Eltek?s THEIA HE-t grid tie inverters earn UL certification

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 21:15 (PV-Tech)

Eltek announced that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has given the company?s THEIA HE-t grid tie solar inverters the highest ratings in its product safety certification. The UL certification qualifies them for sale in the North American market, with Eltek advising that the product line is available immediately. Read more

Renewables Rout Ends as Asian Bidders Seek Q-Cells, A123

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 15:53 (Renewable Energy World)

The slump in renewable energy shares is ending as bidders from China and South Korea signaled interest in German solar manufacturer Q-Cells SE and A123 Systems Inc., a U.S. maker of batteries for electric cars. Read more

ReneSola?s solar modules obtain SII certification

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 14:14 (PV-Tech)

ReneSola, a China-based manufacturer of solar modules and wafers, has received certification from the Standards Institution of Israel (SII) for its solar modules ? including its Virtus, monocrystalline and multicrystalline series of solar modules. Read more

Wells Fargo to invest USD 2 million in non-profit PV installer GRID Alternatives

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 13:59 (Solarserver)

On August 15th, 2012, Wells Fargo & Co. (San Francisco, California, U.S.) announced that it will invest USD 2 million in GRID Alternatives, a Bay Area-based non-profit solar PV installer, over five years. The investment will help GRID Alternatives to provide solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems to low income communities. The company plans to expand its services from California to Colorado and then to other states nationwide. Read more

IREC: U.S. secondary markets increase in 2011

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 13:49 (Solarserver)

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC, Latham, New York, U.S.) has released its latest report on the U.S. solar industry, reporting that over 1.8 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity was installed in 2011. "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" states that falling PV prices and financial incentives from the federal government and states have spurred market growth, particularly in the utility sector. The report also notes that residential market growth of 24% was much smaller than commercial and utility-scale growth, which was driven by the expiration of key policies. Read more

Pike Research: Up to 4.6 GW of BIPV to be installed through 2017

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 10:47 (Solarserver)

Pike Research LLC (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.) has released a report predicting that the market for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the solar industry, with up to 4.6 GW of installations forecast through 2017. The company states that lead markets during the period will be Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, due in part to demand from architects, designers and building developers. Pike Research also states that BIPV is overcoming aesthetic and performance concerns, which had limited the industry until now. Read more

TrendForce: Suppliers urging PV manufacturers to execute contracts as utilization rates continue to fall

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 10:39 (Solarserver)

TrendForce (Taipei City, Taiwan) has released a new analysis stating that pressures on solar photovoltaic (PV) cell prices and utilization rates are causing suppliers to claim that manufacturers execute their contracts, with some manufacturers being forced to forfeit down payments as a result. The company estimates that PV cell makers' utilization rates have ranged between 50% and 70%, with some stronger companies reaching utilization rates of 70%-80%. TrendForce also says that companies failing to acquire more orders have chosen to postpone carrying out contracts. Read more

IMS Research: PV module prices fall 2.4% in July 2012

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 9:14 (Solarserver)

IMS Research (Wellingborough, U.K.) reports that global solar photovoltaic (PV) module prices fell 2.4% sequentially in July 2012, according to its latest monthly "PV Module Price Tracker". The company notes that this follows a 3% increase in crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV module prices in June 2012, and a 44% decline from July 2011. IMS Research further predicts that prices will rebound by 0.3% in August 2012, citing industry surveys. Read more

French government selects five bids from Element Power Solar

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 22:14 (PV-Tech)

Following its two requests for tenders (RFTs), the French government has selected bids for 541MW of solar plants, using various technologies, including, five projects from Element Power Solar, which total 18MW. Element Power?s projects include the 2.06MW Tournus installation, the 9.51MW site in Orain, Besset?s 2.16MW project, the 2.66MW installation in Soucia and Sydom?s 1.36MW installation. Read more

Soventix, SRU Solar construct 7.32MW solar project in Saxony-Anhalt

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 21:15 (PV-Tech)

Soventix and SRU Solar jointly announced that their 7.32MW solar park, Riethnordhausen has been completed and sold. The project, built across 20 hectares, uses more than 33,000 polycrystalline modules from German producers and five inverters from Solarmax. The project was connected to the grid in October 2011. Read more

LSIS completes 14.5MW Bulgaria solar installation

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 21:10 (PV-Tech)

Working with China?s CHINT Group, Korea?s LSIS advised that its 14.5MW Yambol, Bulgaria solar plant has been completed. The Korea Times noted that the firm invested between ?30-44 million for the construction of the plant, which it expects to help enhance its European solar business presence. Read more

Japanese finance company to spend US$680M on 200MWs of solar projects

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 20:58 (PV-Tech)

Japanese finance and leasing company Orix advised of its plans to spend US$680 million (54 billion yen) on 200MWs of solar projects over the next three years. Bloomberg noted that Tamaki Shibata, a spokeswoman for Orix, confirmed that the company plans to invest US$377.25 million (30 billion yen) to build solar power stations with a total capacity of 100MW.  The remaining US$301.8 million dollars (24 billion yen) will be used to lease rooftop space from factories and warehouses in order to install panels at a 100MW capacity. Read more

