All-carbon Solar Cell Harnesses Infrared Light

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 16:20 (Renewable Energy World)

About 40 percent of the solar energy reaching Earth's surface lies in the near-infrared region of the spectrum ? energy that conventional silicon-based solar cells are unable to harness. But a new kind of all-carbon solar cell developed by MIT researchers could tap into that unused energy, opening up the possibility of combination solar cells ? incorporating both traditional silicon-based cells and the new all-carbon cells ? that could make use of almost the entire range of sunlight's energy. Read more

Japan Approves Feed-in Tariffs

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:45 (Renewable Energy World)

Industry Minister Yukio Edano approved Japan's feed-in tariffs for renewable energy on 18 June 2012. The tariffs are among the highest in the world. Read more

HCPV supplier OPEL Technologies continues to execute restructuring plan

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:08 (Solarserver)

OOn June 20th, 2012, OPEL Technologies Inc. (Shelton, Conn., U.S., and Toronto, Ontario, Canada) a global supplier of high concentration photovoltaic ("HCPV") solar panels and solar tracker systems, on November 28th announced that it continues the review and assessment of the OPEL Solar Division. The company this week completed a staff reduction in the solar business as it continues to aggressively reduce costs. The core component of OPEL's strategy going forward is to continue to develop the POET platform, which enables monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit gallium arsenide devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single wafer. Read more

Campbell celebrates completion of 9.8 MW PV plant in Ohio

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:49 (Solarserver)

On June 21st, 2012 Campbell Soup Company (Camden, New Jersey, U.S.) celebrated the completion of a 9.8 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at its factory in Napoleon, Ohio, United States. BNB Renewable Energy Holdings LLC (New York, New York, U.S.) and Enfinity America Corporation (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) co-developed the project, with SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California, U.S.) serving as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The plant uses SunPower T0 trackers and high-efficiency PV modules in its Oasis modular system. Read more

pvXchange is now sologico; the world?s largest brand-independent marketplace for solar modules and inverters is realigning

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 13:31 (Solarserver)

pvXchange (Zug, Switzerland), the leading brand-independent trading platform in the PV industry, will from now on operate under the name sologico. This change in brand reflects the recent strategic realignment and development of the company. Along with the change of name, the company has expanded its portfolio of services and support, and is beginning a new chapter in the company?s history with an updated sales strategy and a completely redesigned website. Read more

TrendForce: Slight increase in wafer, cell prices, 3Q 2012 uncertain

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 8:43 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012 TrendForce Corporation (Taipei City, Taiwan) announced that solar wafer and photovoltaic (PV) cell prices have remained on a slight up-trend from the previous week, but that outlook for the third quarter of 2012 remains uncertain. The company also indicates that PV module prices are continuing to fluctuate, and that polysilicon prices have stayed at between USD 20 and USD 22 per kilogram, with an average price of USD 21.4/kg. Read more

BrightSource Wins Bid for Solar Trust's 500-Megawatt Project

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 18:14 (Renewable Energy World)

BrightSource Energy Inc., the U.S. solar-thermal developer, was the top bidder at an auction today in Delaware to buy an unbuilt California power plant proposed by the bankrupt Solar Trust of America LLC. Read more

First Major U.S. Solar Project Approved on Tribal Land

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 17:49 (Renewable Energy World)

America's push toward large-scale solar took a landmark step in a new direction Thursday when the Obama administration approved a 350-megawatt (MW) PV project on tribal land 30 miles north of Las Vegas. Read more

UK solar market shifts, shows further signs of recovery

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 16:59 (Solarpowerportal)

The most recent monthly installation figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) suggest that the UK solar industry is finally recovering from the disruption experienced at the beginning of this year. Read more

First Solar resumes installation of modules at AV Solar Ranch One

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 16:34 (PV-Tech)

First Solar has reached an agreement regarding the DoE loan funded AV Solar Ranch One in Antelope Valley, the company has announced. The company has resumed the installation of its PV modules at the PV plant after being forced to cease construction in order to deal with module code certification issues. First Solar and the Los Angeles Country Department of Public Works have now reached an agreement about the PV module installation and First Solar is able to continue constructing the 230MW project. Construction of the PV plant began in August 2011 and the project is expected to be completed in 2013. Read more

The Happy Meal of Solar Marketing: Advertising, Social Media, and PR

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 16:00 (Renewable Energy World)

When your little angel tears open the box of mostly edible treats known as ?The Happy Meal,? what she?ll find is a package: You get the cheeseburger, the fries, the chocolate milk, the apple slices, plus that toy. It?s a successful package, and it works. So too is solar marketing, but like the Happy Meal, it?s not often a balanced package. As much Read more

First Solar's New Research Platform: Big News for Intermolecular

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:33 (Renewable Energy World)

