Toshiba to take on utilities with PV in German residential market

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 18:52 (PV-Tech)

Toshiba Corporation has announced that it will market an onsite consumption solar power system for apartment buildings in Germany from March next year. Read more

China to hit 10GW of installed PV by end of 2013

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 18:41 (PV-Tech)

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has forecast that on grid solar capacity in the country will reach 10GW by the end of 2013, according to state news agency Xinhua. Read more

Revised strike prices: Industry reaction

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 18:15 (Solarpowerportal)

A comprehensive roundup of the green sector’s reaction to the revised solar strike prices announced today Read more

UK updates solar PV strike price under Contracts for Difference

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 15:37 (Solarserver)

The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change has altered the strike prices in its “Contracts for Difference” (CfD) program, setting a long-term strike price for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants above that requested by the solar industry, but offering a lower level than requested in the first two years of the program. Read more

Get Up Close and Personal with Duke Energy's Stanton Solar Farm

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 15:01 (Renewable Energy World)

One of my favorite parts of attending a conference is the opportunity to take a tour of a renewable energy installation.  During Renewable Energy World Conference, North America, attendees were given the opportunity to visit the Duke Energy owned and operated Stanton Solar Array in Orange County Florida. The solar farm was built by the Orlando Util Read more

Hanwha SolarOne to supply 150 MW of solar PV modules for Chinese project through new partnership

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 15:00 (Solarserver)

Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co. Ltd. (ZTT, Nantong, China) to establish a partnership for the building of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in China. Read more

Oregon Researchers Shed New Light on Solar Water-splitting Process

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:34 (Renewable Energy World)

With the help of a new method called "dual-electrode photoelectrochemistry," University of Oregon scientists in the U.S. have provided new insight into how solar water-splitting cells work. An important and overlooked parameter, they report, is the ion-permeability of electrocatalysts used in water-splitting devices. Read more

Hanwha Solar One signs deal to accelerate downstream activities in China

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:16 (PV-Tech)

Hanwha Solar One has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology to jointly develop, construct, finance and grid-connect PV projects. Read more

Sreen printing firm DEK sold to ASM Pacific Technology for US$170 million

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:05 (PV-Tech)

Manufacturer of PV screen printing equipment, DEK Solar, has been sold as part of a deal between the owner of DEK, Dover Corporation, and ASM Pacific Technology (ASMPT), itself a part of Dutch-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASM International. Read more

Screen printing firm DEK sold to ASM Pacific Technology for US$170 million

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:05 (PV-Tech)

Manufacturer of PV screen printing equipment, DEK Solar, has been sold as part of a deal between the owner of DEK, Dover Corporation, and ASM Pacific Technology (ASMPT), itself a part of Dutch-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASM International. Read more

Netherlands scraps distribution charge for solar installs

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 13:22 (PV-Tech)

The Netherlands has removed a distribution fee for solar owners looking to put excess power back onto the grid. Read more

UK government confirms large-scale solar support to 2019

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 13:21 (PV-Tech)

The UK government has set revised strike prices for large-scale solar under its new ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfD) renewables support system that will come into effect from next year. Read more

Kenya energy agencies in the dark over reported suspension of solar licensing

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 13:11 (PV-Tech)

Kenya’s energy regulator and renewable energy department have both said they are unaware of reported plans by the East African country’s government to suspend the licensing of new solar farms. Read more

Kenya energy agencys in the dark over reported suspension of solar licensing

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 13:11 (PV-Tech)

Kenya’s energy regulator and renewable energy department have both said they are unaware of reported plans by the East African country’s government to suspend the licensing of new solar farms. Read more

DECC confirms 19.2p/kWh tariff for domestic solar thermal under RHI

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 12:43 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that the tariff for domestic solar thermal installations under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme will be set at 19.2 pence per kWh. Read more

DECC unveils new solar strike prices for 2015 onwards

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 12:15 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed the revised strike prices for large-scale solar. Read more

SolarReserve opens Australia office for opportunities in mining sector

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 11:53 (PV-Tech)

Large-scale solar energy developer, SolarReserve, has announced its intention to expand operations into the Australian market, opening an office in Perth, Western Australia. Read more

