Dow begins production of encapsulant films for PV modules in Thailand

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 19:53 (Solarserver)

Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Michigan, U.S.) has begun production of its Enlight polyolefin encapsulant films for use in solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at its new factory in Map Ta Phut, Thailand Dow states that the production facility also allows it to double global production capacity immediately. Dow is currently building a third manufacturing plant in Schkopau, Germany, to add to its production in the U.S. state of Ohio. Read more

Next Economy and Faith for Empiricists

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 16:15 (Renewable Energy World)

Let's be clear: Justice is not an immutable law of nature. Neither math nor physics nor chemistry recognizes justice as one of the universe's governing principles. The strong, rich, and powerful have, since long before humans emerged, by and large taken what they wanted, when they wanted, and never counted the costs to those they took it from. Despite what Socrates may have said, justice has forever occurred, at best, in fleeting, ephemeral flashes. We yearn for a god capable of seeing and ultimately judging all rights and wrongs -- because we know we can't be counted on to do it ourselves. Small wonder that the legend of Robin Hood ? the original 99 percenter -- still resonates Read more

Germany based PV systems integrator Soventix GmbH appoints new CFO Claas Fierlings

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 12:09 (Solarserver)

Soventix GmbH (Duisburg, Germany) a company specialized on the development and projection of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, reinforces the management board with Claas Fierlings as new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Soventix GmbH with its subsidiaries in Australia, South Africa, Canada and the USA, plans, constructs and operates solar PV plants worldwide. Along with the financial department, Mr. Fierlings will be responsible for the legal department and human resources. Read more

Germany installs 4.37 GW of PV in 1H 2012, IHS predicts 7.3 GW over full year

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 9:56 (Solarserver)

Germany has installed 4.37 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the first six months of 2012, according to figures released by the nation's Federal Network Agency. IHS iSuppli (El Segundo, California, U.S.) has predicted that there will be no year-end rush to install new PV systems this year, unlike 2011, but still predicts a healthy PV market for the nation in the remainder of 2012 in its latest "PV Perspectives Market Brief". Read more

BigBelly Solar adds CleanTech veteran Mitch Tyson to board

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 19:49 (Solarserver)

On August 1st, 2012, BigBelly Solar (Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.) announced that New England Clean Energy Council Co-Founder Mitch Tyson has joined its board of directors. "Tyson is a recognized leader in this space and has a wealth of knowledge and ideas to help our company continue to grow and iterate," BigBelly Solar President and Founder Jim Poss stated. Read more

Germany installs record amount of PV in 1H?12

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 17:10 (PV-Tech)

The latest installation figures from the German Federal Network Agency show that the country?s mid-year subsidy change for rooftop installations has caused a surge in solar demand for the first half of 2012, with more than 4.3GW installed in a period of just six months. This figure compares to just 1.71GW installed in the same period last year. Read more

First Solar back building PV project pipeline on strong sales

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 17:06 (PV-Tech)

Major restructuring efforts at First Solar took the backseat as management focused on a significant increase in its PV project pipeline during a conference call to discuss second quarter results. The company said it had added close to 1GW of new projects to a pipeline that stood at 2.9GW. Net sales were US$957 million, up from US$497 million last quarter, primarily due revenue recognition starting as major large-scale projects continued to be built. First Solar raised its revenue guidance for 2012 to $3.6-US$3.9 billion, up from a range of US$3.5 billion to US$3.8 billion primarily due to strong demand for modules from third-parties. Read more

First Solar builds PV project pipeline; reports strong 2Q?12 sales

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 17:06 (PV-Tech)

Major restructuring efforts at First Solar took a backseat during the company?s second quarter conference call as management focused on a significant increase in its PV project pipeline. First Solar said it had added almost 1GW of new projects to a pipeline that previously stood at 2.9GW. Net sales were US$957 million, up from US$497 million last quarter while revenue guidance was raised for 2012 to US$3.6-US$3.9 billion, up from a range of US$3.5 billion to US$3.8 billion. Read more

Order Focus: ReneSola and True Value Solar enter into 8MW supply deal

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

ReneSola, a Chinese manufacturer of solar wafers and solar modules, has signed an agreement to sell 8MW of its high-performance monocrystalline solar modules to True Value Solar. The latter is an Australian solar specialist and, it claims, is one of the country?s leaders in solar PV installations. Read more

IKEA hits 30th US solar energy project milestone with installation in Frisco, Texas

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 16:11 (PV-Tech)

Hot on the heels of last week?s announcement of several new solar installations at its stores, IKEA has further stamped its mark on the solar industry by announcing the completed installation of a 912 kW PV system at its store in Frisco, Texas, US. This marks the company?s 30th completed solar energy project in the US. Read more

Sainsbury?s UK solar rollout makes it Europe?s largest PV operator

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 14:39 (Solarpowerportal)

Sainsbury?s has become the largest operator of solar PV across the UK and Europe after installing 16MW of capacity across 169 of its stores.  Read more

Solar trade war: Chinese Ministry of Commerce rejects anti-dumping complaints against China?s PV Cell exports, asks for consultation and cooperation

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 12:22 (Solarserver)

