Chinese PV producer Yingli establishes regional HQ in Australia

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 20:51 (Solarserver)

On July 6th, 2012, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (Baoding, China) announced that it has established its regional headquarters in Sydney (Australia). Yingli has set up a new subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Australia Pty. Ltd., in order to strengthen business practices and further business development in Australia. Through the new office, the company will provide direct sales of Yingli solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and services to customers in this region. Read more

Intermolecular announces CIGS PV collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 20:33 (Solarserver)

Intermolecular, Inc. (San Jose, California, U.S.), a R&D company for semiconductor and clean energy industries, on July 9th, 2012, announced an ongoing project with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for the enhancement of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing technology. The advanced metrology capabilities of the Solar and Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center (SPERC) at KAUST in Thuwal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), are used along with Intermolecular's High Productivity Combinatorial (HPC) platform in San Jose to rapidly learn about high efficiency CIGS solar cell materials and process interdependencies. Read more

Solar3D solar cell claims a US$6.2 billion impact on global market

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 17:36 (PV-Tech)

Solar3D has released a statement claiming its three-dimensional solar cell could have delivered more than US$6.2 billion of additional electricity in the world last year. The company?s analysis indicates that a typical 17% efficient solar cell performs more like a 5% efficient cell when light is shining 20 degrees from the side, such as during the morning or evening hours. Read more

Satcon supplies California PV project with 52.5MW of inverter solutions

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Satcon has been chosen to provide 51MW of inverters to PV projects in southern California, the company has announced. Satcon will supply a project that will be interconnected with the San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) grid once it commences commercial operation in 2013 with 51MW of its Equinox Prism Platform as well as with 1.5MW of Equinox inverter systems. Read more

Solar3D claims solar cell made a US$6.2 billion impact on global market

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Solar3D has released a statement claiming its three-dimensional solar cell could have delivered more than US$6.2 billion of additional electricity in the world last year. The company?s analysis indicates that a typical 17% efficient solar cell performs more like a 5% efficient cell when light is shining 20 degrees from the side, such as during the morning or evening hours. Read more

Westpak introduces horizontal shock testing

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 11:35 (Solarserver)

Westpak (San Jose, California, U.S.) has expanded its mechanical testing services including testing to simulate transportation and wind-induced vibration, for clients including those in the solar industries. In June 2012, Westpak brought into service a horizontal test impact system which simulates horizontal shocks similar to those encountered in truck and rail shipments. The company states that these mechanical test capabilities complement its A2LA accreditation to IEC and UL test protocols for flat plate, thin film and concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technologies. Read more

Greek PV Association advices new Government against FiT cuts, retroactive taxation

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 11:31 (Solarserver)

Recent press reports about the possibility of the new Greek Government imposing reductions to existing feed-in tariff (FiT) prices and/ or retroactive taxation on existing and future solar photovoltaic (PV) systems caused strong reactions by PV investors in Greece, the Panhellenic Photovoltaic Association (PASYF) reports. Read more

Isovoltaic develops 34 meter-long flexible BIPV roofing membrane

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

Working with project partners, Isovoltaic AG (Lebring, Austria) has developed a 34 meter-long flexible solar photovoltaic (PV) module integrated with a metal roofing membrane. The prototype module was developed in cooperation with Isosport Verbundbauteile GmbH (Eisenstadt, Austria), Renolit SE (Frankenthal (Pfalz), Germany), Konarka Technologies (Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.), the Austrian Institute of Technology and Hymmen GmbH (Bielefeld, Germany). Project members will now install pilot PV plants using similar modules to allow for visual and technical monitoring. Read more

Perth Zoo is new home of region?s largest solar installation suing SunPower panels

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

Perth Zoo is sporting a new 146.5kW solar array, becoming Perth?s largest solar installation. The PV array is built on a 334 foot long canopy and uses 452 SunPower panels. Funding for the project was jointly received from the Western Australian Government and the Australian Government through the Perth Solar City program. Read more

CALSEIA names Bryan Crabb as executive director

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

Bryan Crabb has joined the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) as its new executive director. Crabb comes to CALSEIA after serving as director of government affairs at both First Solar and OptiSolar. He is lauded as having vast experience in solar policy as well as legislative and regulatory experience. Read more

Intersolar NA: Trina Solar to display new Trinasmart Maximizer technology

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

Representing the first collaborative effort between Trina Solar and Tigo Energy, Trina advised that during Intersolar North America in San Francisco this week, it will be displaying its new Trinasmart technology. Trinasmart is said to combine the company modules with new maximize and monitoring technology, which allows use of maximum roof space and power output. Read more

GE suspends construction of Colorado solar panel manufacturing facility

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

Bloomberg has reported that General Electric (GE) will be putting the construction of its Colorado-based solar panel factory on hold for at least 18 months. Lindsay Theile, GE spokeswoman, noted that sharp price declines and a global oversupply of panels were factors in the company?s decision. Read more

