US Department of Commerce finds that some PV importers are attempting to evade duties

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 22:37 (Solarserver)

On April 11th, 2013, the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has asked the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to undertake enhanced import reviews and potential enforcement based on federal data. DOC assumes that some PV manufacturers and importers of China-made solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are misreporting and underreporting their imports to evade new tariffs on them. Read more

Spectrolab breaks world record with 37.8% cell efficiency

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 13:23 (PV-Tech)

Manufacturer of space solar cells and panels Spectrolab has announced a 37.8% efficiency rate for its multi-junction solar cells. Read more

Natcore to explore selective emitter application for black silicon solar cells with new diffusion furnace

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 12:21 (Solarserver)

Natcore Technology Inc. (Red Bank, New Jersey, US) has acquired and installed a diffusion furnace, which it says will allow for significant improvements in the efficiencies of its black silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. The company notes that the machine will allow it to advance its liquid phase deposition process, with the aim of developing a low-cost selective emitter application. Natcore has also announced that solar pioneer Dr. Daniele Margadonna has joined its advisory board. Read more

California "shared renewables" legislation paves way for community-owned solar

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 22:31 (Solarserver)

Non-profit grassroots organization Vote Solar (San Francisco, California, US) has released a new report stating that California legislation would establish new "shared renewables" programs to allow thousands of California homes, businesses and schools to go solar without owning their own roof. The bills, SB 43 and AB 1014, would create a 1,000 megawatt (MW) shared renewables program, delivering thousands of local jobs and deliver significant economic benefits to the state, according to a new report. Read more

Envision Solar completes "Solar Tree" PV installation at NREL

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 22:24 (Solarserver)

On April 11th, 2013, Envision Solar International (San Diego, California, US) announced that it has installed a second Solar Tree array at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility (VTIF). "The addition of this ‘Made in America’ 18 kilowatt (kW) solar canopy incorporating EnvisionTrak and EV Charging supports NREL's R&D mission to integrate electric vehicles and grid systems for enhanced value," stated Tony Markel, senior engineer, NREL. Read more

How Solar-Friendly City Permitting Processes Can Work in the US

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 18:58 (Renewable Energy World)

A new study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) puts some hard numbers to the benefits realized when U.S. cities streamline their solar PV permitting processes. Read more

From Soybeans to Solar: A Community Energy Project Sprouts from Wisconsin Fields

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 18:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Just north of Delavan, Wisconsin, is Dan Osborne’s nursery farm. Where there was once a bean field now sit 80 solar panels on 100 tracking towers, generating renewable power for over 125 homes. It’s a small, but successful community-owned energy harvest.  The solar farm was developed by Convergence Energy of Lake Geneva, WI and has owners from all Read more

Playing Catch-Up: Emerging Markets Outpacing Developed Regions

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 17:11 (Renewable Energy World)

Recent findings in two NPD Solarbuzz reports, covering the Middle East & Africa and Emerging Asia-Pacific & Central Asia, indicate that both of these areas are set for considerable growth in 2013 with annual demand projected to hit 1 GW in each region. Read more

ib vogt adds 13MW to UK solar portfolio

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 16:27 (Solarpowerportal)

German solar developer ib vogt has completed an additional 13MW of solar in the UK. Read more

85 MW of solar projects registered in East Coast SREC markets in March 2013

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 16:08 (Solarserver)

SCRECTrade Inc.'s (San Francisco, California, US) latest monthly report on solar renewable energy credit (SREC) markets in the Eastern United States finds 52.6 MW of new solar plants in the PJM Interconnect region and 32.9 MW of new plants in Massachusetts registered to create SRECs in March 2013. This brings the PJM Interconnect region to 1.43 GW of registered solar, and Massachusetts to 215 MW. Despite the ongoing collapse in SREC prices, New Jersey remained the largest market in March at 33.5 MW, which brings it to a total of 974 MW of registered PV plants. Read more

PvXchange: Solar PV module price increases milder than expected

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 16:01 (Solarserver)

PvXchange GmbH (Cologne, Germany) has stated that the increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) module prices in Europe due to registration of Chinese PV imports is not as sharp as originally expected, noting only a slight increase in costs for most module types in March 2013. Read more

Ib vogt completes 30 MW of solar PV plants in the UK

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 15:29 (Solarserver)

Ib vogt GmbH (Berlin, Germany) completed four solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in the United Kingdom in March 2013, for a total of roughly 30 MW. Read more

Wagner Solar launches PV kit competition for MCS accredited installers

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 15:20 (Solarpowerportal)

Wagner Solar UK is offering MCS accredited installers attending its The Way Forward product training event the opportunity to win one of two 2kW PV kits. Read more

