Ingeteam lands 94MW inverter deal for South Africa PV project

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 14:13 (PV-Tech)

Ingeteam’s South Africa subsidiary is to supply 78 of its inverters to the Sishen Solar facility in South Africa. Read more

Solutronic files for insolvency as inverter revenues plummet

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 12:58 (PV-Tech)

German inverter manufacturer Solutronic has filed for insolvency in a German district court. Read more

pvXchange: Chinese PV makers focusing on efficiency as prices stabilize

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 8:04 (Solarserver)

pvXchange GmbH (Cologne, Germany) reports that European prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules have stabilized over the last few weeks, but that there are now two price levels for Asian products, depending on whether or not they are made in China. In an analysis on its site, pvXchange's Martin Schachinger notes that Chinese PV makers are now competing on increased PV efficiencies. He also notes that there is no regulation on PV modules from other parts of Asia, which are now the low-cost option. Read more

Why The Money's Flowing Into US Residential Solar Models

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 19:16 (Renewable Energy World)

News today, adding to headlines in the past few weeks, underscores the rising popularity of U.S. residential solar (and especially third-party ownership). Read more

25 Free Brand Awareness Actions You Can Take to Make a Sound in the Solar Forest

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 17:00 (Renewable Energy World)

You’ve probably heard the philosophical question, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” When I hear that, it makes me think that this poor tree had a simple brand awareness problem. If she had two hands and access to the internet, she could have accomplished at least 25 free tasks to make people know t Read more

Solar Power International 2013: Sungrow bullish on US market as it releases new products at SPI

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 16:42 (PV-Tech)

Sungrow Canada Inc is showcasing a number of new products at Solar Power International 2013 (SPI), including a 30kW string inverter, 800kW central inverter, and 16 string combiner box with string level monitoring. Read more

ET Solar to supply 13MW of modules in North Carolina

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

Turnkey Chinese solar company, ET Solar, is supplying 13MW of its 300W solar modules to Strata Solar, for two 6.5MW solar farms in North Carolina. Read more

Solar Power International: ROTH Capital Partners to host solar symposium at SPI

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 15:52 (PV-Tech)

ROTH Capital Partners, a full service investment bank focused on serving emerging growth companies and their investors, will host a Solar Symposium on 23 October, 2013 in Chicago in conjunction with the Solar Power International Conference and Expo next week. Read more

Listen Up: Residential Solar Financing Options

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 15:49 (Renewable Energy World)

Financing has been the magic bullet for unlocking the residential solar market in the U.S. By spreading out the payments for a system to 20 years, solar customers are cash flow positive in many U.S. locations. So far, various Third Party Ownership (TPO) structures — generally leases and PPAs — have been the preferred form of financing. Basically, a third party owns the system on a homeowner's roof, the TPO company gets a monthly payment from the homeowner, and the homeowner gets electricity that is less expensive than utility power. Read more

Trina Solar to supply Lightsource with 20MW of modules

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 15:45 (Solarpowerportal)

Trina Solar Limited has announced a new deal with solar developer Lightsource Renewable Energy. Read more

India sets aside USD 306 million in funding for phase 2, batch 1 of the National Solar Mission

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 15:40 (Solarserver)

The government of India has has set aside INR 1875 crore (USD 306 million) for the Viability Gap Mechanism (VGF) in phase 2, batch 1 of India's National Solar Mission (NSM), after approving regulations for phase 2 earlier in October 2013. Read more

JinkoSolar to build 120 MW of rooftop solar PV plants in Eastern China

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 15:00 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has signed an agreement with local authorities to build 120 MW of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in an industrial park in China's Jiangsu Province. Read more

Solar Shakeout: CENTROSOLAR enters insolvency administration

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 14:55 (PV-Tech)

Struggling PV systems supplier, CENTROSOLAR, is seeking creditor protection via the Local Court of Hamburg. Read more

Solar Power International 2013: AVACO unveils new buffering layer to ehance conversion efficiency

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 14:02 (PV-Tech)

AVACO, a specialist manufacturer of sputtering (PVD) vacuum deposition equipment and atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, has announced the development of a new concept buffer layer deposition for photovoltaic cells. Read more

AxSun Solar introduces black poly-crystalline PV modules in European markets

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 13:55 (Solarserver)

The 250 Wp fully black module (black solar cells, black back sheet, black frame) has been added to AxSun’s 60 cells module range. Due to the improving cell technology a 260 Wp black poly module will be available in 2014. “AxSun Solar always ensures that the latest technical know-how incorporates into the enhancement of our products. The new black poly module is a great option for homeowners who focus on aesthetical matters”, says Axel Skuthan, CEO of AxSun Solar. Read more