Intersolar NA: BASF presenting solar products at Moscone Centre

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

BASF advised that this week, during Intersolar North America in San Francisco, it will not only have company experts on hand, but will also have its portfolio of solar industry solutions on display. Included in its portfolio is the Tinuvin 1600, a UV light absorber for transparent outdoor thin section applications. Read more

Valos Solar Ventures and Gehrlicher Solar America announce joint-development of PV systems in California

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 20:48 (Solarserver)

Valos Solar Ventures (Springfield, New Jersey, U.S.) and Gehrlicher Solar America Corp. on July 9th, 2012, announced a strategic joint-development agreement focused on providing solar energy to the investor and municipal-owned utilities in California. The companies are working together to develop sites for PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and municipal utilities. These sites are situated in high irradiance locations with available interconnect capacity. The team has 235 MW of projects in development with Gehrlicher providing the utility-scale PV plant EPC, Valos Solar Ventures accentuates. Read more

Talesun Solar launches ACPV modules at Intersolar North America

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 20:37 (Solarserver)

Talesun Solar USA, Ltd. (Sunnyvale, California, U.S.) the US subsidiary of Zhongli Talesun Solar (Changshu, China), a globally positioned producer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and systems, on July 9th, 2012m launched its ACPV module products at Intersolar North America. Talesun's ACPV modules will be available for the U.S. market in August 2012, the company announces. Read more

Intersolar NA: Enecsys partners with Albasolar

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Enecsys has entered a partnership with Albasolar, the company has announced. The micro-inverter manufacturer has partnered with Albasolar to open new distribution channels in the residential market. Enecsys sells its micro-inverters in 15 different countries and its products comply with international certifications and frequency requirements. Read more

Trina Solar establishes Canadian subsidiary and partners with Silfab Ontario

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Further changes to Trina Solar sees the establishment of a Canadian subsidiary, Trina Solar (Canada), with a sales and business development office in Ontario, Canada. Concurrently the company has formed an OEM partnership with Silfab Ontario, enabling Trina Solar to offer modules that are locally-manufactured for the Canadian market and thereby, take advantage of Ontario?s domestic content feed-in tariff. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Silfab will be responsible for providing Trina with sufficient production capacity to support its venture into the Canadian market. Read more

Intersolar NA: SolarWorld launches Suntrac tracker system

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld has launched its new Suntrac tracker system at Intersolar, the company has announced. The single-axis tracking system is designed for system exceeding 500kW and offers low-cost installation as it does not require welding or fabrication. SolarWorld?s tracking system has already being chosen for a total of 26MW of PV projects in California. Read more

Activ Solar completes 43 MW PV plant in Ukraine

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 16:15 (Solarserver)

On July 10th, 2012 Activ Solar GmbH (Vienna, Austria) announced that it has completed the second and final phase of a 42.95 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Odessa region of Ukraine. The second phase added 21.77 MW to the Starokozache Solar Power Station. The plant covers 80 hectares and comprises 186,000 multi-crystalline PV modules and 41 inverters. Read more

PV producer Hanwha SolarOne enters energy storage market through partnership with Silent Power, leads USD 8 million Silent Power funding round

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 15:35 (Solarserver)

Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. Shanghai, China), a top-10 global photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer on July 9th, 2012 announced a strategic partnership with Silent Power (Baxter, MN), an innovative energy storage systems company. The first bundled product offering will be ready by September of this year. ?We know from our customers that energy storage is an essential key to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy. It enables a smarter energy grid and achieves reliability and value for a solar system,? said Charles Kim, president of Hanwha SolarOne. Read more

When Lightning Strikes: Addressing Solar Project Risks to Increase Long-term Viability

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Direct lightning strikes on solar installations (generators) are rare, but can be devastating without an external protection system. Similarly, indirect strikes that are much more common can lead to an electrical surge unless you've installed tiered surge protection. Read more

To Merge or Not to Merge. That Should be the Solar Installer's Question

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

A few months ago I wrote about large scale installers increasingly becoming almost as commoditized as their solar PV manufacturer cousins. In that post, I laid out some general solutions for avoiding commoditization, but there?s one tactic I didn?t mention: joining forces, or in business speak, ?mergers and acquisitions.? As I mentioned in the prev Read more

IKEA connects PV system No. 20 to the grid

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

On the same day that IKEA connected its Houston, Texas, store PV system to the grid, the company?s Canton, Michigan, store began commercial operation of its 977.6kW PV system. The array is 122,200ft² in size, equipped with 4,160 solar panels and it constitutes the largest PV system in Michigan so far. The installation was constructed by solar developer SoCore Energy and it is IKEA?s 20th PV installation in the US, with 19 more on its way. Read more

Intersolar NA: Panel producer Suniva partners with wholesale distributer AEE Solar

