Microsoft, Indigo and Kenya team up on low-cost PV-powered broadband project

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 20:53 (Solarserver)

On February 4th, 2013, Microsoft Corp. announced that it has partnered with Kenya's Ministry of Information and Communications and Indigo Telecom Ltd. to launch a pilot project delivering low-cost wireless broadband access to locations near Nanyuki and Kalema, Kenya. The partnership plans to utilize TV white spaces and solar-photovoltaic (PV) powered base stations to deliver broadband access and create new opportunities for commerce, education, healthcare and delivery of government services. Read more

Obama appoints Sally Jewell to serve as interior secretary

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 16:00 (Solarserver)

On February 6th, 2013 US President Barack Obama announced his choice of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) CEO Sally Jewell to lead the Department of the Interior. If confirmed by the US Senate, Jewell will replace current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who oversaw a dramatic expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) projects on public lands. President Obama has emphasized Jewell's environmental record as head of REI. Read more

Conergy plans further 31.5MW PV capacity in Thailand

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:05 (PV-Tech)

German PV project developer Conergy is further stamping its mark in the Thai solar market with an additional three solar projects in the pipeline. Read more

Heraeus purchases Ferro's solar cell metallization pastes business

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 9:50 (Solarserver)

On February 6th, 2013 Heraeus Precious Metals (Hanau, Germany) officially purchased Ferro Corporation's (Cleveland, Ohio, US) solar pastes business unit for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes intellectual property associated with the development and production of metallization pastes for solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Heraeus will incorporate its purchase into its Photovoltaics Business Unit. Read more

US challenges India's domestic content requirement through the WTO

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 2:11 (Solarserver)

On February 6th, 2013 the United States formally challenged local content requirements for solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules in India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) through the World Trade Organization (WTO). Read more

University of Delaware names Russian scientists as winners of PV award

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 21:07 (Solarserver)

On February 5th, 2013, University of Delaware (Newark, Delaware, U.S.) announced Zhores I. Alferov and Viacheslav M. Andreev as winners of the 2013 Karl Böer Solar Energy Medal of Merit. Alferov, Nobel Laureate, is professor and president of the St. Petersburg Academic University of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Andreev is professor and head of the laboratory of the A.F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg. Read more

LDK Solar wins arbitration on wafer supply contract against Helios

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 21:00 (Solarserver)

On February 4th, 2013, LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (Xinyu City, China) announced that it won an arbitration case against Helios Technology SpA (Carmignano di Brenta, Italy). After a long dispute with Helios, the Venice Court of Appeal declared on January 16th, 2013 that, according to the ICC Rules of Arbitration, the 2010 award in favor of LDK Solar is valid, effective and enforceable in Italy. Read more

British University in Dubai, Heriot Watt University to participate in Solar Decathlon Europe 2014

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 20:46 (Solarserver)

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) and Heriot Watt University have formed a team to participate in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 competition to be held in France. The team of two UAE-based higher education institutions has been selected to take part in the solar Decathlon Europe 2014, along with 27 teams from around the world. Read more

Real Goods Solar appoints Tony DiPaolo as CFO

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 16:58 (PV-Tech)

Real Goods Solar, a US provider of turnkey solar energy solutions, has appointed Tony DiPaolo as chief financial officer, succeeding interim CFO, Angy Chin who will remain in an advisory role during the transition. Read more

Bosch Solar Energy and aloe solar secure US$100 million in financing for select US projects

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 16:10 (PV-Tech)

Bosch Solar Energy North America and aleo solar have secured and made available US$100 million to fund select commercial and residential solar projects within the US. Read more

Bosch Solar Energy and aleo solar secure US$100 million in financing for select US projects

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 16:10 (PV-Tech)

Bosch Solar Energy North America and aleo solar have secured and made available US$100 million to fund select commercial and residential solar projects within the US. Read more

Greg Barker?s Solar Roadshow speech in full

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 15:36 (Solarpowerportal)

I am delighted to be at Sandown today, launching the first in a series of six Solar Roadshows across the UK. As the Roadshows journey across the UK, so can the industry grow on its foundations to reach out to new markets and customers, and succeed across the country. Read more

Japan Banks Ante Up to $19 Billion Solar Market

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 15:34 (Renewable Energy World)

