasts and leverages our nation?s clean energy resources,? Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. Read more

Pike Research: Renewables integration will provide a key driver for energy storage systems for ancillary grid services

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:19 (Solarserver)

On February 16th, 2012, Pike Research LLC (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.) released a new report stating that the growing need to integrate intermittent renewable sources of energy, particularly solar and wind power, into the power grid will help drive significant growth in energy storage systems (ESS) for ancillary services over the next decade. Read more

The Quiet Clean Mining Revolution

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Few industries have got the black eye, literally and metaphorically, of mining. After centuries of environmental effects ranging from toxic emissions to unsightly tailings ponds, acid mine drainage, massive energy consumption and other impacts, mining is slowly cleaning up its act. Why? Mostly because new clean technologies are increasing industr Read more

8minutenergy Renewables secures 25-year 200MW supply deal with SDG&E

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 12:18 (PV-Tech)

As part of its utility-scale project pipeline in Imperial Valley, California, 8minutenergy Renewables has signed a 25-year contract to sell 200MW (AC) from the planned Mount Signal Solar project to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). The Mount Signal Solar project is expected to begin supply to SDG&E in mid-2013 and has an 18-month construction time, employing 450 direct jobs and more than 500 indirect jobs in Imperial County. The contract is pending approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. Read more

REA to host British Renewable Energy Awards 2012

Tuesday, 2.21.2012 - 10:55 (Solarpowerportal)

The British Renewable Association (REA) will be hosting the 7th British Renewable Energy Awards at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge, London on June 21, 2012. Read more