Bluefield Solar Income Fund acquires 15MW Oxfordshire solar farm

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 13:54 (Solarpowerportal)

Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) has announced the acquisition of a solar farm project in Oxfordshire from London-based solar developer Solarcentury. Read more

Renusol America unveils solar PV mounting system for trapezoidal sheet metal roofs at SPI

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 13:51 (Solarserver)

Renusol America (Atlanta, GA, U.S.) announces the debut of the Renusol MS system, its latest technology developed specifically for mounting solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on trapezoidal sheet metal roofs without long rails and attachments to purlins or rafters. Attendees at Solar Power International (SPI), to be held on October 21st– 24th, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, will be seeing the system first-hand during demonstrations being held at Renusol America’s booth. Read more

Majority of American consumers are interested in solar PV installations, research shows

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 13:40 (Solarserver)

New E2 (Energy + Environment) research from Market Strategies International (Livonia, MI, U.S.) reveals that interest in residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations is strong across all income groups, even when those consumers are educated on associated costs. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents overall are interested in purchasing and installing a solar PV system at home. The initial interest is strong across most age groups. Three-quarters of the 18-34 and two-thirds of the 35-54 age bracket are interested, while 46% of consumers over age 55 are interested. Read more

California boosts solar prospects with 1.325W energy storage target

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 12:17 (PV-Tech)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has set the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities an energy storage target of 1.325GW by 2020. Read more

California boosts solar prospects with 1.325GW energy storage target

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 12:17 (PV-Tech)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has set the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities an energy storage target of 1.325GW by 2020. Read more

Solar Panels Sustain Indoor Crops, Create Electricity

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 12:02 (Renewable Energy World)

By design, greenhouses are solar structures that collect the sun’s rays to create a warm environment in which plants can flourish. A passive solar design goes beyond the conventional greenhouse by utilizing glaze on southern-facing windows to maximize light and heat, ventilating the interior for cooling, insulating northern walls to reduce nightly Read more

Google's Still A Big Fan of Renewable Energy

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 17:55 (Renewable Energy World)

Search giant Google has plunked down another hundred-million-dollar investment into a renewable energy project, continuing to push its leadership as both a backer and a user of renewable energy. Read more

IEA declares energy efficiency world’s ‘first fuel’

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 12:00 (Solarpowerportal)

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

Six Weeks, Twelve Clean Energy Stocks

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 10:04 (Renewable Energy World)

It's been a busy six weeks since I last updated readers on the news events driving my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2013 and six alternative picks. I looked into the performance of the portfolio as a whole at the start of the month, along with some comments about the four renewable energy developers. I thought at the time we might be seeing a bottom for these beleaguered stocks, but if I was right, we have yet to see the upturn. Nevertheless, the fundamental factors I discussed are still in place. Read more

Clean Edge: Clean energy stocks gaining steam in 2013

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 8:00 (Solarserver)

CleanEdge (Portland, Oregon, U.S.) reports that the value of stocks in its Clean Edge Green Energy Index (CELS) has increased 64% in the first ten months of 2013, compared to a 15% increase on the S&P 500. The CELS index comprises 44 NASDAQ-listed clean energy companies, including the world's largest PV manufacturers such as Yingli Green Energy, Trina Solar, SunPower, First Solar and JA Solar. It also includes developers such as SunEdison, inverter makers including Power-One, and equipment makers including GT Advanced Technologies. Read more

BNEF: Clean energy investment rising in Caribbean, Latin America

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 7:56 (Solarserver)

The Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF, Washington D.C.) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, New York City) have issued a new report which finds that Latin American and Caribbean nations are accounting for an increasing share of global clean energy investment. “Climatescope 2013” finds that Latin America and the Caribbean attracted 6.0% of global investments in clean energy in 2012, up from 5.7% in 2011. It also finds that investment in the region fell only 3.8% from 2011 to 2012, less than the 11% fall globally. Read more

California Public Utilities Commission approves energy storage target of 1.325 GW by 2020

Friday, 10.18.2013 - 7:47 (Solarserver)

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved an earlier proposal to require the state's large private utilities procure 1.325 GW of energy storage by 2020. Greentech Media Research (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) has estimated that this will effectively double the global market for energy storage, excluding pumped hydro and compressed air. The first solicitation for new energy storage capacity must occur no later than December 1st, 2014, with the first energy storage facilities to come into service in 2015. Read more