JGC to build 26.5 MW PV plant in southern Japan

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 15:53 (Solarserver)

JGC Corporation (Yokohama, Japan) has announced plans to build a 26.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Oita City, Japan, in an industrial district owned by Nissan Motor Company Ltd. (Yokohama, Japan). JGC plans to commission the plant in May 2013, at an estimated project cost of JPY 8 billion (USD 102 million). The company notes that this is the first domestic solar project that it has taken part in. Read more

Winaico completes 16 MW PV project in Sardinia

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 15:43 (Solarserver)

Winaico (Creglingen, Germany) has completed a 16 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project on a series of greenhouses on the Italian island of Sardinia. The company began construction of the plant on February 15th, 2012, and installed the system in 58 days. Winaico supplied the PV modules, served as general contractor, and also provided planning, technical design and installation. Read more

CPV Trackers: A Crucial Aspect of Project Success?

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Tracking is crucial to concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), but can it enable the technology to earn a larger portion of the solar power sector? Key players in the trackers field tell us where the sector is focused, and how it is coping with the challenge of low-cost PV. Read more

U.K. PV FIT levels to decline again in November 2012

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 10:33 (Solarserver)

U.K. feed-in tariff levels for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will decline again on November 1st, 2012, due to capacities being reached in a number of tranches. New tariffs will be GBP 0.1544/kWh (USD 0.245/kWh) for systems smaller than 4 kW and GBP 0.1303/kWh (USD 0.207/kWh) for 10-50 kW systems. Demand for PV remains depressed since the last round of feed-in tariff cuts on August 1st, 2012, with between 2.25 and 1.73 MW installed in each of the last three weeks. For months the nation's Solar Trade Association (STA) has blamed the weak market on negative publicity generated by the cuts, stating that PV is still an attractive investment, particularly given the collapse Read more

Suntech shipments surge amid continued losses in preliminary 2Q 2012 results

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 8:24 (Solarserver)

Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd. (Wuxi, China) has released selected preliminary financial results for the second quarter of 2012, reporting a 15% sequential increase in revenues to roughly USD 471 million, and a 33% increase in shipment volumes. The company reports an expected gross margin of approximately -10%, which was impacted by a non-cash inventory provision of USD 76 million. Suntech also expects to report USD 133 million in operating expenses, including a 56 million provision related to the prepayment of a long-term contract, which the company is disputing. Read more

China Sunergy revenues down as shipments boom

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 8:16 (Solarserver)

China Sunergy Company Ltd. (Nanjing, China) has released financial results for the second quarter of 2012, reporting a 23% year-over-year fall in revenues to USD 110 million, despite a 68% increase in shipments to 150 MW, 144 MW of which were solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. The company also reports a -16% operating margin and a net loss of USD 30.3 million. During the quarter the average selling price for China Sunergy modules declined 13% to USD 0.75 per watt, which the company states is the result of both market conditions and the depreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar. Read more

Exclusive: Free Solar Power UK 2012 seminar sessions for all MCS-registered installers

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 17:46 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar Power Portal has teamed up with the UK?s largest solar conference and exhibition, Solar Power UK, to offer free seminar tickets worth £50+ to all MCS-registered solar installers. Read more

PV producer Jinko Solar's testing lab receives certificate from China National Accreditation Service

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 17:37 (Solarserver)

On August 30th, 2012, Jinko Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China) announced that its testing facility has received certification from the China National Accreditation Service (CNAS) for its quality controls. "Jinko Solar is committed to using high quality selected materials and components and maintaining stringent quality controls during the production process," Jinko Solar Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kangping Chen stated. Read more

Soluxe Solar launches solar water purifier

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 17:33 (Solarserver)

On August 30th, 2012, Soluxe Solar (Darien, Connecticut) announced that it has designed Solvatten, a water purifier that can transform dirty water into safe and clean drinking water using solar energy. The solar water purifier is being honored this week by Soluxe Solar with their Solar Flare; a weekly award honoring companies, individuals or programs helping advance the solar cause. Read more

Solar One, MOUSE receive USD 1.08 million for pilot GreenTECH program in New York City

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 17:26 (Solarserver)

On August 29th, 2012, Solar One (New York City, New York) announced that it and its partner MOUSE have received USD 1.08 million from the National Science Foundation to support a three-year pilot program called GreenTECH. Read more

JinkoSolar and Solea Renewables plan 1MW off-grid PV system in South Africa

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

China-based JinkoSolar Holding and its EPC partner Solea Renewables have revealed plans to construct a 1MW PV plant which, they claim, will be the first off-grid utility-scale photovoltaic system in South Africa. Read more

Successful start for the Intersolar South America Summit

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 16:21 (Solarserver)

The Intersolar South America Summit made its debut in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 15th, 2012. The conference, which ran in parallel to the 14th Electrical Installations Exhibition & Conference at the Expo Center Norte, met with a positive response: Speakers from around the world discussed the future of the South American solar industry watched by 215 conference attendees. Read more

Inpex enters solar market with proposed 2MW solar park

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Jumping on the bandwagon, Inpex Corporation has made its first move into the solar power generation business and has announced plans to build a large-scale 2MW PV plant in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The proposed plant, called Inpex Mega Solar Joetsu, represents Inpex?s first large-scale solar power generation project. Read more

Solar Power Portal Editor Emma Hughes steps down

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 13:14 (Solarpowerportal)

Emma Hughes, Editor of Solar Power Portal, has resigned. After three years at the head of Solar Media?s UK editorial team, she is stepping down on September 7 to become Deputy Editor of Industrial Minerals at Euromoney. Read more

Successful start for the Intersolar South Anerica Summit

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 10:27 (Solarserver)

The Intersolar South America Summit made its debut in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 15th, 2012. The conference, which ran in parallel to the 14th Electrical Installations Exhibition & Conference at the Expo Center Norte, met with a positive response: Speakers from around the world discussed the future of the South American solar industry watched by 215 conference attendees. Read more

Locus Energy to preview SolarNOC application at SPI

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 10:18 (Solarserver)

Locus Energy LLC (New York, New York, U.S.) has announced that it will launch a new web-based application for managing fleets of residential, commercial and utility solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. The company will present a beta preview of SolarNOC at the Solar Power International (SPI) 2012 trade show in Orlando, Florida, United States September 9th - 13th, 2012. Locus Energy expects the application to go live in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the company will offer SolarNOC as an add-on for users of its SolarOS monitoring platform. Read more

Teaching a Microbe to Make Fuel

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

A humble soil bacterium called Ralstonia eutropha has a natural tendency, whenever it is stressed, to stop growing and put all its energy into making complex carbon compounds. Now scientists at MIT have taught this microbe a new trick: They've tinkered with its genes to persuade it to make fuel ? specifically, a kind of alcohol called isobutanol that can be directly substituted for, or blended with, gasoline. Read more

Energy efficiency is the answer to rising fuel bills

Monday, 9.3.2012 - 16:17 (Solarpowerportal)

Four of the Big Six UK energy providers are expected to increase energy prices by the end of this year after Scottish and Southern Electric (SSE) announced plans to increase domestic gas and electricity prices by an average of 9 percent from October 15. Read more