IKEA to double size of rooftop PV array at Distribution center in Perryville, Maryland

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:10 (Solarserver)

IKEA (Delft, The Netherlands) on November 7th, 2013, announced plans to nearly double the solar photovoltaic (PV) array atop its Perryville distribution center in Maryland, USA. The 142,530-square-meter solar PV addition, a 2.2-MW array, comprises 7,337 PV modules, and will produce 2,695,355 kWh of solar power annually for the facility. Read more

China Sunergy shows sequential improvements in Q2 2013, but estimates decline in Q3 shipments

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (Nanjing, China) has released second quarter 2013 results, roughly three months after many other leading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers. The company reports a 35% year-over-year fall in revenues to USD 71.9 million, a -6.3% operating margin, and a net loss of USD 1.8 million. The company made sequential progress from the first quarter in terms of revenues and shipments but also margins, supported by a 7% increase in average selling prices to USD 0.63 per watt. Since the second quarter, the company has also achieved a new efficiency record of 20.3% with its monocrystalline silicon PV cells, but warns of declining shipments. Read more

DuPont to install 4.4MW PV array at French plant

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 7:15 (PV-Tech)

French photovoltaic (PV) project developer and investor Hanau Energies is scheduled to begin construction on a 4.4MW solar power plant on the site of a production facility owned by global chemical company DuPont. Read more

Crowdfunded Solar on Schools: Here's Your Chance to Make the Sun Shine for Kids

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 19:53 (Renewable Energy World)

One of the biggest barriers to community-level renewable energy is access to capital. But increasingly we're seeing increased emphasis on crowdfunding efforts, from Dutch wind turbines to rooftop solar for housing complexes in the U.S. to flywheel energy storage. Now the latest efforts to pool individual investors into backing a renewable energy ef Read more

Ascent Solar Q3 financial results ‘validate strategy’

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:47 (PV-Tech)

Thin-film developer Ascent Solar (Ascent), has released financial results for the third quarter of this year in which the company reported that product revenue was up by US$102,000 over the previous quarter. Read more

Solar Schools enters second year with 19 projects

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:36 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar Schools has launched the second year of its campaign aiming to help schools cut carbon, boost budgets and help engage pupils with renewable energy generation. Read more

Jinko Solar gains Japan certification

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:30 (PV-Tech)

Jinko Solar has become the latest module manufacturer to have its modules certified by the Japan Electrical Safety & Environmental Technology Laboratories (JET) Read more

Terrajoule raises USD 11.5 million for distributed solar PV and energy storage technology

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:23 (Solarserver)

Terrajoule (Redwood City, CA, U.S.) announced a USD 11.5 million round of funding for distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power and energy storage technology. Investors include global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA, Menlo Park, CA, U.S.); Air Liquide Investments in the future And Demonstration (ALIAD), the capital development company of Air Liquide (Paris, France); and individual investors. Read more

Bittele Electronics supports Georgia Tech’s solar PV car engineering team

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:19 (Solarserver)

Bittele Electronics Inc. (Toronto, Canada) on November 7th, 2013, announced it has provided sponsorship to the Solar Jackets, Georgia Tech College of Engineering's solar photovoltaic (PV) racing car team. Georgia Tech Solar Jackets is a student organization whose mission is to design and construct competitive solar racing cars. The team has recently competed in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, held in Austin, Texas in 2013. Their next competition is planned for the 2015 World Solar Challenge in Australia. Read more

REC Solar expands to Inland Empire, California

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 16:15 (Solarserver)

REC Solar ASA (Singapore) on November 7th, 2013, announced it will open its 11th office in California, U.S., to meet the growing demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the Inland Empire (IE) region. Thanks to a partnership with solar financing company Sunrun (San Francisco, CA, U.S.), IE homeowners can go solar with no to low upfront costs and reduce their energy bills immediately, the company affirms. Read more

SolarCity to build 12 MW solar PV plant in Kaua'i, Hawaii, island to exceed German levels of PV penetration

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 15:54 (Solarserver)

Officials from SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, California, U.S.) and utility Kaua'i Island Electricity Cooperative (KIUC) attended a blessing and groundbreaking ceremony for a 12 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that SolarCity will build in Kaua'i, one of the eight major islands that comprise the U.S. state of Hawaii. Read more

NSP continues growth, ponders capacity expansion in Q3 2013 results

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 15:11 (Solarserver)

Neo Solar Power (NSP, Hsinchu, Taiwan) has released results for the third quarter of 2013, reporting USD 216 million in revenues, a 7.9% operating margin and a return to profitability with a USD 15.8 million net income. NSP has grown rapidly since it finalized the acquisition of DelSolar (Chunan Chen, Taiwan) in May 2013, and third quarter revenues are a 57% increase over the previous quarter. Read more

Beijing Ups Solar Energy Targets as Suntech Liquidates

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 13:43 (Renewable Energy World)

More good news is coming for the rebounding solar sector with word that Beijing is accelerating its build-up of solar power plants in a bid to help the industry and also improve China’s dismal air quality. But that news is coming too late for rapidly disappearing sector pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), which has just announced it has formally launched Read more