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

US solar cell manufacturer Suniva has entered a partnership with AEE Solar, the company has announced. The partnership with PV panel wholesale distributer AEE Solar offers another distribution channel for Suniva and new possibilities in the US residential market. Read more

Intersolar NA: ABB launches new CPV system

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 14:05 (PV-Tech)

Automation technology company ABB has launched its concentrating PV system (CPV) at Intersolar North America, the company has announced. The company provides a complete solution, including trackers, PV modules as well as inverters. The CPV system, which has been developed in a partnership with Greenvolts, further features Intelligent Solar Information System (ISIS) software to monitor the PV installation. ABB also offers grid interconnection, equipment and the company provides EPC services. Read more

ET Solar provides 7.2MW of modules for Hawaiian PV project

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Hawaiian electrical contractor Helix Electric has been supplied with 7.2MW of solar modules from ET Solar, the company has announced. The modules will be used to equip the Port Allen solar farm on the island of Kaua?i, Hawaii. The generated energy will be sold under a 20-year PPA to Kaua?i Island Utility. Read more

Juwi Solar eyes up 10MW Lincolnshire solar park

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 12:39 (Solarpowerportal)

German solar giant, Juwi Solar, has submitted plans to the East Lindsey District Council to construct a 10MW solar park in Skegness. Read more

Solar heating and cooling: IEA finds huge potential to replace fossil fuels and electricity

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 11:25 (Solarserver)

The document identifies a potential by 2050 of 430 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) respectively 18 Exajoule (EJ). The IEA finds ?a stable, long-term policy framework for solar heating and cooling? the key task for the coming decade to realise the vast potential. Read more

Lawson to install Solar Frontier modules on 2,000 stores in Japan

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 11:25 (Solarserver)

On July 9th, 2012 Solar Frontier K.K. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has been chosen by Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) to supply 150 W copper indium gallium diselenide (CIS) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for 2,000 Lawson stores in Japan, for a total of 24 MW of PV plants. Lawson plans to install PV systems at 1,000 domestic stores in the current fiscal year and 1,000 during the following fiscal year. The company also purchased Solar Frontier monitoring systems for 1,000 stores. Read more

CALSEIA appoints Bryan Crabb as ED

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 9:00 (Solarserver)

The California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) has appointed Bryan Crabb as its new executive director, effective immediately. CALSEIA states that Crabb brings a wealth of solar policy, legislative and regulatory experience, including helping to author key solar legislation in California. Crabb's experience includes serving as director of government affairs for First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) and OptiSolar Technologies Inc. (Hayward, California. U.S.). Read more

Wind Turbine Blades Push Size Limits

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Using sophisticated modelling techniques and comparing the results with existing turbine technology, a 2011 report set out to see if 20-MW offshore turbines could become a reality. The report, entitled Upwind: Design Limits and Solutions for Very Large Wind Turbines, compared theoretical 20-MW designs with present technology. 'Yes, we have the technology but the economics will decide. Costs models will tell us the way forward,' says Bernard Bulder of the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). Read more

Poll: 80 percent of Brits have altered home to slash energy consumption

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 17:26 (Solarpowerportal)

The charity Age UK, has published the results of a survey that undertook analysis of the UK?s energy usage trends over the last 60 years. Read more

Most Germans Don't Choose Green Energy

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 16:46 (Renewable Energy World)

Even though Germany is way out in front on renewable energy, the transition to a clean energy economy requires more than just the existence of a steady supply of green energy. There has to be demand, too, especially from individual customers. Germany's energy sector has been liberalized for over a decade. But German consumers have been slow to repl Read more

Just Energy Independence or Clean Energy Self-Reliance?

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

In Thomas Friedman?s latest column, he praises Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts because he ?took one for the country.?  Friedman sees that ?America today is poised for a great renewal? if only it can get some ?big, centrist, statesmanlike leadership.? Logically, there would be some renewable (energy) in America?s renewal, right? Wrong.  Her Read more

8minutenergy Renewables enters GIA with SDG&W and ISO for 200MW

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

8minutenergy Renewables has entered a Generation Interconnection Agreement (GIA) over 200MW with San Diego Gas and Water (SDG&W) and California Independent System Operator (ISO), the company has announced Read more

8minutenergy signs interconnection agreement for 200 MW PV plant in Southern California

Tuesday, 7.10.2012 - 9:12 (Solarserver)

On July 9th, 2012 8minutenergy Renewables LLC (Folsom, California, U.S.) announced that it has signed a Generation Interconnection Agreement with the California Independent Systems Operator (ISO) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E, San Diego, California) for a 200 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in California's Imperial Valley. The agreement confirms that 8minutenergy has successfully completed interconnection studies for the project, as well as posting the required letters of credit. 8minutenergy plans to begin construction on the plant in early 2014, with commissioning scheduled for December 2014. Read more