Burgeoning Chinese market creates new opportunities for inverter manufacturers

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 18:31 (PV-Tech)

A recent report released by IMS Research shows that the Chinese PV inverter market has grown by more than 400% in 2011, exceeding 2.4GW in global shipments. The extraordinary rate of growth has been attributed to China?s introduction of a national FiT incentive scheme in July 2011. The report also revealed that 80% of inverter shipments came from the 10 largest suppliers, nine of which were Chinese. Italian inverter producer Elettronica Santerno was the only non Chinese company on the list. Read more

UK FiT Adjustments Back On Track After Supreme Court Rejection

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 18:04 (Renewable Energy World)

The UK Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the government's final appeal over the legality of its premature reductions to the existing feed-in tariff (FiT) program, which were challenged by the industry as overstepping its bounds. Read more

SEPA awards Rosendin Project of Distinction Award for Arizona Western College PV project

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 13:46 (Solarserver)

On March 23rd, 2012, Rosendin Electric (San José, California, U.S.) announced that it has received one of three PV Project of Distinction Awards from the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) for the design and construction of an innovative solar photovoltaic (PV) array at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona. Read more

Wattminder rolls out free analytic tool for PV array performance

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 13:25 (Solarserver)

On March 24th, 2012, Wattminder (Sunnyvale, California) announced that it has introduced a free analytic tool for the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations. The company developed and offered to the public www.pvmonitor.net, as an on-demand, photovoltaic (PV) performance benchmark calculator. Read more

Conergy supplies 1MW of energy to Spanish rooftop installation

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 13:06 (PV-Tech)

Conergy has announced its involvement in a third solar project in Spain. After the PV systems supplier recently connected a 5.3MW solar plant in Murcia to the grid and sold another 2.3MW solar park in Andalucía, Ennera has commenced construction of a 1MW PV project in Beasain, Basque Country. Read more

European Photovoltaic Industry Association elects Winfried Hoffman as president

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 10:24 (Solarserver)

On March 22nd, 2012 the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) announced that it has elected Dr. Winfried Hoffmann as the new president of the organization, and Jerry Stokes as director on the organization's eight-member board. Dr. Hoffmann formerly served as EPIA vice-president, and currently serves on the supervisory board of SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany). EPIA describes Dr. Hoffman as a pioneer in the PV industry, with more than 30 years of experience. Read more

ESA receives approval of feasibility study for 20 MW Pennsylvania PV plant

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 10:15 (Solarserver)

On March 24th, 2012 ESA Renewables (Lake Mary, Florida, U.S.) announced that it has received utility approval of the feasibility study for its 20 MW Claysville solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The project will include twenty 1-MW PV plants, each with a 1 MVA step-up transformer. ESA notes that the study indicates that there will be no environmental impacts associated with the project. Read more

PV Cycle unveils Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment compliance roadmap

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 10:03 (Solarserver)

On March 21st, 2012, PV Cycle (Brussels, Belgium), Europe?s only fully operational, collective take-back and recycling service for end-of-life solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced that it has presented its Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)-compliance roadmap at its 2012 annual general meeting. Read more

PV producer Silfab and ISC Konstanz announce achievement of 21 % high-efficiency back-contact solar cell

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 9:51 (Solarserver)

As a result of the R&D partnership on Interdigitated Back-Contact Cells (IBC) between Silfab SpA (Padua, Italy) and ISC Konstanz (Germany), a 21% energy conversion efficiency has been achieved on monocrystalline silicon large area solar cells, with a potential to exceed 24%. This result is particularly important because it has been obtained with a standard industrial low cost process. This technology breakthrough was announced on March 26, 2012 by Silfab SpA, a solar provider based in Italy and Canada, and the International Solar Energy Research - ISC Konstanz (Germany). Read more

Phase Out Solar Subsidies, But Gradually

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 19:17 (Renewable Energy World)

The general public was allowed to attend the final day of PV America West 2012 (Wednesday March 21), which resulted in a very different crowd than the usual industry insiders that dominated the show's first two days. At our booth we saw quite a few more local installers from the Bay Area, most of whom were focused on residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. During the course of the day we had several interesting conversations with contractors and electricians interested in expanding their businesses into solar energy, and learning more about new PV system technologies, such as distributed electronics. Read more

China dominates top ten global solar manufacturers

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 17:54 (PV-Tech)

