Swiss equity firm Capital Dynamics acquires 5.7 MW PV project in Massachusetts

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 20:57 (Solarserver)

On February 2nd, 2012, private equity firm Capital Dynamics (Zug, Switzerland) announced that it has acquired a 5.7 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Massachusetts, U.S. The company did not disclose the financial terms. The solar project will utilize more than 20,000 PV modules and is expected to be one of the largest solar energy plants in the New England states. The solar facility will sell the electricity to three investment-grade rated municipal entities under 20-year net metering credit agreements (NMCA). Read more

Feed-in tariff cuts affect global inverter shipments in 2011

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:12 (Solarpowerportal)

A new report from research firm IHS has found that success in the global inverter market dipped slightly in 2011 due to feed-in tariff cuts in several leading solar markets. The PV Inverters: Surviving the Storm report states that despite long-term growth prospects, shipments of PV inverters last year fell to the equivalent of 23.4GW, down 1 percent from 23.6GW in 2010. Read more

PV inverter shipments to reach 52GW in 2014, says IHS iSuppli

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:12 (PV-Tech)

PV inverter shipments may have dipped slightly in 2011, according to IHS PV Inverter Market Tracker report, yet shipments are expected to more than double to 52GW in 2015. Shipments of PV inverters fell to the equivalent of 23.4GW in 2011, down 1% from 23.6GW in 2010, according to the market research firm. Read more

PV inverter shipments to reach 52GW in 2014, says IHS

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:12 (PV-Tech)

PV inverter shipments may have dipped slightly in 2011, according to IHS PV Inverter Market Tracker report, yet shipments are expected to more than double to 52GW in 2015. Shipments of PV inverters fell to the equivalent of 23.4GW in 2011, down 1% from 23.6GW in 2010, according to the market research firm. Read more

Jobs lost as Sanyo decides to shut down California factory

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 15:14 (PV-Tech)

Falling solar panels and raw materials prices will be claiming 140 jobs at Sanyo Electric?s solar wafer factory in Carson, California, as it prepares to start up operations at a plant in Malaysia. The plant, opened in 2003, makes the equivalent of 30MW of silicon ingots and wafers for solar cells each year and is expected to close in October. Read more

Alta Devices reaches 23.5% GaAs PV panel efficiency certified by NREL

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:51 (Solarserver)

On February 6th, 2012 Alta Devices (Santa Clara, Calif.) announced that its solar photovoltaic (PV) panel has been verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at 23.5% efficiency. This PV panel efficiency demonstrates Alta?s progress toward its objective of developing PV solutions that are competitive, without subsidies, with fossil fuels, the company emphasizes. Read more

Meyer Burger 2011 sales reach CHF 1.3 billion

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:32 (PV-Tech)

Major PV equipment supplier, Meyer Burger posted preliminary results inline with guidance. The company posted revenue of CHF 1.3 billion, up approximately 45% for the prior year. Though the consolidation of Roth & Rau had only a small impact at the EBITDA level the losses at Roth & Rau in 2011 could negatively impact at the EBIT level, by as much as 10%. Read more

Meyer Burger 2011 sales reach CHF1.3 billion

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:32 (PV-Tech)

Major PV equipment supplier, Meyer Burger posted preliminary results inline with guidance. The company posted revenue of CHF 1.3 billion, up approximately 45% for the prior year. Though the consolidation of Roth & Rau had only a small impact at the EBITDA level the losses at Roth & Rau in 2011 could negatively impact at the EBIT level, by as much as 10%. Read more

What's Driving North America's Solar PV Market in 2012?

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 21:02 (Renewable Energy World)

The North American solar photovoltaic (PV) market tacked on nearly another full gigawatt (GW) of installations in 4Q11, echoing a late-year surge seen in other markets (), says NPD Solarbuzz. New Jersey, California, Arizona, and Ontario accounted for two-thirds of that demand; more than half (59 percent) was for large-scale ground-mount systems. Read more

Ascent Solar names Victor Lee as president, CEO

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 20:35 (Solarserver)

On February 1st, 2012, Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (Thornton, Colorado, U.S.) announced that it has appointed Victor Lee as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Lee will take on his new role voluntarily without any compensation, the company reports. He will focus on ramping up production, establishing relationships with partners, and developing sales opportunities primarily in Asia. Read more

New Energy Secretary, Ed Davey is urged to safeguard the UK solar future

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 19:05 (Solarpowerportal)