Two years ago, it seemed like First Solar (NASD:FSLR) could do no wrong. The company could manufacture it's thin film Cd-Te photovoltaic (PV) cells at a fraction of the price of traditional crystalline silicon (c-Si) cells. First Solar was the first company to break the $1/W barrier for manufacturing cost. Read more

Community Solar: Policies that Go the Distance

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Many individuals want to get into the driver's seat by securing solar photovoltaic (PV) power ? but how do you get into the pole position? By using Community Solar. Read more

Solar Software Challenge: Making Solar Databases Accessible

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The market for software for the renewable energy industry has expanded dramatically during the past 20 years. These days it's not good enough to build a power plant in a sunny part of the world and hope for the best. Read more

Ascent Solar receives order for 50,000 solar PV iPhone chargers

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:58 (Solarserver)

On June 19th, 2012, Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (Thornton, Colorado, U.S.), a developer of flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced that it has received a purchase order for 50,000 units of its EnerPlex solar charger for the Apple iPhone. Read more

UpSolar announces new advertisement design

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:54 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012, Upsolar (Shanghai, China), an international provider of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced that it has selected a new advertisement design. The company held its first advertising design contest in which Nélia Olival of Portugal has declared as the winner for designing a new advertisement design for the company. Read more

Verengo Solar to hire 100 additional employees

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:43 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012, Verengo Solar (Torrance, California, U.S.) announced that it will host a Job Fair at its corporate headquarters on June 23rd, 2012. The company intends to hire 100 employees for positions, including electricians, sales consultants, field market supervisors, canvassers, custom service specialists, solar installers and solar foreman. Read more

Powerstream Solar completes 3 PV plants in Barrie, Ontario

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:38 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012, PowerStream Solar (Concord, Ontario, Canada) announced that it has completed three rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in City of Barrie, Ontario. The company completed a 250 kilowatt (kW) system at the Holly Community Centre; a 75 kW system at the East Bayfield Community Centre; and a 100 kW system at the City of Barrie Parking Garage. Read more

Lark Energy reveals plans for 150-acre solar farm in Suffolk

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 13:52 (Solarpowerportal)

Plans have emerged this week for a 30MW solar farm, intended to be developed on a former RAF airfield in Suffolk. The site, which spans 150-acres, could power the equivalent of 7,000 homes for a full year if permission is granted. Read more

OPIC confirms US$185 million for two 20MW PV plants in Peru

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 13:35 (PV-Tech)

OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) has granted US$185 million to construct two 20MW PV plants in the south of Peru. Private equity firm Conduit Capital Partners will utilize the OPIC funds to construct the Tacna and Panamericana PV plants and, once completed and in operation, feed the generated energy into the Peruvian national grid. Last June OPIC initiated first large scale PV project in Peru, approving US$123 million for the construction of two other solar power plants. The project was named ?2011 Latin American Renewables Deal of the Year? by Euromoney. Read more

Sunora opens new HQ and BOS component assembly fab in Phoenix, Arizona

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

Sunora Energy Solutions has established its new headquarters and solar modular-assembly and fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona. The company?s 58,000-square-foot facility is based in close proximity to its client projects and will allow the company to ensure its fabrication and preassembly of racking systems and proprietary solar arrays is conducted close to where the end products are needed most. Read more

Industry consortium to aid U.S. military in solar thermal adoption

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 12:17 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012 Enerf Institute (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) announced that it will organize a U.S. solar thermal industry consortium to work with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on solar heating for its facilities around the world. Enerf Institute states that the consortium will provide guidance on equipment specifications and standards, contractor qualifications, third-party financing and monitoring practices to build greater confidence for solar heating technology within the DoD. Read more

BrightSource casts successful bid for bankrupt Solar Trust?s 500MW Palen project

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 11:48 (PV-Tech)

Solar thermal project developer BrightSource Energy has placed the top bid for Palen, a 500MW solar thermal plant, at a Delaware auction of property of Solar Trust of America, which went bankrupt in April this year. The as-yet unbuilt solar thermal plant is said to have been bought by BrightSource for an unconfirmed amount of up to US$30 million. Read more

Canadian Solar and SkyPower joint venture acquires 16 Ontario PV projects

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 11:46 (PV-Tech)

Canadian Solar has finalized a purchase transaction of 16 PV projects in Ontario, the company has announced. Canadian Solar purchased the majority interest in the 16 projects with a total capacity of approximately 190-200MW, in a 50:50 joint venture with SkyPower Global. The new joint venture is called CSI SkyPower. Read more

BrightSource acquires Palen CSP project in Solar Trust auction

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 8:45 (Solarserver)

