Shunfeng discloses bid for Suntech Wuxi unit

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 13:16 (PV-Tech)

Chinese PV manufacturer Shunfeng Photovoltaic International has revealed it is bidding for Wuxi Suntech, the main manufacturing unit of debt-ridden Suntech Power Holdings. Read more

Conergy ‘reboot’ has brought new lease of life, says UK boss

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 12:02 (PV-Tech)

The UK head of Conergy’s UK and Ireland arm has said the company has emerged “much better than before” it filed for insolvency since securing the necessary investment to keep it afloat. Read more

PwC: global utility business models to face disruptive changes

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 10:57 (Solarserver)

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC, London) has released the results of a new survey of utility executives, wherein 94% predict either complete transformation of or at least important changes to the power utility business model by 2030. 57% of those surveyed say that there is a high or very high likelihood that distributed generation will force utilities to change these models, however, 82% see distributed generation as an opportunity, as opposed to 18% who rate it a “threat”. Falling solar photovoltaic (PV) prices is one of the changes that these executives expect to have the largest impacts. Read more

German consumer associations argues against BDEW proposal for capacity market

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 10:50 (Solarserver)

The German Federation of Consumer Associations (VZBV, Berlin) has issued a statement arguing against the Federal Association of Water and Power Industries' (BDEW, Berlin) proposal to create a separate capacity market for conventional power production, stating that this is unnecessary and will lead to higher costs for consumers. The proposal to create a capacity market was part of BDEW's proposal for changes to the nation's feed-in tariff. VZBV states that there is currently sufficient reserve generation capacity on the grid, even with the closure of some conventional power plants, and also warns that this policy instrument is unnecessarily complex and risky. Read more

SolarCity acquires Zep Solar for USD 158 million

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 19:18 (Solarserver)

SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, California, U.S.) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire mounting system provider Zep Solar Inc. (San Rafael, California, U.S.) for roughly USD 158 million, payable in SolarCity stock. Read more

REC pledges R&D drive following company split

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 18:30 (PV-Tech)

Norwegian manufacturer REC’s division into REC Solar and REC Silicon has made it possible for the company to “invest heavily in research and development again”, according to REC Solar’s senior vice president for sales and marketing, Luc Graré. Read more

Solar VC Funding: "The Fear Is Gone" For Investors

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 17:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Project funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the solar energy sector reached record levels from July-September of this year, reflecting an improved outlook for solar demand, according to a new report from Mercom Capital Group. Read more

Intermountain Wind and Solar offers incentives for solar PV in Salt Lake City, Utah

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 17:35 (Solarserver)

Intermountain Wind and Solar (IWS) (Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.) is offering community incentives in the state of Utah, and on October 7th, 2013, announced that their incentive program has become extremely successful with helping residents save money. According to the company, a solar photovoltaic (PV) system is capable of providing solar power in Salt Lake City for over 35 years if it is well maintained, and to decrease costs of monthly power bills. Read more

Solar company Verengo named to “Build 100” index for its massive growth

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 17:24 (Solarserver)

Verengo Inc. (Torrance, CA, U.S.) on October 8th, 2013, announced it had been named to “The Build 100”, a new business index rewarding U.S. mid-market companies which have expanded their employment in each of the past five years. As seller and installer of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Verengo has grown 700% over the past 4 years, adding 900 new employees over the past 5 years, with a job growth of 800%. Read more

Konica Minolta, Nautilus Solar to launch large PV carport in Ramsey, New Jersey

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 17:19 (Solarserver)

Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC (Summit, NJ, U.S.) and Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, Inc. (Ramsey, NJ, U.S.) on October 8th, 2013, announced that the formal ribbon cutting of project Sunway, a 967,000 kWh solar photovoltaic (PV) power system installed at the parking lots of Konica Minolta's headquarters. The ceremony will take place on October 15th, 2013. Nautilus Solar will be the owner and provider of the PV system comprised of carport canopies supporting approximately 3,498 solar panels. Project Sunway will produce 15-18% of the electricity needs for the buildings, the partners announced. Read more

SEUK: Industry takes on the cowboys with solar installer ratings site

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 16:59 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK solar industry has united to build a new installer ratings website to help consumers avoid the cowboys. Read more

Neo Solar Power revenues continue to grow in Q3 2013

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 15:39 (Solarserver)

Neo Solar Power (Hsinchu, Taiwan) has released selected financial results for September 2013, reporting USD 77.2 million in revenues. This brings the company to USD 217 million in revenues in the third quarter of 2013. September was the solar photovoltaic (PV) cell maker's ninth consecutive month of revenue increase. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Solana solar CSP plant begins commercial operation

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:58 (Solarserver)

On October 9th, 2013 Abengoa SA (Seville, Spain) announced the successful commissioning of its 280 MW Solana concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the U.S. state of Arizona. Solana is one of the first large CSP plants to be completed in the United States in decades, and the largest CSP plant to begin commercial operations to date globally. Read more

SolarReserve bags ex-Goldwind boss as new CFO

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

California-based developer SolarReserve has bagged Tim Rosenweig, a leading player in the US wind energy market, as its new chief financial officer. Read more

SEUK: EH Smith strikes partnership with SolarWorld on first day of Solar Energy UK

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:09 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar PV supplier EH Smith has become the first builders merchant in the UK to partner with German solar manufacturer SolarWorld. Read more

EH Smith strikes partnership with SolarWorld on first day of Solar Energy UK

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:09 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar PV supplier EH Smith has become the first builders merchant in the UK to partner with German solar manufacturer SolarWorld. Read more

SEUK: Hadstone Energy agrees deal with Belltown Power for 10.2MW solar farm

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 13:49 (Solarpowerportal)

