Conergy eyes Asia expansion following 21MW Thailand deal

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 12:20 (PV-Tech)

Conergy has won the contract to build 21MW of solar PV in Thailand, taking its capacity in the country over the 100MW mark. Read more

BELECTRIC USA to construct PV plants totalling 60 MW in California, Puerto Rico

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 11:50 (Solarserver)

BELECTRIC Inc. USA (Newark, New Jersey, U.S.) has secured the project rights for several ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the United States. The company has executed contracts for the construction of 60 megawatts of PV plants in both California and Puerto Rico. The project rights are evidence of the continued success of BELECTRIC's focus on international growth markets, the company notes. Work on the power plants will commence in 2013. Project completion is scheduled for mid-2014. Read more

Suntech bondholders file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy against the company

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 8:54 (Solarserver)

Holders of Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd.'s (Wuxi, China) notes have submitted an involuntary filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy against the company in the U.S. state of New York. If approved, the Chapter 7 process will result in liquidation of the company, instead of the reorganization allowed under Chapter 7. Suntech has three weeks to respond to the petition. The company defaulted on more than USD 500 million in multiple classes on notes in March 2013, and despite repeated forbearance agreements the matter is not settled. Read more

Centrosolar applies for creditor protection, reports Q3 2013 results

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 21:44 (Solarserver)

Centrosolar Group AG (Munich), Centrosolar AG and Centrosolar Sonnenstromfabrik GmbH have applied for “protective shield” creditor protection at a court in Hamburg, Germany, which the company says will allow for faster implementation of its restructuring plans. Read more

Solar Power International Hits “The Windy City” Next Week

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 17:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Next week, the editors, salespeople, video crew and other RenewableEnergyWorld.com staff members will travel to Chicago to attend the 10th Annual Solar Power International, effectively turning the windy city to the solar city for five days of action-packed networking, educational opportunities, inspiration and more.  It couldn’t be more fitting tha Read more

U.S. utility-scale solar installations fall to 282 MW in Q3 2013, amid a strong year overall

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:55 (Solarserver)

SNL Financial LC (Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.) reports that U.S. utility-scale solar electric installations fell to only 282 MW in the third quarter of 2013, the lowest level in the last six quarters. However, due to a strong first and second quarter, the company counts 1.08 GW of utility-scale solar installed in the first nine months, a 15% increase over the first three quarters of 2012. Read more

3M and tenKsolar celebrate more than 200 rooftop PV installations

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:21 (Solarserver)

3M Renewable Energy (St. Paul, MN, U.S.) and tenKsolar (Minneapolis, MN, U.S.) celebrate more than 200 commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop arrays, installed at locations across the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia. In 2011, the two companies first combined the tenKsolar RAIS commercial solar array with 3M Cool Mirror Film 330. This system is able to generate up to 45% more annual solar power per square meter of rooftop than a typical installation with a conventional solar array, reducing at the same time PV energy costs and rooftop temperatures, the partners note. Read more

Itron to provide solar PV monitoring for 50,000 homes and businesses

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:17 (Solarserver)

Itron, Inc. (Liberty Lake, WA, U.S.) on October 16th, 2013, announced that its solar cellular-based monitoring solution is being utilized for net metering the energy production of residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems by more than 50,000 homes and businesses. The company affirms that Itron’s solar meter embedded with a cellular communications module and Itron Managed Services for hosting provide a way to measure and manage solar production data, which is often distributed across a wide geographic area. Read more

Canadian Solar begins work on 100 MW-AC solar PV plant on First Nations land in Ontario

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:14 (Solarserver)

A subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada) has begun construction of a 100 MW-AC solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Ontario. The Grand Renewable Solar Project is Canada's largest PV project to date, and part of a 250 MW wind and solar project on First Nations land. Read more

Skyline Innovations completes solar thermal systems for 279-unit condominium in Maryland, U.S.

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:12 (Solarserver)

Skyline Innovations (Washington DC, U.S.) completed a commercial-scale 59-collector solar hot water system for a 279-unit condominium community at Greenbriar Condominiums in Greenbelt, Maryland. The company used solar thermal collector technology with a special polymer glaze to deliver more energy per square meter. The deployment of these collectors was made possible by working closely with TEVA Energy, LLC (Altamonte Springs, Florida, U.S.), the sole distributor of this technology for commercial applications in the U.S.. Read more

Swansea solar research centre launched

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 13:39 (Solarpowerportal)

Swansea University has launched a new solar energy research centre designed to deliver world-leading scientific research and to support the growth of solar in Wales. Read more

Indian government softens domestic content rules for second phase of solar mission

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 13:34 (PV-Tech)

The Indian government has signed off the first 750MW batch of tenders under the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with a softening of domestic content rules. Read more

Canadian Solar begins construction of 130MW PV plant in Ontario

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 12:30 (PV-Tech)

Module manufacturer and PV service provider, Canadian Solar, has begun work on a 130MW solar farm in Ontario. Read more

Canadian Solar begins construction of 100MW PV plant in Ontario

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Module manufacturer and PV service provider, Canadian Solar, has begun work on a 100MW solar farm in Ontario. Read more

Solar energy to undercut coal in South Africa: Frost & Sullivan

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 11:42 (PV-Tech)

Electricity from solar power could be the cheapest in South Africa by 2020, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan. Read more

SolarCity to raise almost US$400 million from stock and bonds

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

The largest PV installer in the US, SolarCity, is to raise almost US$400 million from stock and bonds. Read more

STA: ‘Networks must now race to catch up with solar deployment’

