Power-One ships record PV inverters in 2Q: Demand in Germany and Italy strong

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:51 (PV-Tech)

Major PV inverter firm, Power-One produced better than expected second quarter results on the back of strong demand in core markets, Italy and Germany, before changes to feed-in tariffs take place. The company shipped a record 1.3GW worth of PV inverters, with its Renewable Energy business generating US$255 million in sales, or 79% of total revenues for the quarter. Management also cited market share gains based on preliminary figures from IMS Research that showed it had a 14% global share of PV inverter market of 14% in the quarter, up from 11% in 2011. Read more

Power-One ships record PV inverters in 2Q?12: Demand in Germany and Italy strong

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:51 (PV-Tech)

Major PV inverter firm, Power-One produced better-than-expected second quarter results on the back of strong demand in core markets, Italy and Germany, before changes to feed-in tariffs take place. The company shipped a record 1.3GW worth of PV inverters, with its renewable energy business generating US$255 million in sales, or 79% of total revenues for the quarter. Management also cited market share gains based on preliminary figures from IMS Research that showed it had a 14% global share of PV inverter market during the quarter, up from 11% in the same period of 2011. Read more

2BG develops new technology to replace silver paste from the backside of solar cells

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:47 (Solarserver)

On July 24th, 2012, 2BG S.r.l. (San Martino di Lupari, Italy) announced that it has introduced a new technology to replace the silver paste from crystalline silicon solar cells backsides. The silver pastes are considered a critical point in the solar cells cost per watt decrease and in this direction a lot of steps forward have been made by the 2BG Research & Development team. Read more

FIT-powered Britain Surpasses US in 2011 Small Wind Capacity

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:40 (Renewable Energy World)

The 2010 launch of Britain's feed-in tariff program has pushed the country ahead of the U.S. in the installation of small wind turbine capacity in 2011 and the same is expected for 2012. Read more

centrotherm photovoltaics delays AGM and first-half year results

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

With insolvency protection proceedings underway, not surprisingly, centrotherm photovoltaics have said it would delay its Annual General Meeting and the first-half year financial results. Read more

Solar Cells Light Up Prison Cells on 'The Rock'

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

"Machine Gun Kelly," Al Capone, the "Birdman" ? Alcatraz prison has had some infamous residents on the craggy island known as "The Rock" in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Read more

U.K. DECC proposes limiting Renewables Obligation to PV plants larger than 5 MW

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 12:28 (Solarserver)

The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has published rates for its Renewables Obligation (RO) program from 2013-2017, but will consider solar photovoltaic (PV) rates and eligibility under a separate consultation. The DECC has also proposed to remove RO eligibility for PV plants smaller than 5 megawatt (MW). The nation's Solar Trade Association (STA) has condemned this new proposal, and criticized the call for yet another consultation. The current review keeps PV larger than 5 MW at 2 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) until April 2013. Read more

BHEL commissions Karnataka's largest PV plant at 5 MW

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 12:20 (Solarserver)

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL, New Delhi, India) has commissioned a 5 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Indian state of Karnataka, as the largest PV plant in the state. The company built the plant for Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (Karwar, India) at Shivanasamudram near Mandya in Karnataka, supplying design, supply, installation and commissioning services. BHEL will additionally operate and maintain the PV plant, which uses its crystalline silicon PV modules, for 3 years. Read more

centrotherm photovoltaics postpones Ordinary Shareholders' General Meeting and publication of half-yearly report in light of current insolvency protection proceedings

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 12:15 (Solarserver)

As part of the current insolvency protection proceedings, a reorganization concept is presently being developed which will have a significant effect on the future development of the company, centrotherm photovoltaics (Blaubeuren, Germany) announces. Given these circumstances, the Management and Supervisory boards of the solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment provider have decided to postpone the Ordinary Shareholders' General Meeting, which was planned for August 14th, 2012, to a later date, probably towards the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013. Read more

Philippines Introduces New Feed-in Tariff

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 11:55 (Renewable Energy World)

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in the Philippines today approved the feed-in tariffs (FITs) that apply to renewable energy generation sources such as hydro (run?of?river), biomass, wind and solar. Initially the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) that petitioned the FIT proposed values that they calculated during the time the petition wa Read more

Power-One reaches 14% of global PV inverter market in strong 2Q 2012

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 9:50 (Solarserver)

Power-One Inc. (Camarillo, California, U.S.) has released results for the second quarter of 2012, reporting a 42% sequential increase in revenues to USD 322 million, a 19% operating margin, and a net income of USD 46.7 million. The majority of Power-One's revenues at USD 255 million came from its Renewable Energy Solutions (RES) division, which manufactures inverters. The company estimates that it has captured 14% of the global market for PV inverters, making it one of the largest inverter manufacturers in the industry. Read more

Bridge to India: Reform of tax, tariff structure important for Indian PV manufacturing industry