On July 31st, 2012 the Head of Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports at Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released a statement on the anti-dumping petition with the European Commission against imports of PV cells from China filed by parts of the EU photovoltaic (PV) industry represented by German giant SolarWorld. Read more

German PV producer Solarwatt restructures, Sefan Quandt joins as anchor shareholder

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 12:16 (Solarserver)

A German district court has opened restructuring proceedings for Solarwatt AG (Dresden, Germany), including ordering debtor-in-possession and appointing Rainer Bähr as custodian. Creditors will vote on the company's reorganization plan on September 11th, 2012. Solarwatt has also announced that businessman Stefan Quandt has joined the company as an "anchor shareholder", investing and loaning almost EUR 10 million (USD 12.2 million) to revive the company. The company also notes that it has increased sales 22% in the first half of 2012 over the previous year. Read more

Abundance Generation launches £5 community solar share offer

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 10:57 (Solarpowerportal)

Renewable investment company, Abundance Generation, has announced the launch of its second crowd-funded renewable project ? a solar energy venture in the South Downs, designed to help fund the installation of free solar panels in order to provide free electricity for locals. Read more

Bridge to India: Solar is the solution for India's grid problems

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 9:32 (Solarserver)

In the wake of crippling power outages in India, Bridge to India (New Delhi, India) has released an analysis stating that solar power can play a "key role" as the solution to the nation's overburdened grid and other structural power challenges. The two power outages on July 30th and 31st, 2012 affected over 600 million inhabitants in 20 of 28 Indian states. Exact causes are unclear, but analysts note excess demands on the central grid and the general instability of electricity supply in the nation. Read more

Headwinds in the solar and LED markets: GT Advanced Technologies sees 53% decline in revenues in 2Q 2012

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 8:48 (Solarserver)

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.) has released results for the second quarter of 2012, reporting a 53% sequential decline in revenues to USD 167 million. New orders continued to fall during the quarter to only USD 13.8 million. PV revenues declined 70% to USD 9.4 million during the quarter, the latest in many quarters of declining revenues and new orders. The company also announced that it has appointed Dan Squiller to the newly-created role of President of VP and Worldwide Operations, to be based in Hong Kong. Read more

Triple Win for Biofuels on Capitol Hill

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 16:26 (Renewable Energy World)

In Washington, the US Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Finance Committee handed the advanced biofuels industry three of its most significant wins on Capitol Hill this year. Read more

Western Wind Energy: A Matter of Trust and Value

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

I recently wrote about Western Wind Energy's (TSXV:WND, OTC:WNDEF) plans to increase the 1603 cash grant for their Windstar wind farm. But that was not the only thing discussed in the conference call. Read more

California Geothermal Plant Expansion Receives Approval

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 17:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Southern California Edison's San Onofre nuclear power plant has been down since January 31, but the damaged reactors may restart by the end of the year, the operator has told press. The loss has affected 1.4 million homes as well as voltage support to the transmission system, causing some experts to question the stability of Southern Californian infrastructure. Tentative dates for repower are Nov. 18 for the Unit 2 reactor and Dec. 31 for Unit 3. Read more

2012 Summer Olympics: The Greenest Games Ever?

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 19:06 (Renewable Energy World)

Last Friday kicked off the beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.  Nine years of planning went towards minimizing the carbon output of this event.  An all-encompassing goal of "sustainability" was set for the 2012 Summer Olympics.     The organizers of the event aspired to make this international event socially and environmentall Read more

How to Make a Parking Garage Energy Efficient

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 15:47 (Renewable Energy World)

It's no secret that researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) do cool things ? including finding new ways to capture energy from the sun and wind. But there's nothing cooler than working on a parking garage, right? Read more

DECC criticised for spending nearly £2 million in bonuses over the last two years

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 15:25 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed that it paid out £1,784,431 in bonuses in 2010 and 2011. Read more

Deutsche Bahn?s 3.92MWp PV plant commences operation in Wittenberge, Germany

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 14:12 (PV-Tech)

German logistics company Deutsche Bahn?s PV plant located in Wittenberge, Germany, has officially commenced operation. The plant was developed in partnership with India-based Moser Baer Clean Energy and has a total capacity of 3.92MWp. Read more

PV to become Australia?s cheapest electricity source by 2050, study says

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 12:49 (PV-Tech)

According to a study by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE), PV, along with onshore wind, will be the cheapest sources of electricity in Australia by 2030. Moreover, non-tracking PV is estimated to go on to become the cheapest power generation technology in Australia by 2050. BREE is a research unit within Australia?s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. Read more

CPUC, IREC reports on California's RPS status, Governor's DG goals; utilities reached 20.6% renewable generation in 2011

Friday, 8.3.2012 - 12:29 (Solarserver)

Two reports on California's renewable energy progress and goals were released this week. On July 31st, 2012 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released a progress update on the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policy, finding that California utilities reached 20.6% renewable generation in 2011. A day later on August 1st, 2012 the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) released a report providing an analysis of the benefits, costs and policy implications of California Governor Jerry Brown's goal of 12 GW of distributed generation (DG) by 2020. Read more