Sharp closing uncompetitive UK solar module assembly plant

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 17:41 (PV-Tech)

Sharp has announced that it will cease solar PV production at its Wrexham manufacturing plant in February 2014. Read more

Tool Order: Meyer Burger wins first heterojunction line order from Asia-based cell producer

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 10:44 (PV-Tech)

A leading solar cell manufacturer in Asia has placed its first order with Meyer Burger, via its subsidiary, Roth & Rau for its ‘Heterojunction’ technology that combines amorphous silicon thin-film layers to both sides of monocrystalline silicon wafers. Read more

SunEdison to refinance capital structure, issue USD 1 billion in convertible notes

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has announced a refinancing of its capital structure which includes an offer of USD 1 billion in convertible notes in a private placement. Purchasers will have the option to buy an additional USD 200 million in notes. SunEdison intends to use the proceeds from the notes to pay off the principal on higher-interest notes, a loan and to fund convertible note hedge transactions. The company has also upgraded its fourth quarter 2013 forecast, stating that it intends to hold an additional 25–30 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects which it will complete on its balance sheet in a YieldCo structure. Read more

The Solar Opportunity

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 17:56 (Renewable Energy World)

The coming of solar grid parity offers an opportunity for millions of Americans to go solar affordably. But it also means a potential transformation, a democratization of an electricity system long dominated by centrally-controlled utilities and centralized ownership and production of electricity. When solar can undercut grid electricity prices, it Read more

Sharp shuts down Wrexham solar manufacturing facility

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 16:50 (Solarpowerportal)

Sharp has announced that it will cease solar PV production at its Wrexham manufacturing plant in February 2014. Read more

Solarize Plano Initiative Exceeds Installation Expectations in Energy-rich Texas

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 16:14 (Renewable Energy World)

According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website, “A study commissioned by the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) in the mid-1990s found that Texas has 250 “quads” of solar energy accessible per year. Given that one quad is one quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs) of energy — enough to meet the annual needs of about 3 million people — Texas’ solar energy potential is enormous.” Read more

Canadian Solar Caps 2013 with Mega Deals

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 15:27 (Renewable Energy World)

The year 2013 will go down as a major turning point for China’s solar panel makers, with some names emerging as new sector leaders after a prolonged downturn while others quietly disappeared. The latter category saw former leader Suntech (OTC: STPFQ) go bankrupt and LDK (NYSE: LDK) quietly sell off many of its assets, while the former category has Read more

No solar PV, CSP awarded in Brazil's A-5 auction

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 15:24 (Solarserver)

Brazilian national utility EPE did not select a single solar project among the 119 project totaling 3.5 GW of capacity awarded in its A-5/2013 energy auction. Wind represented the majority of winning projects, with 97 projects totaling 2.34 GW of capacity approved. Read more

Yingli consortium wins 233 MW of solar PV projects in Algerian solicitation

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 14:37 (Solarserver)

The government of Algeria has awarded 233 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to a consortium consisting of subsidiaries of Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (Baoding, China) and Sinohydro Corp. Ltd. (Beijing), and Hydrochina Corp. (Beijing). Under Algeria's system a subsidiary of the state-owned utility National Society for Electricity and Gas (Sonelgaz) will develop the projects, with the consortium responsible for design and construction. Read more

Zero solar success in Brazil’s A-5 energy auction

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 14:09 (PV-Tech)

No solar projects were successful in the second national energy tender auction in Brazil. Read more

World Bank plots India’s path to ambitious 20GW solar target

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 12:00 (PV-Tech)

The World Bank has talked up the potential of solar energy in India but warned that the country must make a number of changes if it is to hit its own ambitious deployment target of 20GW by 2022. Read more

British Solar Renewables wins planning permission for 5.85MW solar farm

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 10:56 (Solarpowerportal)

British Solar Renewables has been granted planning permission by Wiltshire Council to build a 5.85MW solar farm on land adjacent to a sewage treatment works and Westbury Business Park. Read more

Hanergy to transfer Global Solar intellectual property to subsidiary

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 9:11 (Solarserver)