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 11:11 (Solarpowerportal)

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has published a Grid Barriers to Solar Power briefing designed as a step-by-step guide on the key issues and actions needed to address the “serious problems with grid access” facing solar developers. Read more

Solar Panel Security celebrates Solar Energy UK sell-out

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 10:45 (Solarpowerportal)

An extremely successful product launch at Solar Energy UK saw Solar Panel Security sell-out of stock of the newly-launched ‘SPrakets’ product. Read more

Vertical integration: CIGS Producer XsunX to launch solar PV project development services

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 10:00 (Solarserver)

XsunX, Inc. (Aliso Viejo, California, U.S.) on October 16th, 2013, announced the launch of its business expansion to include solar photovoltaic (PV) project development and construction services. The Company aims to expand operations to take advantage of the revenue opportunities for solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems development, as the current PV market trends indicate high growth. Read more

Phoenix Solar to build 707 kW PV plant at Singapore National Stadium

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 9:55 (Solarserver)

Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd. (Singapore), subsidiary of Phoenix Solar AG (Sulzemoos, Germany), will design and construct a 707 Kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the Singapore Sports Hub. The PV array is planned to offset the energy required by the stadium’s bowl cooling system. Read more

PV Evolution Labs launches qualification program for solar PV makers

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 9:51 (Solarserver)

PV Evolution Labs (PVEL, Berkeley, California, U.S.) has launched its Vendor Qualification Program for solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers, which includes extended reliability/durability testing, pan files, LID testing, IAM coefficients, and NOCT testing. PVEL already has eight PV module manufacturers participating in the program, including JA Solar (Shanghai), JinkoSolar (Shanghai), BYD (Shenzhen, China) and Astronergy (Hangzhou, China). Read more

Energía Llaima, Sunmark commissions landmark solar thermal project in Chile

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 9:47 (Solarserver)

Energía Llaima SpA (Las Condes, Chile) and Sunmark A/S (Svendborg, Denmark) have commissioned a solar thermal plant with 39,300 square meters of collector area for a mining operation in Northern Chile, as the largest plant of its kind in the world. The USD 26 million Pampa Elvira plant supplies heat for the copper extraction process at state-owned mining company Codelco's (Santiago, Chile) Gaby Mine in the Antofagasta region. The companies expect the plant to produce 54 gigawatt-hours thermal annually, replacing 85% of the diesel used in the process. Read more

NPD Solarbuzz: Chinese top tier solar PV module makers undermining prices for Western companies

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 9:01 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz Inc. (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) reports that top-tier Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) producers continue to gain market share, and are undermining “premium” module brands from the United States and Europe with lower prices, and setting the pace for global prices due to their dominant market position. A post by NPD Solarbuzz Senior Analyst Michael Barker says that while the continued rise of top-tier Chinese producers is due to several factors including production scale and brand as well as cost, this last factor is key. Read more

BOD Group begins solar PV cell production in Lithuania with Singulus tools

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

On October 15th, 2013, the BOD Group (Vilnius, Lithuania) commissioned a crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) cell production line supplied by Singulus Technologies AG (Kahl am Main, Germany) at its new technology center in Vilnius. The PV cell line includes wet-chemical facilities for texturing and cleaning, as well as vacuum systems for applying anti-reflective coatings. BOD has already placed more orders with Singulus for tools to develop passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) PV cell technology. Read more

Motech to unveil solar PV cell with peak efficiency over 20.5%

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 8:43 (Solarserver)

Motech Industries Inc. (Taipei City, Taiwan) has announced that it will unveil a monocrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) cell with a peak conversion efficiency of over 20.5% at the Solar Power International trade show in Chicago on October 21st, 2013. Product samples will be displayed during the show, and the Sirius cell will be commercially available beginning in the first quarter of 2014. Additionally, Motech is producing a new 60-cell solar photovoltaic (PV) module with power classes up to 280 watts based on the Sirius cell, and a 72-cell PV module with power classes up to 335 watts. Read more

Forty Years Post-Oil Embargo: How Does the Energy Landscape Look?

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 11:04 (Renewable Energy World)

October 17 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo — an event that arguably launched the United States' ongoing pursuit of a national energy policy. Read more

UPDATE: Maine's Offshore Wind Development Now A Bidding War... Of One

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 17:08 (Renewable Energy World)

What had suddenly become a two-horse race to tap into the vast potential for offshore wind energy in Maine as an early leader in developing this industry in the U.S. has taken another turn, with Statoil reportedly pulling the plug on its proposed offshore wind energy project due to what it deems unfair manipulation led by state officials. Read more

Update: Maine's Offshore Wind Development Now A Bidding War... Of One

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 17:08 (Renewable Energy World)

What had suddenly become a two-horse race to tap into the vast potential for offshore wind energy in Maine as an early leader in developing this industry in the U.S. has taken another turn, with Statoil reportedly pulling the plug on its proposed offshore wind energy project due to what it deems unfair manipulation by state officials. Read more

The Big Question: Can Countries Reach 100 Percent Renewable Energy?

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 15:21 (Renewable Energy World)

Several countries, including Scotland and the Philippines, have recently announced impressive plans to obtain all of their power from renewable energy. With many countries setting their sights on much lower, incremental goals, these lofty aspirations have jarred the industry and sparked a debate. Read more

IEA declares energy efficiency world’s ‘first fuel’

Thursday, 10.17.2013 - 14:10 (PV-Tech)

Energy efficiency has been described as the world’s “first fuel” in efforts to cut carbon emissions and promote energy security in a major new report from the International Energy Agency. Read more