Reports: UK set to slash post-2015 support for large-scale solar

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 10:55 (PV-Tech)

The UK government is to announce “dramatic” cuts today in support for both solar and onshore wind, according to the BBC. Read more

Reliance Power to commission 100 MW solar CSP plant in India during Q1 2014

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 9:13 (Solarserver)

Reliance Power Ltd. (Mumbai) has reported that it expects to commission a 100 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) project in the Indian state of Rajasthan during the first three months of 2014. India awarded seven CSP projects totaling 470 MW through phase 1, batch 1 of the nation's National Solar Mission. However, to date only one has been completed, Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd.'s (Chhatisgarh, India) 50 MW plant in Rajasthan. Read more

Centrosolar America, Hawaiian Energy Systems complete 243 kW PV Installation for one of Hawaii’s oldest private schools

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

On December 3rd, 2013 Hawaiian Energy Systems, Inc. (Aiea, HI) and Centrosolar America (Scottsdale, AZ) announced the completion of a 243 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, a prestigious, non-profit, all-girls private school that has been facing enormous electricity bills in recent years as Hawaii’s energy costs continue to rise. The rooftop installation will reduce the school’s energy costs, which have exceeded USD 350,000 annually in recent years, by approximately 33%, Centrosolar America emphasizes. Read more

NREL: Soft costs rise to 64% of U.S. residential solar PV system costs

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, Golden, Colorado, U.S.) has published two reports which find that solar financing and other non-hardware costs now represent an average of 64% of the total system price of U.S. residential solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. This is an increase from 50% of the total price in an earlier edition of one of the reports. Soft costs also made up the majority of commercial PV system costs, at 57% of the cost for commercial plants smaller than 250 kW and 52% for larger PV plants. Read more

Germany installs 226 MW of new solar PV in October 2013

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

Germany installed 226 MW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in October 2013, according to data from the nation's federal network agency. This brings Germany to 2.91 GW installed in the first ten months of the year. If these installation levels continue for the final two months of 2013, the nation will reach the upper limit of the government goal to install 3 to 3.5 GW of PV annually through the feed-in tariff. This will also be roughly half the 7.4–7.6 GW installed in each of the previous three years. Read more

Soitec begins construction of 1.3 MW solar CPV project in Portugal

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 8:43 (Solarserver)

Soitec SA (Bernin, France) has completed financing and begun construction of a 1.3 MW concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plant in Southern Portugal which uses its CPV technology. Project funders include Enovos International SA (Luxembourg) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon). The plant is being installed by Electricidade Industrial Portuguesa SA (EIP, Lisbon), with Luz.On (Portugal) serving as project developer. Read more

BBC reports large-scale solar support will be cut in 2015

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 8:35 (Solarpowerportal)

The government will announce “dramatic” cuts in support for both solar and onshore wind, according to the BBC. Read more

PV Cycle hosts December webinars for PV importers ahead of WEEE legislation

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 7:15 (Solarpowerportal)

PV Cycle UK has announced that it will be hosting a final round of solar PV webinars aimed at importers of solar ahead of new legal obligations coming into force on 1 January 2014. Read more

Latin America Report: Gauging Mexico's Wind Energy Market

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. market for wind energy is something of a contradiction: it's one of the world's larger markets and fastest growing with its own supply chain, yet it's still heavily reliant upon a production tax credit, which was renewed at the last minute last December (yet late with enough uncertainty to chill many projects in the pipeline), and this time its renewal is even less certain. Read more

Australian government claims new low carbon support will ‘last decades’

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:16 (PV-Tech)

Renewable energy will benefit from a “decades long” carbon abatement fund, Australia’s environment minister Greg Hunt has claimed. Read more

UK Publishes New Renewables Strike Prices

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:12 (Renewable Energy World)

The UK government has today published subsidies for renewable energy generation from next year. Strike prices are the minimum sum the government will pay power companies for electricity they generate and form part of the Electricity Market Reform, a package of measures designed to stimulate up to £110bn of investment in low carbon energy. Read more

China Doubles Renewable Energy Capacity Amid Push to Cut Pollution

Wednesday, 12.4.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

China doubled the pace of adding renewable energy capacity in the first 10 months of the year as the government worked to cut pollution in its largest cities. Read more