Japan's biggest banks are following Goldman Sachs Group Inc. into domestic solar-power projects, anticipating an eightfold increase for investments in the industry. Read more

U.S.-India Solar Trade Dispute at the WTO Could Spur Collaboration

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Today?s decision by the U.S. government to challenge India?s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (National Solar Mission) local content requirement at the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlights a growing problem in the solar industry ? the growth of localization barriers to trade.  In particular, local content provisions provide preferential Read more

Watch Live Coverage of PV America! 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST. Click Here for PVA 2013 East

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.pvamericaexpo.com/east/about/solar-central/#tab-4 Read more

Here Comes Another Solar Trade Dispute

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Trade complaints are nothing unusual, but they seem to have become more common in the world of solar these days. The U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday he's taking the first step toward lodging a World Trade Organization complaint against India for a policy that blocks some U.S. companies from a growing market. Read more

T-Solar connects its second PV plant in India

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:49 (PV-Tech)

Spanish independent solar power producer T-Solar Group has completed a 12.3MWp PV plant in India which also represents the company?s second grid-connected PV plant in the country. Read more

EMCORE solar PV business remains healthy

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:21 (Solarserver)

EMCORE Corporation (Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.) has released results for its most recent financial quarter, reporting USD 19.6 million in revenue from its photovoltaics (PV) business, a slight increase over the prior year and a 13% increase from the previous quarter. The company's first quarter ended December 31st, 2013. EMCORE reported revenues of USD 49.3 million across both divisions, with an operating margin of 5.7% and a net income of USD 2.8 million. Read more

US demands WTO examines India?s anti-dumping investigation

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

The US government has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over India?s national solar programme, claiming it is ?discriminatory? against US solar manufacturers. Read more

Upsolar expands to Balkan solar PV markets with Plan-net partnership

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:15 (Solarserver)

Upsolar Group Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has announced that it will offer its full suite of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to customers in Serbia and Croatia through a partnership with Plan-net DOO (Preserje, Slovenia). Upsolar says this will also enable it to further expand its reach to new markets throughout Europe. Plan-net Solar has collaborated with Upsolar in former Yugoslavia since 2009, and recently opened offices in Bestovje (Croatia) and ?imanovci (Serbia). Read more

Solar shakeout: Ferro finds buyer for conductive paste business

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:14 (PV-Tech)

Less than six-months after Ferro put its conductive paste business up for grabs, major materials supplier, Heraeus has purchased the business for an undisclosed sum. Read more

Energiebau to market SolarEdge power optimization solution for PV systems in Europe

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 12:10 (Solarserver)

Energiebau Solarstromsysteme GmbH (Cologne, Germany) and SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (Hod Hasharon, Israel), a global provider of solar power optimization systems, announced a global distribution partnership in order to expand the product offering of Energiebau and as an answer to the increasing demand for SolarEdge?s innovative systems. Read more

SunEdison co-Founder Jigar Shah calls on Middle East governments to work on policies for solar market growth

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 9:45 (Solarserver)

Solar experts including SunEdison co-Founder Jigar Shah have called upon Middle East governments to increase support for solar technologies through regulatory and political action. Shah sent this message in the run-up to the Solar Middle East Conference on February 17th-19th, 2013 in Dubai, UAE. He notes that there are ten major solar projects worth a total of USD 6.8 billion under development in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, but cites a lack of clear policy and incentives as a challenge. Read more

Australian Wind Energy Now Cheaper Than Coal and Gas

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 17:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Wind is now cheaper than fossil fuels in producing electricity in Australia, the world's biggest coal exporter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read more

Falling prices spell trouble for Wacker's polysilicon business

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 15:55 (Solarserver)

Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Germany) has released preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012, reporting a drop in sales and profitability due to falling polysilicon prices. The company reports a 17% fall in fourth quarter revenues at Wacker Polysilicon to EUR 213 million (USD 287 million). The division's EBITDA margin also fell from 64% to 37%, but Wacker notes that much of its positive EBITDA is due to retained advanced payments and damages related to terminated contracts. Read more

How Obama Should Tackle Climate Change and Energy Independence in His Second Term

Thursday, 2.7.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

President Obama has already provided climate change and energy issues a prominent place in his second term rhetoric, giving climate change and the environment the most space of all issues in his inaugural address. He also vowed in December to make climate change and energy one of his top three priorities in his second term. Read more