With just two days to go before Government announces the results of the feed-in tariff consultation: phase 1, Friends of the Earth (FoE) has urged the new Energy Secretary, Ed Davey, to announce steps to safeguard the 29,000 solar jobs “currently threatened by disastrous Government proposals to reform the solar subsidy scheme.” Read more

Ed Davey is urged to safeguard the UK solar future

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 19:05 (Solarpowerportal)

With just two days to go before Government announces the results of the feed-in tariff consultation: phase 1, Friends of the Earth (FoE) has urged the new Energy Secretary, Ed Davey, to announce steps to safeguard the 29,000 solar jobs “currently threatened by disastrous Government proposals to reform the solar subsidy scheme.” Read more

Don't Count Out Solar Water Heating, It's a $123 Billion Dollar Market

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 18:17 (Renewable Energy World)

According to a new SEPA report titled “Heating Up: The Impact of Third Party Business Models on the US Market for Solar Water and Space Heating,” Sixteen percent of the 110 million U.S. households are suitable for solar thermal systems, also referred to as solar domestic hot water systems. The report states that at given Read more

UK homeowners could save 60% on energy bills by installing solar

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:41 (Solarpowerportal)

A recent study conducted by A Shade Greener has found that by installing solar panels a typical family in the UK could be saving on average of more than a third on their energy bills. The study, based on actual householders' energy usage after installing solar panels, has shown that electricity bills were on average reduced by 37 percent. Read more

OPEL Technologies announces management change

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:29 (PV-Tech)

The chief operating officer of OPEL Solar has returned to retirement, citing the recent success and continued market growth the company has seen lately as his reason. Francisco Middleton came out of retirement in 2006 to develop the company?s HCPV technology and universal solar tracking systems. Read more

AUO successfully acquires 9MW solar power project in Pennsylvania, US

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 16:05 (PV-Tech)

Having achieved full capacity in its Czech plant, AU Optronics has turned to the US market to provide US-made solar modules and customized services, leading to the acquisition of a 9MW solar power project in the Pennsylvania School district. The company claims this will the largest solar power plant in Pennsylvania as well as one of the largest school district projects nationwide. Read more

Abound Solar produces 12.2 percent aperture efficiency, 82.8W thin film PV module

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 13:17 (Solarserver)

Abound Solar (Loveland, Colo.), manufacturer of thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic (PV) modules, on February 7th, 2012 announced the production of 82.8W modules at their Longmont, Colorado, USA factory. The 82.8W module represents a 12.2 percent aperture efficiency and is being verified by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Read more

AUO to provide US-made solar solutions; 9 MW PV project in Pennsylvania School District successfully acquired

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 13:17 (Solarserver)

Solar solutions provider AU Optronics (AUO, Hsinchu, Taiwan) on February 7th, 2012 announced that it is ready to provide its customers with US-made solar photovoltaic (PV) products. The progress enriches AUO?s global solar module capacity to span across Europe, America, and Asia, the company emphasizes. It also makes AUO one of the few international suppliers capable of offering US-made solar solutions. Read more

Lawsuit filed to halt Riverside County Sun Tax; solar industry associations call county solar policy illegal

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 13:17 (Solarserver)

The Independent Energy Producers Association (IEP, Indio, Calif.) and the Large-scale Solar Association (LSA) have filed a lawsuit in Riverside County Superior Court asking the court to invalidate the county's Board Policy B-29, commonly known as the "Sun Tax". The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in Riverside County's Desert Judicial District, alleges that the Sun Tax is illegal in that it violates California Proposition 26 and fails to conform to the California Mitigation Fee Act. Read more

SolarWorld AG passes the 95 percent threshold of shares in Solarparc AG

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:35 (Solarserver)

PV producer SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) has exceed a 95 percent threshold of shares in project developer Solarparc AG and will now realize the full integration of Solarparc AG into the SolarWorld Group. Pursuant to Section 327a et seg. of the German Stock Corporation Act, the Management Board of SolarWorld AG will propose the acquisition of all remaining minority shares at the next Annual General Meeting. Read more

BP fails to meet financing deadline for Australian solar fund bid

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:16 (PV-Tech)

Europe?s second-largest oil company, British Petroleum (BP), has failed to meet a financing deadline despite today?s announcement that the company has raised dividends to shareholders by 14%. The Australian government has reopened a solar funding competition to AGL Energy, TRUenergy and Suntech Power, to construct the Moree solar farm in New South Wales. Read more

