Suntech Holds Talks with Wuxi on Receiving Support, Adviser Says

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 16:58 (Renewable Energy World)

Suntech Power Holdings Co., the Chinese solar-panel maker with $541 million in convertible bonds due next month, is talking with the government of Wuxi about the possibility of financial support. Read more

IMS Research: Market for PV inverter service plans to grow 110%

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 9:32 (Solarserver)

IMS Research (Wellingborough, UK) has released a new report which predicts that the market for solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter service plans and extended warranties will grow 110% to reach USD 1.7 billion by 2017. The report finds that one of the key drivers for the growth will be demand for services for utility-scale PV plants, which IMS Research expects to be one of the fastest-growing PV market segments over the next five years. Read more

VDE, Fraunhofer Will Certify PV Plants for "Technical Bankability"

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 21:16 (Renewable Energy World)

Key technical components of a solar PV system go through the rigors of testing, evaluation, and certification ? but what about when they're all assembled and running as a full PV plant? VDE and Fraunhofer ISE think they've found a new way to ensure the performance, reliability ? and "technical bankability" ? of solar PV plants with a new system-level certification spanning quality, safety, and performance of the plant as a whole and its components. Read more

New report on solar water heating installations in rural Tibet

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 19:02 (Solarserver)

Shar Dzong Development Group has released a report that outlines its solar water heater (SWH) project for rural families in the Jinyuan Township, Tibet. The SWH project in Tibet involved the purchasing and installation of 110 solar water heaters in three target villages, ran for 10 months and benefitted 648 people. Read more

Asia Report: India's Solar Market at a Crossroads

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 18:12 (Renewable Energy World)

As India prepares to enter Phase II of its National Solar Mission (NSM), one of the world's more promising solar markets finds itself at a critical juncture. Much uncertainty lingers in this young market: financing is still challenging, a trade dispute looms, and policy decisions now being hashed out at both national and state levels could swell the country's market to its lofty goals ? or just as easily undercut that momentum, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group's Raj Prabhu. Read more

Sandia Laboratories to collaborate with inflatable CPV startup Cool Earth Solar

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 17:11 (Solarserver)

On February 20th, 2013, Cool Earth Solar (Livermore, California, U.S.) announced that it has signed an agreement with Sandia National Laboratories to test its solar photovoltaic (PV) technology at Sandia's Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). Cool Earth Solar?s inflated, tube-shaped concentrators (3 foot diameter) are made of plastic film - similar to films used commercially for packaging and shipping. When inflated with air, the concentrator forms a shape that concentrates sunlight onto a solar PV cell placed at the focal point. Due to Cool Earth a single PV cell in its concentrator generates up to 1,200 times the electricity of a solar cell without a concentrator. Read more

UK?s first ?Solar House? to be built in Leicestershire

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 16:44 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK?s first carbon neutral ?Solar House? has been granted planning permission by Harborough District Council. Read more

Trina Solar reports ongoing losses in 4Q 2012

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 16:03 (Solarserver)

Trina Solar Ltd. (Changzhou, China) has released fourth quarter and full year 2012 results, reporting a 31% year-over-year fall in revenues to USD 303 million, and an operating margin of -23% in the fourth quarter of 2012. The company's module shipments also fell 2.4% year-over-year during the quarter. Over the full year 2012, Trina revenues fell 37% to USD 1.30 billion at a -20% operating margin, despite a slight increase in module shipments to 1.6 GW. Read more

VDE, Fraunhofer ISE to offer certification for large solar PV plants

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 15:59 (Solarserver)

VDE (Frankfurt, Germany) has announced that it will provide testing services for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Freiburg, Germany). The new label, VDE Quality Tested for PV Power Plants, will verify the complete certification of PV power plants, including quality, performance and safety. VDE has also established a US subsidiary, VDE Americas. Read more

Uruguay Plans 200 Megawatts of the World's Cheapest Solar Energy

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Uruguay will offer contracts next month to buy power from 200 megawatts of solar farms at the world's cheapest rates as the South American nation seeks to add low-cost generation. Read more

India Utility Lanco Seeks Investors to Boost Solar Capacity

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Lanco Infratech Ltd., India's second-biggest non-state power generator, is seeking private-equity investors to help expand its solar capacity fivefold as a coal shortage roils its thermal business and payment defaults by state utilities widen the group's losses. Read more

China comes top on Ernst & Young?s renewable energy index but US takes crown for solar index

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 13:45 (PV-Tech)

China has scored the highest on Ernst & Young?s country attractiveness indices (CAI) index for February 2013. Read more

Panasonic introduces 100 Thousand Solar Lantern Project

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 13:05 (PV-Tech)