PHOTON International?s annual market survey reveals six out of the top ten global solar manufacturers are Chinese. Suntech Power won first place for the second year running. In 2008, only 33% of solar cells were produced in China, whereas presently, the country makes over 57%. However, for the first time, European and Japanese manufacturers did not appear in the top ten. Read more

AES Ilumina begins construction of 24MW Puerto Rican PV plant

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 17:51 (PV-Tech)

Puerto Rican company AES Ilumina, a subsidiary of AES Solar, has announced the construction of a 24MW solar power plant in Guayama, Puerto Rico, the first utility-scale plant on the Caribbean island. Read more

A STAR Institute of Microelectronics and Picosun Oy to partner on new ALD technique development

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 17:46 (PV-Tech)

Research organization A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) will join forces with Finnish atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment manufacturer Picosun Oy to create new innovative ALD and plasma-enhanced ALD techniques. It is hoped that these new techniques will facilitate continual growth in the solar and next-generation memory sectors. Read more

Solar Fred Tip: Top 10 Residential Solar FAQs That Should Be on Every Website

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 17:00 (Renewable Energy World)

I’m amazed when I see a solar website without a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page. Sadly, we live in short-attention span world where consumers want quick answers to the most obvious questions — even when the answers aren’t so obvious or simple. Nevertheless, if visitors don’t find the answers to their questions o Read more

NPD Solarbuzz predicts sharp fall in polysilicon, wafer revenues in 2012, rise of cast-mono wafers

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 15:54 (Solarserver)

On March 26th, 2012 NPD Solarbuzz Inc. (San Francisco, California, U.S.) released an analysis of the polysilicon and silicon wafer sectors of the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, which predicts that global aggregate polysilicon revenues will fall 35% and PV wafer revenues a further 47% in 2012 The company's Polysilicon and Wafer Supply Chain Quarterly states that an oversupply of both products is causing less competitive manufacturers to close factories and reduce utilization. The report also predicts that cast-mono wafers will increase in popularity, growing from 8% of wafer production at 2.4 GW in 2012 to more than 25% of all wafers in 2016. Read more

Solar PV in the Western US: Movement for Sustainable Distributed Generation Markets

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Historically, effectively identifying growth opportunities in solar PV required vigilant monitoring of local and national policies. While this approach remains essential, there is a fundamental change that is taking place. Increasingly, project economics - even in the absence of new policies ? are driving distributed generation (DG) market opportunities. To stay abreast of this change, stakeholders will need to change their approach to analytics. Read more

Chinese solar stocks climb despite US tariffs

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 12:16 (PV-Tech)

Market research company, Five Star Equities, has released figures showing last week?s determination from the US Department of Commerce putting up barriers against Chinese manufacturers, had a negligible effect on solar stocks. Read more

NexPower supplies 10MW to New Jersey solar project

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 12:13 (PV-Tech)

NexPower Technology, Taiwan-based thin film manufacturer, is supplying thin film modules to one of the largest PV projects in the New Jersey area, a ground mounted installation generating 10MW of energy. Construction is expected to begin soon. Read more

DuPont and Trina Solar to collaborate on R & D efforts

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 11:55 (PV-Tech)

DuPont will be supplying its polyvinyl fluoride films to another Chinese company: Changzhou Trina Solar Energy, a subsidiary of Trina Solar. The companies will collaborate on research and development efforts to advance the efficiency and lifetime of solar cells and modules alongside lowering levelized cost of PV energy. Read more

684kW Schott Solar installation begins production at US Army base

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 11:35 (PV-Tech)

A 684kW PV system for Fort Hood?s Liberty Village military housing has been activated, the US Army base?s leadership announced.  Axium Solar installed the 3,000 Schott Solar ground mounted PV panels on a four-acre site. Universal Services Fort Hood (USFH) owns the project, which it also funded with US$3 million and will operate and maintain the installation. Read more

DECC launches second phase of Renewable Heat Premium Payment, will review RHI budget

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 9:41 (Solarserver)

On March 26th, 2012 the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced that it will launch a second phase of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) program on April 2nd, 2012, including an increase in the program's budget to GBP 25 million (USD 40 million). The program includes a GBP 300 (USD 480) rebate on purchases of solar thermal systems, as well as rebates for other technologies. Also on March 26th, 2012, the DECC announced budget consultations for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) program. Read more

Most Brits are concerned about where their energy comes from

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 17:09 (Solarpowerportal)

According to the latest research from YouGov, 71 percent of UK consumers are concerned about where their energy is sourced. The data, which was released today by 100 percent renewable energy provider Good Energy, is based on responses from 2,100 adults in February 2012. Read more