Five Key Takeaways from the U.S. Solar Market Trends Report

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 18:42 (Renewable Energy World)

The solar market, while relatively young, is an increasingly important part of the American economy. My latest IREC report answers important questions about the solar market. What are the trends in the market, and what forces are at work? Which sectors of the market are strongest, and why? What are the prospects for solar energy in the near future? Read more

Writing on the Roof: Competition for Electric Utilities

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Suddenly, electricity appears too important to be managed by traditional electric utilities alone. The barriers to entry have fallen; a large number of new and old companies have entered the power generation business. How should the existing utilities respond? I believe they should enter the distributed solar-based generation business and offer new grid-integrated services. Read more

Goodwe and DSV agreement to enter UK and Ireland logistics market

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Chinese inverter manufacturer GoodWe Solar Inverter has proposed plans to rebuild its logistics system in the UK, Ireland and other countries, yet to be specified, in cooperation with DSV, an international logistics company. The partnership involves logistics service, bonded warehouse and product delivery in the UK, Ireland. Read more

Southwest Solar Technologies commences testing of CPV technology

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 14:07 (Solarserver)

On August 15th, 2012, Southwest Solar Technologies Inc. (Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.) announced that it is conducting on-sun testing of its concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules with integrated optics, thermal management, power conversion and data collection. The company states that the alpha testing phase is being conducted at its research park in Phoenix, Ariz., where CPV modules are currently being manufactured by the company as part of its product development program. Read more

Gates Foundation announces winners of "Reinventing the Toilet Challenge"; first prize goes to Caltech for its solar-powered toilet

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 13:53 (Solarserver)

On August 14th, 2012, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, Washington, U.S.) announced the winners of the "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge", an effort to develop "next-generation" toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation to 2.5 billion people worldwide. California Institute of Technology (United States) received the first prize of USD 100,000 for designing of a solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity. Read more

Report: Two thirds of UK consumers don?t know how much solar panels cost

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 12:06 (Solarpowerportal)

According to the latest research conducted by energy efficiency specialists The Eco Experts 92 percent of people in the UK are worried about rising energy bills while 66 percent don?t realise how little it could cost to switch to renewable energy. Read more

Pilkington set to lose another 90 jobs

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 12:01 (Solarpowerportal)

UK-based glass manufacturer Pilkington has announced plans to let go another 90 jobs after a disappointing performance amidst the global recession. The St.Helens glass manufacturer who specialises in solar applications, announced that quarterly sales dropped by three percent to £1.08 billion. Read more

First Solar establishes Thai subsidiary

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) has established an operating subsidiary in Thailand, and has opened an office in Bangkok to serve the Thai PV market. The company states that Thailand should remain one of the region's more important solar markets due to its strong economic growth, growing energy demand and impressive solar potential. Additionally, the nation offers a feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaic (PV) and other renewable energy generation. Read more

Eoplly New Energy, Tioga Energy complete 474kW rooftop PV system in New Jersey

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 22:00 (PV-Tech)

New Jersey?s Wildwood Convention Centre is now sporting a 474kW rooftop PV system, which was developed by Tioga Energy. Eoplly New Energy Technology noted that a significant portion of the 1,700 panels used in the project are its EP-156P/72-285W modules. Read more

Obama Fast-tracks Seven Renewable Energy Infrastructure Projects

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 17:48 (Renewable Energy World)

President Barack Obama announced seven solar and wind energy projects that will be expedited, including projects in Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming. Read more

Report: Portrait of Clean Energy Jobs Amid Election-Year Landscape

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 17:32 (Renewable Energy World)

Second quarter clean energy jobs estimates have been released, and some of the biggest gains are expected to come in swing states where energy promises to emerge as a central election year topic. Read more

China's Wind-Power Capacity Linked to Grid Up 87%, Xinhua Says

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 16:18 (Renewable Energy World)

China connected 50.26 gigawatts of wind-generated capacity to the nation's largest electricity grid as of this year, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing a statement from China State Grid Corp. Read more

The Solyndra Standard: On Loan Guarantees, Military Spending, And Clean Energy Politics

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 16:06 (Renewable Energy World)

Earlier this week the Air Force announced that its X-51 Scramjet Engine Demonstrator called the WaveRider ? a hypersonic jet designed to travel up to 3,600 miles per hour ? crashed into the Pacific Ocean 15 seconds into a test flight. Read more

Survey: Majority of Britons would consider electric vehicles

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 13:42 (Solarpowerportal)

A new survey published by Motor Trader and British Gas has revealed that UK car dealers believe that the majority of their customers are open to the idea of purchasing an Electric Vehicle (EV). Read more

Morrisons publishes new guide to renewable energy

Friday, 8.17.2012 - 13:20 (Solarpowerportal)

Morrisons has published the second in a series of independent guidebooks aimed at offering advice to UK farmers interested in utilising their land to develop renewable energy projects. Read more