Order Focus: Silvaco supplies modelling software for silicon nanowire solar cell work in Japan

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 18:46 (PV-Tech)

Simulation software specialist Silvaco has won a competitive bid to supply its ATLAS device simulator technology to the Japanese funded FUTURE-PV project. Read more

Conergy installs 500kW in Canary Islands rooftop project

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 17:53 (PV-Tech)

German PV manufacturer Conergy is building three rooftop PV plants on the Canary island of Fuerteventura, totalling 500kW. Read more

French renewables association praises new government measures

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 15:51 (PV-Tech)

French renewables association, Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables (SER) announced its satisfaction at the government?s new measures announced yesterday. Read more

Branford to conduct auctions of Konarka Technologies' OPV production assets

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 15:40 (Solarserver)

On January 7th, 2013, Branford Group (Branford, Connecticut, U.S.) announced that it, in conjunction with Joseph Finn Co., will conduct a series of auctions for the assets formerly of Konarka Technologies Inc. (Lowell, Massachusetts). Konarka is a manufacture of organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology and developer of thin-film plastic solar panels. Read more

Kyocera?s European solar module plant at full capacity

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 12:55 (PV-Tech)

Increased demand from Japan following the introduction of a new feed-in tariff last year and conservative capacity expansions over several years mean that Kyocera?s module assembly plant in the Czech Republic is now operating at full capacity, the company has revealed. Read more

EEPro and NewDev to jointly realize 4 MW PV project in Romania

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 12:13 (Solarserver)

In a further joint venture, EEPro GmbH (Simbach near Landau, Germany) and Hamburg (Germay) based NewDev Projects GmbH & Co. KG have acquired project rights relating to a 4 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) project close to Bucharest. Read more

IDS Solar Technologies starts production of portable solar PV generators

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 21:59 (Solarserver)

On January 7th, 2013, IDS Solar Technologies Inc. (Lake Elsinore, California, U.S.) announced it has begun producing first commercial multi-unit ?Solar Survivor? portable electricity generators for its distributor. "The completion of these units will move us into the commercial growth stage of our business plan, where a distribution framework is being established and orders being fulfilled," stated George Rodriguez, vice president, production and operations. Read more

Mosaic Plants Crowdfunding Flag for Solar Projects

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 21:50 (Renewable Energy World)

Memo to residents in California and New York, and investors across the U.S., seeking both profits and a green energy cause ? you can now take a stake in a renewable energy project and get returns that are competitive with more conventional investment products. Read more

Hanergy Buys Thin-Film Solar Panel Maker MiaSole

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 18:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Hanergy Holding Group Ltd. bought MiaSole Inc., a California-based thin-film panel maker backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and ArcelorMittal, to increase capacity in anticipation of a solar industry revival. Read more

NanoMarkets: Solar industry demand for silver pastes and inks remains in decline

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 18:29 (PV-Tech)

Silver inks and pastes used in the PV sector will decline from a value of US$4.9 billion in 2013 to around US$3.4 billion in 2020, according to report from market research firm NanoMarkets. Read more

German investment company acquires 50MW solar farm

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 17:09 (PV-Tech)

Hamburg investment firm Conetwork Erneuerbare Energien (CEE ) has acquired a 50MW solar farm installed in Ahlhorn, northern Germany from an unnamed company. Read more

Lightsource and Octopus secure £54.4 million PV refinancing deal

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 16:40 (Solarpowerportal)

PV projects developer Lightsource Renewable Energy and Octopus Investments have secured a £54.4 million refinancing package for six solar parks with a combined capacity of 23MW. Read more

SPG Solar ships final tracking system for Mexico's largest PV plant

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 15:46 (Solarserver)

SPG Solar (Petaluma, California, US) has shipped its final tracking system to Iberdrola Ingenieria & Construcción SA's (Erandio, Spain) Mexican subsidiary for a 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Cerro Prieto, Mexico. The plant will use SPG's All Weather SunSeeker Tracker for 60% of its PV capacity at 3 MW. Iberdrola plans to commission the Cerro Prieto PV plant by the end of 2013, as the largest PV plant in Mexico. Read more

First Solar acquires Chilean project developer Solar Chile

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 13:05 (PV-Tech)

Thin-film manufacturer First Solar, in conjunction with developer Fundación Chile, has announced the acquisition of Solar Chile as part of its its endeavour to advance into new markets. Read more

Crowd-sourced solar investment allows ?mass participation? in clean-tech financing

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

A new online marketplace that crowd-sources investment for solar schemes in the US has sold out four projects in less than 24 hours. Read more

Milford Haven Port Authority secures planning permission for 5MW solar array

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 12:38 (Solarpowerportal)

Milford Haven Port Authority has obtained planning permission on a 25 year term for its proposed 5MW PV system after Pembrokeshire County Council unanimously approved the project yesterday. Read more

Solar Shakeout: Siliken US subsidiaries file for bankruptcy

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 12:14 (PV-Tech)

Two US-based subsidiaries of Spanish PV company Siliken have filed for financial relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Read more

ReneSola quasi-mono Virtus 1 solar PV module receives top ranking from Photon

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 11:36 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd. (Jiashan, China) has announced that its 245 watt quasi-monocrystalline Virtus 1 solar photovoltaic (PV) module ranked first for performance ratio in a test by Photon International. ReneSola notes that the Virtus 1 module exhibited a 98.9% performance ration under conditions including differing levels of solar radiation. The test included over 170 different modules from over 100 manufacturers. Read more

