KACO blueplanet three-phase inverters shipping in United States

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 16:43 (Solarserver)

On May 31st, 2012, KACO New Energy Inc. (Grass Valley, California, U.S.) announced that its blueplanet XP10U-H4 10 kW three-phase solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter is now shipping in the United States. The company also states that the Canadian version, the XP10U-H6, will shortly be available. The transformerless inverters offer 97% efficiency, 480 V-AC three-phase output and two DC input channels, as well as UL and CEC listings. Read more

LDK to build 600 MW of PV plants in China

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 15:55 (Solarserver)

On June 4th, 2012 LDK Solar Company Ltd. (Xinyu City, China) announced that it has signed three agreements to construct 600 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in Gansu Province, China. Under the multi-year engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, LDK will build a 200 MW PV plant in Jiuquan City, a 200 MW PV plant in Jayuguan City and a 200 MW PV plant in Zhangye City. Read more

Hanergy in discussions to acquire Q-Cells CIGS thin film subsidiary

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 13:14 (PV-Tech)

Reports have emerged that Hanergy Solar Technology is considering the purchase of Solibro, the CIGS thin-film subsidiary of Q-Cells. Insolvency firm HWW Wienberg Wilhelm, which is administering the bankruptcy proceedings of Q-Cells had said in April that there had been both foreign and domestic interest in acquiring the bankrupt PV manufacturer. Read more

China Sunergy PV modules pass TUEV Rheinland salt mist and corrosion test

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 12:38 (Solarserver)

On May 31st, 2012, China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (Nanjing, China) announced that its mono and poly solar photovoltaic (PV) modules passed the salt mist corrosion and ammonia resistance tests conducted by TUEV Rheinland Group. The tests confirm the superior quality of the company?s modules and highlight their suitability under harsh weather and environmental conditions, such as those experienced in coastal areas and in agricultural areas. Read more

Largest PV project in Pakistan to be built by Conergy

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 11:29 (PV-Tech)

Having scrapped import duties on solar systems, Pakistan could be become a highly viable emerging market for photovoltaics, due to its high insolation values and growing energy demands. Adding to a string of recent PV power plant projects, Conergy is partnering with project developer Ensunt and DACC Power Generation Company (DPGCL) to build a 50MW solar park in Bahawalpur, Cholistan region. Read more

Thin-film Organic Solar PV Maker Konarka Technologies Files for Chapter 7

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 17:18 (Renewable Energy World)

On Friday, Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies, a thin-film solar manufacturing company, announced that it was filing for bankruptcy protection, bringing the total number of solar companies that have gone out of business in the past year to sixteen. Read more

California Energy Commission to approve regulations including "solar-ready roofs"

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 17:16 (Solarserver)

On May 31th, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved energy efficiency standards for new homes and commercial buildings. The new 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards will be effective January 1st, 2014. For residential and nonresidential construction, the new standards include solar-ready roofs to allow homeowners to add solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at a future date. Read more

Save Energy Group becomes U.K. distributor for Solar Frontier

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 17:04 (Solarserver)

On May 29th, 2012, Save Energy Group (Dorset, England) announced that it has expanded its product portfolio through a partnership with Solar Frontier (Tokyo, Japan). Solar Frontier provides CIS (copper, indium, selenium) thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Read more

SolarWorld supplies modules to record-setting U.S. PV projects in May 2012

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 16:59 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) has announced that it supplied solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to an 11.6 MW PV plant in California (U.S.), a 6.1 MW PV plant in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the largest PV plant in the state of West Virginia, all in the month of May 2012. The company also notes that in May 2012, a 33 MW PV plant for which it supplied modules was commissioned in Ontario (Canada). PV modules for all four plants were manufactured at the company's facility in Hillsboro (Oregon, U.S.) Read more

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology welcomes First Solar to testing and demonstration program in Saudi Arabia

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 15:49 (Solarserver)

On June 3rd, 2012 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia) announced that First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) will participate in a program to introduce new clean energy technologies to the nation. First Solar has completed a 3.2 kW pilot solar photovoltaic (PV) plant using its cadmium telluride thin-film PV modules for the KAUST New Energy Oasis (NEO) program, which will include weather-forecasting and performance-measuring equipment. KAUST and First Solar will work together to test the PV plant at the Red Sea coast, where daytime temperatures often reach 45 degrees Celsius. Read more

Staying Alive: Could Thin-film Manufacturers Come Out Ahead in the PV Wars? Part 1

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In the solar electricity market, capitulation, consolidation and contraction are the buzzwords of the day. Today, all solar PV manufacturers face an over-supplied and underfunded PV market. The oversupply and drop in subsidy markets across Europe and the U.S. has forced crystalline silicon manufacturers to sell their PV panels below manufacturing costs or risk losing all market-share. As the weeks tick by, major manufacturers, one after another, are going under or announcing major scaling back of their operations. Thin film solar panel manufacturers have not been able to stay out of the fray, with many of them struggling to keep up with the falling panel cost and oversupply Read more

Intersolar EU: Suntech to launch 255W polycrystalline module

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 14:54 (PV-Tech)

Continuing to support the development of one of the largest PV module portfolios, Suntech Power Holdings will also introduce a 255 watt polycrystalline module (STP255?20Wd) at Intersolar Europe 2012. The company claims that the polycrystalline module is around 5% more powerful than the industry average, while offering one of the best ?price to performance? ratios on the market. Read more