US companies awarded 300MW PV project in Ethiopia

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 13:29 (PV-Tech)

Three solar power stations totalling 300MW will be built and operated in Ethiopia by two US companies, Global Trade and Development Consulting (GTDC) and Energy Ventures. Read more

Birmingham investigates solar-powered electric buses

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 11:39 (Solarpowerportal)

Birmingham City Council has unveiled its vision for the future of transport in the city which includes proposals to electrify the entire city’s transit network. Read more

Skytron enables dispatchable power from 115 MW of Romanian solar PV plants

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 10:56 (Solarserver)

Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider LSG Building Solutions GmbH (Vienna) has awarded Skytron Energy GmbH (Berlin) a contract to supply its power control solutions for a 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Romania. Skytron's solutions will enable the plant to meet new requirements of the Romanian grid system, including a requirement for power feed directed by local dispatchers and to provide balancing power for frequency support. LSG had previously awarded Skytron contracts to supply a 45 MW and a 20 MW PV project in Romania, for a total of 115 MW of contracts. Read more

US utility trade body told to confess or condemn in ‘dark money’ row

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 10:06 (PV-Tech)

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents all investor owned utilities in the US, has been urged to confess or condemn the use of so-called “dark money” to pay for campaigns against solar net metering. Read more

Listen Up: Let's Talk Microinverters and the Future of Rooftop Solar

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 9:08 (Renewable Energy World)

One of my customers recently asked, somewhat flippantly: "What's a microinverter, and why should I care?" Those are the two basic questions that Paul Nahi, CEO of Enphase Energy, answers on today's Energy Show on Renewable Energy World. Read more

Worldwatch Institute finds huge potential for solar in Jamaica

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 9:02 (Solarserver)

The Worldwatch Institute (Washington D.C.) has released a new report which finds that solar photovoltaics (PV), solar water heating and other forms of renewable energy have strong potential in Jamaica, and that renewables could provide cheaper electricity than the island's current fossil-fuel generation mix. “Jamaica Sustainable Energy Roadmap” finds that while the current level of the nation's PV deployment is “unknown but minor”, Jamaica could meet 22% of electricity demand with utility-scale PV systems at seven sites identified in the study. It also finds that implementation of rooftop PV would help to mitigate the high costs of pending transmission upgrades. Read more

SMA Solar Technology sales continue decline in Q3 2013, while international presence expands

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 8:59 (Solarserver)

SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany) has released results for the third quarter of 2013, reporting a 32% year-over-year fall in revenues to EUR 248 million (USD 333 million), a -2.7% operating margin and a net loss of EUR 5.8 million (USD 7.8 million). SMA is having a difficult year. Over the first nine months of 2013 revenues fell 41% to EUR 709 million (USD 952 million), with a 33% decline in the volume of inverters sold to 3.96 GW and a -4.2% operating margin. During this time the company has increased the share of its international sales to 69%, and IHS Inc. (Englewood, Colorado, U.S.) notes the impact of weakness in European markets. Read more

UK confirms plans for 39 GW of offshore wind by 2030

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 17:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Speaking at the Renewable UK conference in Birmingham this week, UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey confirmed plans for the development of up to 39 GW of offshore wind capacity in UK waters by 2030. Read more

UK Confirms Plans for 39 GW of Offshore Wind by 2030

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 17:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Speaking at the Renewable UK conference in Birmingham this week, UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey confirmed plans for the development of up to 39 GW of offshore wind capacity in UK waters by 2030. Read more

UK Offshore Wind Capacity Rises 80 Percent in One Year

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 9:26 (Renewable Energy World)

The installed capacity of the UK’s offshore wind sector has risen by 79 percent in a year. In the period from July 2012 to June 2013, capacity increased from 1,858 MW to 3,321 MW, boosted by four huge wind farms becoming operational – Greater Gabbard, Gunfleet Sands III, Sheringham Shoal, and London Array (pictured), which at 630 MW is currently the biggest offshore wind farm in the world. Read more

Global Climate Talks Need Sense Of Urgency

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 15:08 (Renewable Energy World)

Next week’s global climate talks in Warsaw, Poland, need to be guided by a new sense of urgency.  After more than 20 years of talking about climate change, it’s time for the nations of the world to start putting a meaningful plan in place to fight it. If all goes well, the U.N. sponsored talks – known as COP 19 (short for the 19th Conference of the Read more

“Offtaker of last resort” included in UK Energy Bill

Friday, 11.8.2013 - 10:59 (Solarserver)

The UK government has confirmed plans to develop an “offtaker of last resort” mechanism to ensure market access for independent solar photovoltaic (PV) and other renewable energy generators, as part of policy changes in the latest Energy Bill. UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Baroness Verma says that her agency wants the mechanism in place by the time the first contracts for difference (CfD) are signed in the fall of 2014. The Renewable Energy Association (REA, London) has stressed the need for a mechanism to ensure market access, but also expressed concerns over the details of the proposal. Read more