Mercom: Solar VC funding falls to lowest level since 2007

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 11:28 (Solarserver)

Mercom Capital Group LLC (Austin, Texas, US) has released its "Solar Funding and M&A" report for the fourth quarter and full year 2012. The report finds that venture capital (VC) funding fell to USD 992 million in 2012, its lowest level since 2007, as the value of mergers and acquisitions increased. Mercom reports that more than 50 solar companies announced plans to downsize or restructure their operations in 2012, including SMA. However, the company notes that despite these troubles global PV demand continued to grow 12% to 30.9 GW in 2012. Read more

Solar Frontier reaches 19.7% conversion efficiency with CIGS solar PV cell

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 9:32 (Solarserver)

On January 8th, 2012 Solar Frontier KK (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has achieved a conversion efficiency of 19.7% with a copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) cell. The efficiency of the 0.5 square centimeter PV cell was measured by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The cell was made using the same processes that Solar Frontier uses in its mass production. Read more

Mitsubishi buys 50% stake in Toul-Rosières 1 solar PV plant

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 9:24 (Solarserver)

Mitsubishi Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has acquired a 50% stake in the first 55 MW portion of the Toul-Rosières solar photovoltaic (PV) project from EDF Énergies Nouvelles SA (La Défense, France). The Toul-Rosières plant is located on a former NATO military airbase near Nancy in north-eastern France, and has a total capacity of 115 MW. The plant was completed in May 2012 and began operation in June 2012. Read more

China names 930 MW of solar PV projects as eligible for additional subsidies

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 9:24 (Solarserver)

On December 20th, 2012 three Chinese government agencies released a list of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in eight provinces and regions which are eligible for additional subsidies, totaling 930 MW. The largest amount of projects at 480 MW were located in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, with another 145 MW in Gansu Province and 140 MW in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The approved plants range from 1 to 50 MW in size, with many in the 10-20 MW range. Read more

Valuing Finavera's Wind Energy Deal With Pattern Reveals Buying Opportunity

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 16:00 (Renewable Energy World)

On October 1st, following the failed sale of Finavera Wind Energy's (TSX-V:FVR, OTC:FNVRF) 77 MW Wildmare Wind Energy Project to Innergex Renewable Energy Inc (TSX:INE, OTC: INGXF), Finavera announced that it was in talks with three potential bidders and would review all offers for the company. Finavera did not have much choice in the matter: the proceeds of the Wildmare sale had been needed to repay an overdue note to GE. Read more

Green Infra Seeking $150 Million for Wind Farms, Considers IPO

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 14:09 (Renewable Energy World)

Green Infra Ltd., an Indian wind-farm developer backed by IDFC Private Equity, is in talks with at least two investors to raise $150 million. Read more

California Carbon Auction: Will Geothermal Value Finally Be Recognized?

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

While public support for climate change aid is growing, U.S. negotiators once again offered no binding agreements on emissions reductions at the most recent United Nations climate talks ? a stance that is becoming all too familiar to nations that see U.S. participation as crucial. Meanwhile a divided Congress has held off regulating carbon emissions, and some experts doubt that the nation will mandate protection of the climate via legislative act in the foreseeable future. Given hesitancy at the top, it was an act of leadership when California introduced Assembly Bill 32, the mandate to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020. Read more

Consumers Energy re-opens PV rebates program for customers in Michigan

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 22:00 (Solarserver)

Consumers Energy (Lansing, MI, US) re-opened phase 10 of its Experimental Advanced Renewable Energy Program (EARP), which offers the company's residential and non-residential customers a buy-back tariff program for electricity produced by solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Applications are due February 6th, 2013. Read more

BYD selected as finalist for Zayed Future Energy Prize

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 21:59 (Solarserver)

On January 7th, 2013, BYD Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) announced that it has been selected as one of top three finalists for the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The ?Large Corporation 2013? winner will be announced during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which will be held from January 13th, 2013, to January 13th, 2013. Read more

Anglesey Council green-lights plans for Wales? largest PV installation

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 18:25 (Solarpowerportal)

Isle of Anglesey Council has approved plans for what is said to be Wales? largest PV installation, a 15MW solar park at Tai Moelion Farm on the Bodorgan Estate in Anglesey. Read more

Yingli Ships Record Number of Panels; Market Awaits 2013 Outlook and Downstream Strategy

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 15:30 (Renewable Energy World)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) says its preliminary tally of module shipments in 2012 exceeded 2.2 gigawatts (GW), a record high for the company, roughly a 37% increase from the ~1.6 GW it shipped in 2011. 4Q12 results aren't due until late February 2013, but Yingli now says preliminary data suggests 4Q12 shipments also achieved a new record. Read more

Top Ranked Alternative Energy Mutual Funds and ETFs for 2013

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 14:14 (Renewable Energy World)

The Roen Financial Report closely covers the universe of almost 30 alternative energy Mutual Funds (MFs) and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). We use a proprietary ranking method to pick the best funds, looking at measures that include fees, risk, tax liability, and the financial health of individual holdings within each fund. In the latest round of rankings, all top rated funds retain their premier slots. Read more

Chilean environmental authority approves 3.1GW of PV projects

Wednesday, 1.9.2013 - 13:24 (PV-Tech)

Chile has 3.1GW worth of approved PV projects in the pipeline, according to a report published by Centro de Energías Renovables, the country?s renewable energy body. Read more