Hanergy Solar Group Ltd. (Hong Kong) has entered into an agreement to transfer the intellectual property of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer Global Solar (Tucson, Arizona, U.S.) to its Hanergy Hi-Tech (Hong Kong) subsidiary. Parent company Hanergy Holding (Beijing) completed its acquisition of Global Solar in July 2013, after acquiring CIGS PV makers Solibro GmbH (Thalheim, Germany) and MiaSolé (Santa Clara, California, U.S.). Read more

Meyer Burger reports USD 21 million in solar PV equipment orders, including printing system for high-efficiency PV cells

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 9:00 (Solarserver)

Meyer Burger Technology Ltd. (Thun, Switzerland) has announced two solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts for a total of USD 21 million. In the first, the company's Roth & Rau subsidiary has agreed to supply inkjet printers to a U.S. company for high performance monocrystalline PV cells. This makes Meyer Burger the only company globally offering a printing process suitable for the mass production of high-efficiency PV in combination with electroplating. In addition to PiXDRO ink jet printing technology, the contract includes wafer inspection systems from Hennecke Systems, another member of Meyer Burger Group, for a total value of around USD 3.9 million. Read more

USDA, US Navy Unveil Farm to Fleet Program: Navy “Open for Business” as Shift to Biofuels Blends Begins

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 15:42 (Renewable Energy World)

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus unveiled the “Farm to Fleet” program, through which the Navy will begin to add biofuels into its regular domestic purchases of approximately 77 million gallons of jet fuel (JP-5) and marine diesel (F-76) each year. Read more

Yingli lands 233MW PV order in Algeria

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 13:38 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green has won the contract for 233MW of PV projects in Algeria as part of a unique partnership with two hydro and wind power firms. Read more

Offshore Windfarm Plans Shelved by SSE

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 6:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Proposals for a 1200 MW offshore wind farm off the UK coast have been dropped by developers ScottishPower Renewables. Read more

MidAmerican, Siemens Secure 1 GW Turbine Pact for Iowa Wind Farms

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 19:10 (Renewable Energy World)

We're just days away from the end of calendar 2013, which means a number of annual rituals: holiday parties, lists of top-everything-whatever -- and angst over the expiring production tax credit (PTC) that has been key to the U.S. wind industry's growth. Read more

US Will Consider Financing Part of Congo’s $12 Billion Inga 3 Hydropower Project

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 14:12 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. will consider financing some of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s $12 billion Inga 3 hydropower project, Rajiv Shah, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said in an interview today. Read more

Are Electric Vehicles Already Halfway to Market Dominance?

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 19:19 (Renewable Energy World)

Electric vehicles have been all the rage in the last few years, but those who have studied EVs and their history know that this isn’t the first go-round at the rodeo for this “new” technology. In fact, EVs were the most popular type of vehicle at the dawn of the vehicle era. In 1899, more EVs were sold than gasoline-powered cars. Albeit, the numbers were small (about 1,500 EVs were sold in that year) but nonetheless EVs were the dominant technology for at least a decade. And then Mr. Ford came along with his Model T and ensured the ascendancy of petroleum-powered cars for the next century. Read more

Order Focus: Daqo books first polysilicon supply deal for 2015 capacity

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

With plans to double polysilicon production by the end of 2014, China-based Daqo New Energy has secured its first contract for supply starting in 2015 for its expanded capacity. Read more

Goldpoly proposes name change, continues downstream acquisition spree

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 14:04 (PV-Tech)

Chinese PV manufacturer Goldpoly New Energy Holdings has continued the expansion of its downstream business with the acquisition of a Zhongli Talesun subsidiary and with it 180MW worth of PV projects. Read more

UK Urged to Auction Renewable Deals to Cut Electricity Bills

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 13:36 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.K. should hold competitive auctions for most renewable power contracts to bring down technology costs and lower the impact on consumer electricity bills, an analyst linked to the ruling Conservative Party said. Read more

U.S. DOE report looks at ways to support more grid energy storage

Monday, 12.16.2013 - 8:56 (Solarserver)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has produced a report for the U.S. Senate on the benefits of grid energy storage, which looks at the benefits of energy storage, the challenges that must be addressed to enable to wider use, and the efforts that DOE and other agencies are taking to meet those challenges. The report identifies development of cost-effective storage, validated reliability and safety, and equitable regulatory environment and industry acceptance as main challenges. It also notes that the need for energy storage is increasing along with the growth of renewables in the nation's power supply, and the increasing frequency of severe weather due to climate change. Read more