Intersolar EU: Suntech to launch 255 watt polycrystalline module

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 14:54 (PV-Tech)

Continuing to support the development of one of the largest PV module portfolios, Suntech Power Holdings will also introduce a 255 watt polycrystalline module (STP255?20Wd) at Intersolar Europe 2012. The company claims that the polycrystalline module is around 5% more powerful than the industry average, while offering one of the best ?price to performance? ratios on the market. Read more

Nanosolar receives more funding to ramp CIGS production

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 13:46 (PV-Tech)

Despite the continued solar shakeout that has hit thin-film technologies hard, VC funding of next-generation CIGS technology remains robust. A new round of funding, led by OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Ohana Holdings LLC, and international Family Offices to the tune of US$70 million has been provided to Nanosolar. The new financing is in addition to the US$20 million received in February 2012. Read more

Concentrating solar power: POWER Magazine names AREVA Solar's Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Station "Top Plant"

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 12:33 (Solarserver)

On May 30th, 2012, AREVA Solar (Mountain View, California, U.S.) announced that POWER Magazine named the company's Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Station as one of the magazine's top renewable energy plants for 2011. The 5 MW Kimberlina concentrating solar power (CSP) plant, located in Bakersfield (California, U.S.), went online in 2009 with its first three Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar steam generators. Read more

Romney commercial attacks DOE loan guarantees, First Solar, SunPower

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 12:28 (Solarserver)

The campaign of Republican Candidate for U.S. President Mitt Romney has launched a commercial attacking the Obama administration for providing loan guarantees through the Department of Energy to First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) and SunPower Corporation (San Jose, California, U.S.). The commercial invokes the manufactured scandal of the Solyndra LLC (Fremont, California, U.S.) bankruptcy. However, unlike the loan guarantee to Solyndra, these loan guarantees were provided to First Solar and SunPower projects which already had secured power purchase agreements, making them remarkably safe. Read more

Solea, OSP, Solar Provider form JV to build utility-scale PV in North America

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 12:19 (Solarserver)

On May 31st, 2012, Solea AG (Plattling, Germany), Ontario Solar Provider Inc. (OSP, Toronto, Canada), and Solar Provider Group LLC (New York, New York, U.S.) announced that they have formed joint venture Solea SP Inc., (Toronto, Canada) which will focus on utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in North America. OSP and Solar Provider will manage sales, permitting and procurement for the JV, and Solea will construct, finance and bond the PV projects. The new company will have a satellite office in San Francisco, California. Read more

LDK Solar adds to its Chinese PV project pipeline

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 11:07 (PV-Tech)

Although having 7 subsidiaries engaged in PV power plant project development in China, LDK Solar?s pipeline in the country stood at only 96MW a year ago. Despite growing concerns over its financial debts, LDK Solar has signed 3 multi-year engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreements in the country adding 600MW to its pipeline. The company has previously financed PV power plant projects with bank financing. Read more

OPV producer Konarka files for bankruptcy

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 9:27 (Solarserver)

On June 1st, 2012 Konarka Technologies Inc. (Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.) announced that it has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, under which its operations will cease while a trustee is tasked with liquidating company assets for the benefit of creditors. Creditors will be asked to submit their claims to the bankruptcy court and will not be able to obtain payment directly from the company. Konarka notes that among its assets are over hundreds of owned and licensed solar technology patents and patent applications, as well as a manufacturing facility in Bedford, Massachusetts. Read more

Centrosolar joint venture to build 8 MW of distributed PV plants for internal consumption of German grocery chain

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

On May 31st, 2012 Centrosolar Group AG (Munich, Germany) announced that its CentroPlan (Geilenkirchen, Germany) joint venture (JV) is in the process of constructing 100 solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a total output of 8 MW on stores of a discount supermarket chain in Southern Germany. Pohlen Solar GmbH (Geilenkirchen, Germany), a subsidiary of CentroPlan JV partner Pohlen Bedachungen GmbH (Geilenkirchen, Germany) is currently installing the PV plants. Centrosolar notes that the project is focused on internal consumption instead of feed-in tariff payments, and that the stores hosting the PV plants will meet up to 45% of their electricity requirements from the rooftop Read more

NVVN supplies updates on PV, CSP under India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN, New Delhi, India) has released information on the progress of projects under both batch 1 and batch 2 of the first phase of India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). This includes a report which confirms that 20 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plants have been commissioned in 2012 through JNNSM phase 1 batch 1 in the state of Rajasthan. The report follows a scandal where authorities were accused of creating false commissioning notices for PV plants in the state. NVVN has also provided details on the developers of all 28 PV and seven concentrating solar power (CSP) projects with power purchase agreements (PPAs) through phase Read more

The Big Question at WindPower 2012: What About the PTC?

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 20:07 (Renewable Energy World)

Despite the looming expiration of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, WindPower 2012 kicked off with a message of confidence in continued growth. Read more

The Big Question at Windpower 2012: What About the PTC?

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 20:07 (Renewable Energy World)

Despite the looming expiration of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, WindPower 2012 kicked off with a message of confidence in continued growth. Read more

Buying Opportunity at Renewable Energy REIT, Courtesy of Disgruntled Shareholder

Monday, 6.4.2012 - 15:37 (Renewable Energy World)

Power REIT (AMEX:PW) aims to be the first renewable energy infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Read more