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 9:38 (Solarserver)

Bridge to India (New Delhi, India) has published a new analysis which argues that the Indian solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry is unduly impacted by an unequal and complex system of import tariffs and taxes. The analysis cites high tariffs on imported wafers, but not cells or modules, as well as a Central Sales Tax (CST) for sales between Indian states, which international importers do not have to pay. Bridge to India states that these two policies are undermining Indian PV manufacturing goals under the nation's Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission (JNNSM). Read more

Solar scheme to encourage Japanese farmers to harvest energy

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:59 (PV-Tech)

Japan?s National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Group) has announced a joint agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation to work together to promote the uptake of solar PV within the Japanese agricultural sector. Read more

Geostellar launches solar online mapping tool in West Virginia

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:55 (Solarserver)

Geostellar has launched an online platform for property owners to analyze the potential value of solar installations on their rooftops, beginning in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The company plans to launch in other, un-named U.S. state markets by the end of 2012. Geostellar's product provides 3D simulations and estimates based on proprietary algorithms which determine both the energy generation potential and financial savings of adopting solar technology. Read more

Upsolar unveils 2.2 MW "smart" PV array in Vermont

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:51 (Solarserver)

On July 25th, 2012, Upsolar (Shanghai, China) announced that it has completed a 2.2 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Sharon, Vermont. This is the company's largest project in the United States to date. The solar system, constructed by Talmage Solar Engineering Inc., includes Tigo Energy's Module Maximizer technology to feed optimized renewable energy directly into the local grid. Read more

SolarCity expands Maryland, US, operations centre

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

SolarCity is continuing its upward spiral. At the beginning of this week, the company announced its partnership with Credit Suisse on a second round of investment. SolarCity has now opened an expanded operations centre in Beltsville, US. The company is ensuring new jobs in Maryland and to give the state?s homeowners, businesses and non-profit organizations better energy options that can cost less than their utility bills. Attendees at today?s grand opening included US senator Ben Cardin, as well as state senator Jim Rosapepe and state delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk. Read more

Portugal Utility Plans To Export Solar Energy to Germany

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 15:39 (Renewable Energy World)

EDP-Energias de Portugal SA's former head of finance plans to avoid austerity-driven cuts in support for solar projects in the country by exporting power to Germany. Read more

7 Ways Your Solar Website Is Driving Away Business ? Yes, Your Website

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

There are at least a million ways to design a solar website today, and there are probably just as many ways to turn that expensive investment into useless cyber real estate. In this post, we?ll discuss seven common mistakes that drive away visitors. Given the billion websites in the world, someone arriving on your site is almost a solar marketing m Read more

New industry group calls for tariffs on Chinese PV in EU; SolarWorld welcomes European solar manufacturers? complaint against Chinese price dumping

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 9:44 (Solarserver)

On July 26th, 2012 European photovoltaic (PV) companies launched a new group calling for the European Commission (EC) to investigate alleged unfair trade practices by Chinese PV producers. In an initial press statement "EU ProSun", on own account representing the majority of EU solar industrial production, did not disclose its members. Read more

Gamesa Plans Restructuring After Cutting 2012 Turbine Forecast

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 15:15 (Renewable Energy World)

Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA cut its 2012 sales forecast and plans to announce a restructuring in October after posting its first half-year loss since the wind-turbine maker initially sold shares in 2000. Read more

Electronics and PV production technology: Optomec wins new customers for aerosol jet systems in two research labs

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:39 (Solarserver)

On July 25th, 2012, Optomec (Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.) announced that it has sold its Aerosol Jet deposition systems to each of CEA Liten (France), Innovation Lab (Germany) and the University of Sheffield (U.K.). The Aerosol Jet deposition systems are used for the development of next-generation technologies for electronic sensors and displays, 3D conformal electronic devices, fuel cells and solar cells, and other emerging printed electronics applications. Read more

The Efficiency Tango: A Deeper Look at Geothermal Heat Pump Efficiency

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:25 (Renewable Energy World)

A couple weeks ago, I compared the efficiency of the two most advanced geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) recently launched by Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (TSX:WFI, OTC:WFIFF) and Climatemaster, as division of LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU). Like most things in life, it turns out that heat pump efficiency is a lot more complicated than just comparing a couple numbers. Read more

U.S. Imposes Dumping Tariffs on Chinese, Vietnamese Wind Towers

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 22:33 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Commerce Department set tariffs as high as 73 percent on imports of wind towers from China and as much as 60 percent on similar goods from Vietnam, adding further restrictions on clean-energy imports from Asia. Read more

Installations climb ahead of August 1 cut

Friday, 7.27.2012 - 16:54 (Solarpowerportal)

New figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that install rates are continuing to climb ahead of the next round of feed-in tariff cuts, due on August 1. Read more