Electronics giant Panasonic has launched its 100 Thousand Solar Lantern Project which will see the company donate a total of 100,000 solar LED lanterns to people around the world with no access to electricity. Read more

Lanco Infratech on the search for investors to expand PV capacity

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 12:44 (PV-Tech)

Lanco Infratech, an Indian power generation company involved in EPC and solar among others, is reportedly seeking private equity investors to help the company to expand its PV capacity. Read more

aleo solar estimates USD -98 million EBIT in 2012, partnership for low-interest loans

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 12:16 (Solarserver)

Aleo solar AG (Oldenburg, Germany) has released a preliminary estimate of its fiscal year 2012 operating result, reporting an EBIT of EUR -74 million (USD -98 million). With previously reported 2012 revenues of EUR 280 million (USD 369 million), this will give aleo a 2012 operating margin of -26%. This is a significant decline from the EUR -30.5 million (USD 40.2 million) the company reported in 2011. The company has also announced a partnership with Sullivan Solar Power (San Diego, California, US) to provide low-interest loans for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Southern California. Read more

Fitch updates Rating Criteria for Solar Power Projects

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 12:08 (Solarserver)

Fitch Ratings (New York, New York, U.S.) has published an update of its ?Rating Criteria for Solar Power Projects?, which replaces its existing criteria published in February 2012 without modifying the company's analytical approach. The report also includes further clarification of Fitch's assessment of solar photovoltaic (PV), concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in operation, as compared to projects under construction. Read more

Pika Energy receives UL certification for PV, wind energy inverter

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 18:57 (Solarserver)

On February 21st, 2013, Pika Energy (Portland, Maine, U.S.) announced it has received listing to Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 1741 standard for its 3.0 kilowatt (kW) residential-scale X3001 solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter. The X3001 inverter is a component of Pika Energy's system that converts direct current (DC) generated from a wind turbine or solar array to alternating current (AC), which can be used locally or fed into the electric grid. Read more

Technological Advances Improving Wind Power's Competitiveness

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 16:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Anti-wind power lobbyists have long contested claims by the wind industry that wind power is competitive with fossil fuels. But technological advances, making wind turbines bigger, smarter, and more competitive in all situations, mean the wind is fast being taken out of the naysayers? sails. Both EWEA and GWEC, the Global Wind Energy Council, agree Read more

Geothermal Expansion at Ethiopia Plant a Signal of More to Come

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 17:30 (Renewable Energy World)

An expansion project at the Aluto-Langano geothermal power plant is set to begin this month. Read more

Geothermal Deal Could Bridge the Gap for Future Development

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 15:47 (Renewable Energy World)

The geothermal industry has been struggling with the same barriers to development for years. It's a frustrating situation: while geothermal is a reliable, steady baseload form of renewable energy, its development expenses overshadow its obvious long-term benefits. Meanwhile, other intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar are able to take advantage ? and control ? of state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies and other incentives due to their lower costs of deployment. Read more

Chile's Ministry of Energy launches program to promote renewable energy technology transfer for self-sufficiency

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 18:53 (Solarserver)

On February 21st, 2013, Chile's Energy Minister Jorge Bunster officially launched the contest, "Innovation in Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE), aiming at the promotion of technology transfer and the ability to develop NCRE projects for self-sufficiency. Read more

Masdar plans inauguration of Shams 1 CSP project in March

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 17:02 (PV-Tech)

Masdar, an Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy and sustainable technology specialist, is reportedly planning to inaugurate and connect its 100MW Shams 1 CSP project on 17 March. Read more

Two Green Stocks I Told My Sister to Sell

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 15:53 (Renewable Energy World)

Once a year, I give my sister stock trading advice. Managing money is not her thing, so any more often and she'd likely lose interest, and not do anything. With that constraint, I wait until there are a large number of stocks I think she should trade, and send he a list of trades, along with quantities and limit prices for her to enter "good 'til canceled." Read more

Ernst & Young criticises ?over-hyped? Energy Bill

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 12:17 (Solarpowerportal)

Ernst & Young has criticised the UK?s energy policy environment, saying that the ?over-hyped? energy bill has failed to meet the investor market?s requirements. Read more

EPIA calls on EU energy ministers to promote flexibility in internal energy market

Tuesday, 2.26.2013 - 9:27 (Solarserver)

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has called for greater flexibility in the EU's internal energy market, in an approach which promotes the growth and integration of solar photovoltaics (PV) and other renewable energy sources. EPIA has called on EU energy ministers to adopt and implement national flexibility strategies coordinated across Europe, with a balance between demand-side management, storage and interconnection. The organization states that such flexibility mechanisms must come before setting up remuneration mechanisms to align generation with demand. Read more