Abound Solar claims CdTe thin-film modules with 12%-plus efficiency coming soon

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:06 (PV-Tech)

Although new conversion efficiencies have yet to be ratified by the U.S. Department of Energy?s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Abound Solar would seem to have caught-up with CdTe thin-film leader, First Solar. It may have an enormous task to close the gap on manufacturing metrics, but aperture area efficiencies of 12.2%, generating modules with 82.8W specification on existing production equipment is a good start. First Solar reached volume production of modules with an average efficiency of 11.7% in 2011. Read more

Parabel finalizes design for 100MW solar park in Germany

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 11:36 (PV-Tech)

Initiated this time last year, Parabel has now finalized the design for the 100MW solar park on parts of the former Jännersdorf military training area in Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany. The Marienfliess Solar Cluster is to be constructed in several phases, to begin at the end of this month, on 430 hectares of land, with completion expected in 2013. There will be four construction sites near Jännersdorf and further east, two sites in Krempendorf. Read more

What Happened to Lake Delhi Dam?

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Record rainfall, faulty gates and inherent design issues contributed to the July 2010 breach of Iowa's Delhi Dam, investigators found. The overtopping caused the earthen embankment to erode and eventually emptied Lake Delhi, causing millions in property damage. Read more

TRITEC FRANCE realizes 2.5 MW PV plant on green houses in Montélimar

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 21:04 (Solarserver)

With the help of its installation partners (GPVL and SUDELIO) TRITEC FRANCE recently completed a turn-key 2.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) system atop of a greenhouse. After 2 years of engineering and 6 months of work on site this power generator with an area of 40,000 m² will produce 3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of solar electricity per year, the equivalent to the power consumption of 2,000 persons and eliminating 81 kg of highly radioactive waste over a course of 30 years. Read more

Bloomberg New Energy Finance: Indian clean energy investments hits USD 10.3 billion mark in 2011

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 20:46 (Solarserver)

On February 2nd, 2012, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, London, England) reported that clean energy investments in India reached USD 10.3 billion in 2011, about 52% more than the USD 6.8 billion invested in 2010. Due to BNEF this represents the highest growth figure of any significant economy in the world. Read more

Opus Energy launches NVQ Apprenticeship Scheme

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 18:32 (Solarpowerportal)

To mark the beginning of National Apprentice Week, Opus Energy has announced the launch of a bespoke NVQ Apprenticeship Scheme. Read more

Labour accuses Government of undermining green investor confidence

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 17:13 (Solarpowerportal)

Caroline Flint, the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, today warned that “a new energy industrial revolution beckons, and our country must embrace it without delay,” during a speech to the Aldersgate Group, a coalition of environment agencies, NGOs, think tanks and industry representatives. Read more

Pathways and Challenges to Institutional Development of On-Site Clean Energy

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Institutions seeking to deploy on-site clean energy solutions are facing a number of challenging questions:  How can solutions be deployed under tight budget constraints, with a minimum of upfront cost? What deal and financing structures are available to non-tax paying institutions?  Is it best to build and own a system internally, or use Read more

Tianwei gives loan extensions to Hoku

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:52 (PV-Tech)

Struggling to complete and start polysilicon production at its first facility in Pocatello, Idaho, Hoku has received another financial life-line with major investor, Tianwei New Energy agreeing to extend loan payment terms of US$50 million to potentially to the first quarter of 2014. Two loans, totalling US$50 million were due to be repaid to Tianwei this quarter as polysilicon production would have already been started but delays, often financial-based have dogged the project from the start. Read more

UK greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3.1 percent in 2010

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 12:49 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has published its final estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions for 2010. Read more

New research shows 46 percent of SME electricity use happens outside of business hours

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 11:58 (Solarpowerportal)

British Gas will today launch a new service designed to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) save the energy used after staff have left for the day. According to new research, businesses are spending up to £1 in every £2 of their electricity bills on powering an empty workplace. Read more

Local networks review to meet low carbon challenge

Tuesday, 2.7.2012 - 11:17 (Solarpowerportal)

Ofgem has launched the next electricity distribution price control review. The review is the first under the new ‘setting Revenue and Incentives to deliver Innovations and Outputs (RIIO)’ framework. Read more