BrightSource Energy Inc. (Oakland, California, U.S.) has been confirmed as the winning bidder for the 484 MW Palen concentrating solar power (CSP) project during Solar Trust of America's LLC's (Oakland, California, U.S.) bankruptcy auction, held on June 21st, 2012. BrightSource states that it will work closely with Solar Trust of America to satisfy customer closing conditions on the project. BrightSource also confirmed that it will use solar power tower technology on the site, which was originally slated for a parabolic trough CSP plant. Read more

Vestas Scraps U.K. Wind-turbine Plant as Industry Seeks Clarity

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 16:33 (Renewable Energy World)

Vestas Wind Systems A/S shelved plans to build one of Europe's largest offshore-turbine factories in southeast England as the wind industry calls for clarity on subsidy programs. Read more

Algeria?s CEEG launches tender invitation for PV projects

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 10:58 (PV-Tech)

Algerian gas and electricity company CEEG has announced that bids are now being taken for the construction of an unspecified number of PV and wind farms in the country. The invitation to tender applies to both national and international bidders. The tenders, which must be submitted 10am local time on July 16, must be accompanied by all required documentation as well as a bank guarantee for ?40,000 or the equivalent in Algerian Dinars. Read more

London hosts 7th annual British Renewable Energy Awards

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 18:20 (Solarpowerportal)

Last night the Renewable Energy Association (REA) held its 7th annual British Renewable Energy Awards in London. Paying tribute to the UK renewable energy industry?s achievements in the last 12 months the event saw more than 300 attendees meet at the boutique Kensington hotel in the Jumeirah Carlton Tower. Read more

Is Ocean Energy More Than "A Very Expensive Hobby"?

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 18:14 (Renewable Energy World)

That was the question posed to industry experts at the EnergyOcean International conference and exhibition that took place in Danvers, Mass., this week. Referring to three levels of development ? Epoch 1, 2, and 3 ? Andrew Tyler, CEO of Marine Current Turbines (MCT), a company now owned by Siemens, gave a few key pointers to companies interested ge Read more

Canadian PV company Day4 Energy announces support agreements

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:01 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012, Day4 Energy Inc. (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) announced that it has received support agreements from shareholders representing about 30.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company, whereby such shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of the arrangement transaction. Read more

Tesla Motors: Automaker or Graphic Novel?

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

One of the hardest parts of blogging about energy storage and vehicle electrification is the inability of some readers to wrap their minds around large numbers. We throw around numbers like thousand, million, billion and even trillion with surprising alacrity, but many fail to grasp their significance because the underlying realities are too big to comprehend. Read more

Who's Paying for the Energiewende?

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

It?s high time to clarify a few things about the raging debate over the steep electricity prices in Germany. They?re being blamed on the Energiewende by its opponents in order to stop or at least slow down Germany's in-progress energy transition. It is not fair. While it is true is that the costs of privileging renewable energy in the overall energ Read more

GCL-Poly and Daqo New Energy entreat MOFCOM to impose CVD and AD duties against US manufacturers

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:37 (PV-Tech)

The largest supplier of polysilicon, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings and Daqo New Energy Corp. are reported by Renewable Energy World to have demanded of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to bear down on US manufacturers as the US Department on Commerce did to Asian manufacturers last month. Read more

GCL-Poly Daqo New Energy entreat MOFCOM to impose CVD and AD duties against US manufacturers

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 14:37 (PV-Tech)

The largest supplier of polysilicon, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings and Daqo New Energy Corp. are reported by Renewable Energy World to have demanded of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to bear down on US manufacturers as the US Department on Commerce did to Asian manufacturers last month. Read more

IRENA, OLADE agreement to map Latin American renewable potential a high point of otherwise weak Rio+20 conference

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 12:38 (Solarserver)

On June 22nd, 2012 the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) conference concluded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While final closing details were not available at press time, the conference appeared to be short on strong, binding joint commitments by governments present. A number of voluntary commitments have been made by national governments and corporations at Rio+20 conference. Also, at the conference the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) partnered to map renewable energy resources in Latin America. Read more

U.K. to require companies to list greenhouse gas emissions levels

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 12:25 (Solarserver)

On June 20th, 2012 U.K. Deputy Prime (PM) Minister Nick Clegg announced that all businesses listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange will have to report their levels of greenhouse gas emissions beginning in April 2013. Deputy PM Clegg made the announcement at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro. The U.K. Government is the first nation to make it compulsory for companies to include emissions data in their annual reports. Read more

Tesla Delivers First $100,000 Model S on Uncertain Demand

Friday, 6.22.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Tesla Motors Inc. survived a cash crisis in 2008 and tomorrow delivers its first electric car designed and built solely in-house. Co-founder Elon Musk will soon learn if there's enough Model S demand for Tesla to profit. Read more