Enphase to bring micro-inverters to Australia

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 22:48 (Solarserver)

Enphase Energy Inc. (Petaluma, California, US) will make its micro-inverters available in the Australian solar market in February 2012, and will showcase its AC-based approach at local events beginning February 6th, 2013. Enphase Energy is partnering with RFI Solar (Seven Hills, Australia) to distribute its micro-inverters and accessories throughout Australia. In addition to its micro-inverters, the company is offering its Envoy Communications Gateway and Enlighten monitoring and analysis software. Read more

Power-One gets new commercial, utility-scale UL 1741 certification for PV inverters

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 22:38 (Solarserver)

On January 24th, 2013, Power-One Inc. (Camarillo, California, U.S.) announced that its ULTRA and TRIO solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters have received certification to UL 1741 and IEEE 1547 standards for use in the U.S. market. Read more

LDK?s Mario Zen becomes chairman of Sunways

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 19:41 (PV-Tech)

After the recent resignation of Michael Wilhelm in his position as Sunways chairman, LDK Solar, Sunways majority shareholder has appointed Mario Zen in the vacated position. Read more

New US SunShot funding targets faster push to cell efficiency limits

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 16:08 (PV-Tech)

A follow-up US$12 million in funding from the US Energy Department under the SunShot Initiative has been issued with the intention of reducing the time of lab to fab solar cell conversion efficiencies. Read more

Constellation completes 5.7 MW PV project in Oregon

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 16:01 (Solarserver)

Constellation Energy Group (Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.) has completed a 5.7-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Lake County, Oregon. The solar project comprises more than 20,000 ground-mounted PV panels, the company notes. The PV plant is expected to generate about 10 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar power per year. Read more

Hanwha Group invests USD 30 million in OneRoof

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 12:23 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Group (Seoul, South Korea) has invested USD 30 million in OneRoof Energy Inc. (San Diego, California, US), which the company says it will use to support expansion into new markets, development of new technologies and stronger dealer support. OneRoof describes the funding as a validation of the success of its SolarSelect Finance program, which allows third-party financing of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Hanwha is a major shareholder of OneRoof, and was among the first investors in the company. Read more

China Won't Impose Tariff on Imported Polysilicon, Analyst Says

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 20:09 (Renewable Energy World)

China, the biggest producer of solar products, probably won't impose tariffs on imported polysilicon, the main raw ingredient in panels that turn sunlight into electricity, according Aaron Chew, an analyst with Maxim Group LLC. Read more

Trina Predicts U.K. Solar Boom to Double Installations in 2013

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 17:37 (Renewable Energy World)

U.K. solar electricity may more than double this year as a boom in solar farms and domestic installations adds 2 gigawatts of new capacity, according to Trina Solar Ltd., the third-biggest solar cell maker. Read more

THDC India seeks to install 100MW of PV capacity in Uttar Pradesh

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 16:59 (PV-Tech)

THDC India ? a joint venture firm set up by the government of India and the government of Uttar Pradesh in order to develop hydro power projects ? is reportedly planning to enter the solar energy market. Read more

EnergyTrend: Solar PV market may exceed expectations in 1Q 2013

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 16:10 (Solarserver)

TrendForce's (Taipei City, Taiwan) EnergyTrend division released a new analysis which indicates that the global solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is likely to perform better than previously expected during the first quarter of 2013. EnergyTrend notes the role of increasing demand in Japan due to an expectation of reduced incentives beginning in April 2013. The company also expects increased shipments from Chinese vendors in advance of potential EU tariffs, and growth in multiple markets including the United States. Read more

New PPA extends completion date of Rice Solar CSP project from 2013 to 2016

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 16:05 (Solarserver)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved an amended power purchase agreement (PPA) between Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E, San Francisco, California, US) and SolarReserve LLC (Santa Monica, California, US) for the Rice Solar concentrating solar power (CSP) project. The amended PPA changes the point of grid interconnection, as well as extending the guaranteed operation date to June 1st, 2016 and changing payment provisions. The plant was originally expected to begin operations by October 1st, 2013. Read more

Bit-isle completes phase 1 of Hiroshima Mega Solar project

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:38 (PV-Tech)

Bit-isle, a Japanese provider of information technology services, has announced it has completed the first phase of its Hiroshima Mega Solar project which is due to come online on 1 February 2013. Read more

Gunze ventures into solar with 5.4MW PV pipeline

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

Japanese conglomerate Gunze has unveiled plans to step into the realm of solar by constructing three PV plants with a total capacity of 5.4MW. Read more

SgurrEnergy provides technical advisory services to SolarReserve for South Africa, PV plants

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 12:18 (Solarserver)

SgurrEnergy (Glasgow, UK) reports that it provided technical advisory services to SolarReserve LLC (Santa Monica, California, US) for the construction of two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 155 megawatts (MW) in South Africa. SolarReserve is part of a consortium including Cobra Group (Madrid, Spain), Gransolar (Madrid, Spain) and Kensani Capital (Johannesburg, South Africa), which is building the Letsatsi and Lesedi PV plants. The consortium expects to begin construction of the plants in 2013. Read more

REC Solar builds 1.1MW PV system at Moorpark wastewater treatment plant

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 11:41 (PV-Tech)