Solea constructs 7.7MW PV plant and commences production in record time

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 16:59 (PV-Tech)

German EPC company Solea has developed and completed construction of a 7.7MW ground-mounted PV project in record time. On February 23, the German federal environmental ministry released a proposal for its new renewable energy laws, including cuts in FiTs by 30%, effective March 8, 2012. Read more

Queensland premier to abolish AUD$350 million of environment funds

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 15:46 (PV-Tech)

Newly elected Queensland state premier Campbell Newman is rapidly moving ahead with its decision to abolish eight of Labor?s environment funds worth AUD$350 million. The affect of the state election could be seen as devastating, more so because Prime Minister Julia Gillard intends to make headway on climate reform. Read more

MEI unveils new wet process polysilicon production system

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 15:37 (Solarserver)

On March 26th, 2012 MEI LLC (Albany, Oregon, U.S.) announced that it has developed a new wet processing system for the production of electronic-grade polysilicon which it says offers reduced energy use and manufacturing footprint. MEI states that its Pura process involves the drying of tiny granular material, reducing energy consumption over other wet-processing and drying systems by 70-80% or more and saving manufacturing floor space by more than 60%. The system is currently commercially available, and MEI also offers large-scale test runs for potential customers. Read more

Will EU Countries Reach 2020 Renewable Energy Targets?

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The EWEA blog caught up with Emmanuelle Raoult, Chair of an EWEA 2012 session which delves into Europe’s progress on meeting the 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 target, to find out the current state of play: What are National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) and why are they important? NREAPs are detailed roadmaps of how ea Read more

Salamon to partner with DayStar over Australian Eco Energy acquisition

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 14:09 (Solarserver)

On March 23rd, 2012, Salamon Group Inc. (Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.) announced that its Sunlogics Power subsidiary will partner with Daystar Technologies Inc. for the acquisition of Eco Energy Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd. Eco Energy Solutions specializes in the design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of solar photovoltaic (PV), solar hot water, wind turbine and micro/ mini hydro projects. Read more

Frost & Sullivan: Renewable energy development to back Moroccan electricity industry growth

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 13:35 (Solarserver)

On March 22nd, 2012, Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, California, U.S.) has released a report on the Moroccan electricity market, which states that surging demand and a strong need to reduce dependency from expensive coal and oil imports have motivated the recent development of the renewable energy sector in the country. Read more

Green business set to open on Doncaster high street

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 13:23 (Solarpowerportal)

Greenbuy Energy will officially open its Doncaster-based showroom on March 29. The green energy firm hopes that the showroom will help educate the public about the benefits of renewable energy. Read more

Part 1: Lots at Stake in the US as Energy Takes Political Spotlight

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 12:35 (Renewable Energy World)

At this point, it would have been easy for President Obama to distance himself from solar energy, wind power, algal biofuels or any other technology that's held up as proof that the government should have a hands-off strategy to clean energy. Read more

DECC consults on RHI cost control mechanism

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 11:56 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has published a consultation on a proposed cost control mechanism for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The proposed measure would suspend the RHI scheme once the annual budget is breached until the next financial year. Read more

Scotland?s renewable industry employs more than 11,000

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 10:52 (Solarpowerportal)

A comprehensive new report by Scottish renewables has revealed that more than 11,000 people are employed in the renewable energy sector in Scotland. The study entitled, ?Delivering the Ambition: employment in renewable energy in Scotland? uncovers the true scale of Scotland?s renewable energy industry and its worth to the economy. Read more

Utah law allows sale of power from renewable energy facilities to consumers

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 10:13 (Solarserver)

On March 19th, 2012 the governor of the U.S. state of Utah signed legislation that allows non-utility consumers to purchase and transmit electricity from renewable energy generation. eBay states that it collaborated with Utah State Senator Mark Madsen and an association of data center professionals to craft and pass SB 12. The law will allow eBay to incorporate renewable energy generation into new data centers in the state, and will go into effect in the summer of 2012. Read more

Eurus Energy secures land for 30-40 MW PV plant in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Tuesday, 3.27.2012 - 9:34 (Solarserver)

On March 22nd, 2012 Eurus Energy Group (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has arrived at an agreement with a landowner's group in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, to give priority to the establishment of a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on a vacant lot. Eurus Energy is planning a 30-40 MW PV plant on the 60 hectare site, which is owned by the Tsuna Development Association and which originally served as a landfill area for the Kansai Airport. The company expects to commission the plant in mid-2013. Read more