Hadstone Energy Limited and Belltown Power Limited have reached an agreement for the funding and sale of the Watchfield solar farm project in Somerset. Read more

SEUK: BRE National Solar Centre to set up at Eden Project

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 13:16 (Solarpowerportal)

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) National Solar Centre (NSC) has announced that it will be locating its offices and solar test site to the Eden Project in Cornwall. Read more

SEUK: Eaton and Cooper preparing for another UK PV ‘rush’

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 12:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Industry manufacturer, Eaton, recently joined with electrical equipment manufacturer, Cooper Bussman is showcasing their combiner box in the UK for one of the first times ever, at Solar Energy UK. Read more

U.K. Government Aims for Eight-Fold Increase in Solar by 2020

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 11:47 (Renewable Energy World)

Energy Minister Greg Barker said the U.K. can multiply its capacity to produce solar power eight-fold by 2020 in an effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Read more

Vikram Solar commissions 5MW plant in Tamil Nadu

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 11:46 (PV-Tech)

Module manufacturer and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Vikram Solar has commissioned a 5MW PV plant in Tamil Nadu. Read more

Intersolar India 2013: 200 exhibitors, comprehensive conference programme

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 10:13 (Solarserver)

The Intersolar India Conference is taking place for the fifth time in the Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai from November 11th – 14th, 2013. 700 national and international attendees as well as roughly 100 speakers from around the world are expected to participate. The trade fair with roughly 200 exhibitors starts one day later at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC). Topics of conference and trade fair are photovoltaics (PV), PV production technologies, energy storage and solar thermal technologies, each with a special focus on the Indian market. Read more

Tata Steel launches new solar PV ground mount system in the U.K.

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 10:06 (Solarserver)

Tata Steel (Mumbai, India) on October 8th, 2013 launched its solar photovoltaic (PV) ground mounting system in the United Kingdom The system minimises the number of piles needed for installation, resulting in lower costs from the outset, the company notes. Tata Steel already has over 50MW of experience within the solar sector. The mounting system, in its current version, has already been installed in Cumbria, Sussex and the Isle of Wight (UK). Read more

DECC issues roadmap for UK solar PV deployment policies

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 9:13 (Solarserver)

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released a new document to set out the guiding principles for its strategy towards solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment, which emphasizes appropriate siting of projects and support of “cost-effective” projects. “UK Solar PV Strategy Part 1: Roadmap to a Brighter Future” also calls for basing support for PV on carbon reduction targets, and assessing and responding to the impacts of deployment on the grid and on incentives. DECC will publish a full PV strategy in Spring 2014. Read more

Solarbuzz: U.S. Government shutdown could cause solar project delays

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 9:08 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) warns that the U.S. federal government shutdown could cause delays for solar and other renewable energy projects. On October 1st, 2013 the U.S. federal government ceased all functions deemed non-essential as the result of refusal by the opposition Republican Party to pass a budget that did not de-fund U.S. President Obama's healthcare law. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has already halted all work relating to approvals and permits, which Solarbuzz says could impact the 2 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects currently in the BLM review process. Read more

Capturing Geothermal Opportunity Amidst a Transitioning Market

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 20:32 (Renewable Energy World)

“I can remember as a young man driving from Carson City to Reno for the first time and I saw this steam coming out of the ground,” Nevada Senator Harry Reid told the geothermal industry this morning. Although the congressman was in Washington DC trying to prevent a government shutdown, as his representative Vinny Spotleson reminded the audience, he and Senator Dean Heller both conveyed their support and appreciation of geothermal via video remarks at the opening plenary session of the GRC Annual Meeting and GEA Geothermal Energy Expo in Las Vegas. Read more

US Geothermal Industry Fights to Prove Its Value

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 15:46 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal industry leaders say they are losing a popularity contest with wind and solar power, but claim they are offering a better product. Read more

Green Light Energy to build a 1 MW PV plant for building materials manufacturer USG in California

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 17:29 (Solarserver)

USG Corporation (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) has entered into a Solar Energy Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPA) with Green Light Plaster City Solar 1 LLC, a subsidiary of Green Light Energy Corp. (San Francisco, California, U.S.), to install a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at USG’s Plaster City manufacturing plant in California. The one megawatt photovoltaic (PV) power plant will be installed along with local engineering firm ZGlobal, Inc. (Imperial, California, U.S.), and will provide USG with predictable cost for the portion of electricity supplied by the PV system for the next 20 years. Read more

Q3 Portfolio Review: A Bottom For Clean Energy Developers?

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:29 (Renewable Energy World)

In the third quarter, clean energy stocks in general continued their upward trend, turning in a 27 percent gain for the quarter and a 64 percent gain for the year as a whole, as measured by my benchmark and most broadly held clean energy ETF, Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy (PBW.) This brings PBW back up to levels last seen in September 2011. Read more

Canada launches grid-scale energy storage programme

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 14:09 (PV-Tech)

Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) has launched a research programme aimed at accelerating the deployment of energy storage systems, seen as crucial to the further uptake of renewable energy in Canada. Read more

Platts: September electricity prices in Europe rise 26% on low renewable energy output

Wednesday, 10.9.2013 - 9:03 (Solarserver)

Electricity prices in continental Europe rose 26% in September 2013 to EUR 0.0495 (USD 0.0672) per kWh in part due to low renewable energy output, according to an analysis by Platts (London). Unpredicted nuclear outages contributed to the price increase. Power prices on the Platts Continental Power (CONTI) Index had hit a four-year low in June 2013 of EUR 0.0335 (USD 0.0455) per kWh. However, Platts also notes that September's higher prices are likely short-lived, with strong renewable energy output driving German day-ahead prices negative during a low-demand period in early October 2013. Read more