REC Solar has designed and installed a 1.1MW PV system at the Moorpark wastewater treatment plant in Ventura County, California. Read more

Sky Solar commissions 30 MW solar PV plant in Xinjiang, China, receives loans for Czech PV plants

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 10:11 (Solarserver)

Sky Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has commissioned a 30 MW ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Xinjiang Province, China. The 30 MW plant in Aral City, Xinjiang is part of the first phase of Sky Solar's 200 MW project which will be built by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The company has also received a EUR 14.6 million (USD 19.7 million) loan to support 5.6 MW of PV plants that it has built in the Czech Republic. Read more

SolarWorld begins external review of business plan

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 9:59 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) has begun an external expert review of its business plan in regard to its expected earnings and financial planning. The company released a statement declaring that "serious adjustments" are needed to its debt structure, including its bonds and assignable bank notes. The company also expressed confidence in its ability to accomplish the necessary restructuring measures. Read more

Arizona regulators vote to gut ASP, TEP solar incentives

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 9:53 (Solarserver)

On January 23rd, 2012, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to reduce and limit residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) incentives for customers of Tucson Electric Power (TEP, Tucson, Arizona, US) and Arizona Public Service Company (ASP, Phoenix, Arizona, US). The move will reduce residential PV incentives to USD 0.10 per watt and eliminate incentives for commercial PV systems. The move was denounced by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington DC, US). Read more

European Offshore Wind Capacity Rose 33% in 2012

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Offshore wind power installations in Europe rose by a third in 2012 and may increase by another 20 percent this year as developers build bigger farms in deeper waters, the European Wind Energy Association said. Read more

UK Tops European Offshore Wind League Table After 'Phenomenal' 2012

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Offshore wind power installations in Europe rose by a third in 2012 and may increase by another 20 percent this year as developers build bigger farms in deeper waters, the European Wind Energy Association said. Read more

NRG Energy to build 400 kW PV plant for California sports stadium

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 22:42 (Solarserver)

NRG Energy (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) announced that it has formed a partnership with the Santa Clara Stadium Authority and the San Francisco 49ers to install solar technology at the new Santa Clara Stadium in California. NRG will install a number of solar energy elements, including three solar photovoltaic (PV) array-covered bridges, a solar canopy above the green roof on the suite tower portion of the stadium and solar panels over the 49ers training center. Read more

Duke Energy completes 36-MW battery storage system in Texas

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 22:34 (Solarserver)

On January 23rd, 2013, Duke Energy (Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.) announced that it has completed a 36 megawatt (MW) battery storage system at its 153-MW Notrees Energy Storage unit in western Texas. The integrated facility at Notrees provides both environmentally friendly and flexible capacity to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the electrical grid in Texas and manages 75% of the deregulated market in the state. Read more

Belgian and German Electricity Systems Keep Lights on Despite Nuclear Turn-off

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 20:29 (Renewable Energy World)

Freezing temperatures in both Belgium and Germany have put both countries? power systems to the test this week, but neither country has experienced electricity blackouts despite the lack of nuclear power. Two of Belgium?s seven nuclear reactors ? Doel 3 and Tihange 2 ? were switched off this summer, following the discovery of cracks, cutting 2,000 Read more

OneRoof Energy secures US$30 million capital investment from Hanwha Group

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:38 (PV-Tech)

Solar finance provider OneRoof Energy has secured an additional US$30 million capital investment which will help it realise its goal of becoming one of America?s premier solar finance companies. Read more

EnergyTrend: Stronger than expected PV demand in first quarter

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:16 (PV-Tech)

Expected cuts to the feed-in tariff in Japan and import duties imposition in the EU are generating a higher than expected pull-in of factory module orders, according to EnergyTrend, a market research division of TrendForce. Read more

Ocean Energy Projects Developing On and Off America's Shores

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Take a moment to think about where your electricity comes from and what comes to mind? Perhaps natural gas pipelines and railcars filled with coal -- or maybe solar farms spread across acres of land. Adding to this mix is a newcomer to the field. With advancements in technologies, Americans will soon be able to tap into energy derived from the ocean. Read more

Is German Renewable Energy Biting the Mittelstand Hand that Feeds GDP?

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Worlee-Chemie GmbH, a family-owned company that has produced resins in the city of Hamburg for almost a century, is trying to escape the spiraling cost of Germany's shift to renewable energy. Read more

Photon Energy expands to North America through JV to develop PV plants

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 12:31 (Solarserver)

Photon Energy Investments NV (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) has expanded to North America through a joint venture (JV) to develop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with Jacob Securities (Toronto, Canada). Photon Energy Investments North America NV has set an initial goal to commission 100 MW of North American PV plants, with an initial focus on Ontario and New Jersey. Read more

The Green Deal launches amid renewed criticism

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 11:58 (Solarpowerportal)

After a protracted ?soft? launch, the Green Deal scheme has officially launched to the British public today. Read more

Azerbaijan to invest US$8.9 billion in renewable energy generation

Monday, 1.28.2013 - 11:26 (PV-Tech)

The Ministry of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan is to invest US$8.9 billion to increase renewables generation to 20% by 2020. Read more