Performance of Indian PV plants falls slightly in October 2013

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released figures on the productivity of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in October 2013, showing a slight decline from September 2013. Capacity utilization factors (CUFs) were generally in the 18–24% range for utility-scale PV plants commissioned under Phase 1 Batch 1 and Phase 1 Batch 2 of the National Solar Mission (NSM). However, rooftop and other smaller plants reported only 11–20% CUFs, and there were more plants in all categories that fell below these ranges. Read more

Latin America solar: Enel begins construction on 36 MW solar PV plant in Chile

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 22:54 (Solarserver)

Enel Green Power SA (Rome) has begun construction on a 36 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Chile. This is the company's first utility-scale PV project in Chile but also one of the first large utility-scale projects by any developer to begin construction in the nation. Read more

Lark Energy launches legal challenge over Pickles’ solar farm intervention

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 19:30 (Solarpowerportal)

Lark Energy is seeking a judicial review of local government secretary Eric Pickle’s decision to deny planning permission for a 24MW solar farm in Suffolk. Read more

ZSW produces tin and zinc ink printing process with 10.3% thin-film conversion efficiencies

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Verified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Zentrum für Sonnenenergie (ZSW) has achieved 10.3% conversion efficiency (cell; 0.5cm2) with Kesterite absorber material using a printing process rather than by conventional low temperature vacuum techniques. Read more

Solarcentury unveils 25MW of new solar projects

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 17:30 (Solarpowerportal)

Solarcentury has revealed that it is working on two solar farm projects across the UK totalling 25MW of new capacity. Read more

First Solar starts work on its debut utility-scale project in Japan

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 16:57 (PV-Tech)

Following recent news that US PV manufacturer and developer First Solar has established a subsidiary for operating in Japan, the company announced that it has started construction of its first PV plant in the East Asian country. Read more

Hanwha delivers modules for 42.5MW solar farm in Ontario

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 16:56 (PV-Tech)

Module manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells is to deliver modules to a 42.5MW solar farm in Ontario. Read more

First Solar begins construction on its first solar PV plant in Japan

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 15:28 (Solarserver)

Ten days after announcing that it would enter the Japanese market, First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) has announced that two Japanese companies have begun construction of its first solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the nation in Southern Japan. Read more

FERC Hands Down Key Decision; Solar Growth Explodes in October

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 15:23 (Renewable Energy World)

Even though they were overshadowed by the Senate’s historic decision to eliminate the use of the filibuster when it comes to most Presidential nominees — the so-called “nuclear option” — there were some major developments this week at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that are critically important to solar and renewable energy. First, Read more

Getting the Band Back Together: E3i Tosses Hat Into Utility-scale Solar PV Ring

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 15:14 (Renewable Energy World)

Regions continue to hungrily build out utility-scale solar PV projects worldwide. Utility-scale installations this year already exceed a record 6 GWp and are on track to top 8 GWp, up from 5.6 GWp in 2012 and 3.6 GWp in 2011. That's a market value of " well over $10 billion," says Wiki-Solar founder Philip Wolfe, which tracks this sector. Read more

NPD Solarbuzz: Third-party cells used in nearly 1/3 of c-Si solar PV modules

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 14:58 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz Inc. (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) estimates that over 30% of the crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules being shipped today by top-tier module suppliers are using cells provided by third-party suppliers, and increase from below 10% in the first quarter of 2010. Read more

Liverpool and Bath university partner to develop more sustainable solar

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 14:31 (Solarpowerportal)

Liverpool and Bath university have come together to lead on a new government-funded scheme that will charge 70 PhD students to develop more sustainable solar PV technology. Read more

US third largest market as solar project pipeline passes 43GW, says NPD Solarbuzz

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

New data from NPD Solarbuzz highlights the growing significance of the US solar market and the booming large-scale PV project sector, making it the third largest end market in the world. Read more

Grid collaboration to open up new sites for solar

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 14:03 (Solarpowerportal)

Efforts to pool developers’ resources to fund new grid connections could open up new sites for utility-scale solar in the UK, according to Lightsource Renewable Energy. Read more

North Somerset Council adopts stricter solar farm planning guidance

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 13:35 (Solarpowerportal)

North Somerset Council has adopted new, stricter supplementary planning guidance for the development of solar farms in the area. Read more

Uzbekistan gets US$100 million ADB loan for first solar power plant

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 12:37 (PV-Tech)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help Uzbekistan to build a 100MW solar project; the country’s first utility-scale solar power plant. Read more

New Mexico cuts demand for solar power

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 12:20 (PV-Tech)

Changes to the way New Mexico incentivises different renewable technologies have effectively halved the support for utility-scale solar power. Read more

SolarCity completes first securitization of distributed solar PV assets

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, California, U.S.) has completed a USD 54.4 million private placement with an interest rate of 4.8% and a scheduled maturity date of December 2026, in the industry's first securitization of distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) assets. The company's pool of solar contracts received an investment grade of BBB+ from Standard & Poor's (New York City), which SolarCity says reflects the predictability and quality of the cash flows and the limited operational risks of PV as an asset. Read more

New Hanwha SolarOne solar PV cell technology offers higher efficiency, lower silver paste use

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 8:59 (Solarserver)

Hanwha SolarOne (Shanghai) has integrated a new solar photovoltaic (PV) cell technology into its production process, which it says will reduce silver paste consumption and optimize production processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. The company says that cells produced under the technology developed through Project EstarII will be 0.2–0.25% more efficient, with PV module power gains of three to five watts each. Additionally, the process reduces silver paste use by an estimated 45%. Read more

Can We Harvest Invasive Species for Biofuels?

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 21:59 (Renewable Energy World)

According to a recent study at the University of Illinois, harvesting invasive plants for use as biofuels may sound like a great idea, but the reality poses numerous obstacles and is too expensive to consider, at least with the current ethanol pathways. Read more

Duke Accepts Wind Industry's First Bird Death Fine

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 22:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Duke Energy Renewables and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have reached a settlement on charges levied under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for 14 golden eagle mortalities within the past three years at its Top of the World and Campbell Hill wind farms near Casper, Wyoming. It's the wind industry's first such penalty for a topic that's become an increasing point of debate. Read more

Skytron Energy installs control system in Kuwait’s first PV power plant

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 13:41 (PV-Tech)

Germany-based renewable energy control manufacturer, Skytron Energy, has completed of a monitoring system in Kuwait’s first solar energy plant. Read more

EnergyTrend: Japan PV demand to remain high despite FiT cuts

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 13:38 (PV-Tech)

Trendforce research division EnergyTrend has issued a report claiming that PV demand is expected to remain strong in Japan for 2014 and 2015 in spite of rumoured feed-in tariff cuts. Read more

Mitigating Renewable Energy Risk

Monday, 11.25.2013 - 11:17 (Renewable Energy World)

With the majority of people wanting more emphasis on domestic production of renewable energy what do wind and solar installation operators need to know if they are ramping up their production and seeking to better maintain their existing fleet. David Appleyard spoke with Lauren Berry, vice president at insurance company Travelers who highlights some key risk management techniques. Read more