NLP Solar Sales Training | 2 Loan Programs | Live Webinar May 1st & 2nd

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:31 (Renewable Energy World)

Read more

Tritec installs mounting system on Shropshire dairy farm

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:15 (Solarpowerportal)

UK-based systems integrator Tritec has supplied its TRI-STAND mounting system for a 99.9kWp solar PV rooftop array at a farm in Newport, Shropshire. Read more

ADB to fund development of 57MW of Thai PV capacity

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:07 (PV-Tech)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund a 57MW solar power project in central Thailand by providing a financing package worth US$85 million. Read more

Drip, Drip, Drip: How to Effortlessly Educate Solar Customers with a Few Mouse Clicks

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

One of the responses I received from my ongoing solar marketing survey was from an installer who said that they didn’t have enough time to educate all of their customers. That’s understandable if you’re a small solar shop with a few sales people. One solution is what’s called an email marketing “drip campaign.” An email marketing drip campaign is b Read more

Planning officers approve Camborne Energy’s 7.5MW solar park

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 13:49 (Solarpowerportal)

UK developer Camborne Energy has won a recommendation of approval from planning officers in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for a 7.5MW solar park despite opposition from local residents. Read more

Ebitsch Energietechnik to construct US$2.5 million facility in Brazil

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 12:54 (PV-Tech)

German renewable energy company Ebitsch Energietechnik is to construct a solar PV factory in São José de Mipibu, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte. Read more

Solarplaza: Solar PV causes revolution in Dutch electricity market

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 12:32 (Solarserver)

The growth of solar energy has had a much greater impact on the Dutch energy infrastructure than previously expected and taken into account, SolarPlaza (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), reports in a press release. As solar photovoltaic (PV) panels look set to cover a much greater share of domestic electricity needs in the future, gas and coal plants are growing increasingly unprofitable, and energy utilities will have to find new solutions for energy storage and smart-grid development, SolarPlaza emphasizes. Read more

Philippines government green-lights 35MW solar project

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 12:30 (PV-Tech)

The Philippines government has approved a 35MW PV project in Darong, Davao del Sur on the island of Mindanao. Read more

85 MW of solar projects installed in East Coast SREC markets in March 2013

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 12:15 (Solarserver)

SCRECTrade Inc.'s (San Francisco, California, US) latest monthly report on solar renewable energy credit (SREC) markets in the Eastern United States finds 52.6 MW of new solar plants in the PJM Interconnect region and 32.9 MW of new plants in Massachusetts registered to create SRECs in March 2013. This brings the PJM Interconnect region to 1.43 GW of registered solar, and Massachusetts to 215 MW. Despite the ongoing collapse in SREC prices, New Jersey remained the largest market in March at 33.5 MW, which brings it to a total of 974 MW of registered PV plants. Read more

The Rise of Utility-scale Solar

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 11:42 (Renewable Energy World)

We are familiar with the inexorable and welcome march of solar panels across our rooftops, but many might be surprised that utility-scale power plants are now the fastest-growing application for the photovoltaics (PV) industry. This sector has delivered a compound annual growth rate over the last five years of 100 percent, to reach a cumulative installed capacity above 10 GW by the end of 2012. At that time, there were some 400 solar generating stations with a nameplate capacity of 10 MW and over, but the number and capacity of large-scale PV plants continued to grow in early 2013. Read more

PV in Flanders not ‘dead’; solar capacity reaches over 2GW

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 11:33 (PV-Tech)

The Belgian region of Flanders has achieved an installed capacity of just over 2GW under Flanders’ green certificate scheme (GC). Read more

Solar Systems brings Mildura CPV demonstration facility online

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 11:18 (PV-Tech)

Solar Systems, an Australian concentrating PV (CPV) systems manufacture, has announced the operational start up of its Mildura solar demonstration facility in Mildura in the Australian state of Victoria. Read more

CWP and CNNC ink investment agreement for China solar projects

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 11:14 (PV-Tech)

Independent financial advisers CWP and new energy projects investment firm CNNC Rich Energy have penned an agreement to co-invest in a series of renewable energy projects in China. Read more

i-Energy and City of Welland join forces to construct Ontario solar system

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 10:56 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based inverter manufacturer i-Energy has delivered a 20kW solar power tracker system for a PV project in the City of Welland in Ontario, Canada. Read more

475 MW solar PV project approved for island in Southern Japan

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has approved a plan by Photovolt Development Partners GmbH (Berlin, Germany) and TeraSol to build a 475 MW, multi-site solar photvoltaic (PV) project on an island in Southern Japan. Read more

Sally Jewell confirmed as head of US Interior Department

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 9:02 (Solarserver)

In a process widely described as easy, On April 10th, 2013 the US Senate confirmed outdoor equipment retail executive Sally Jewell 87-11 as the new head of the US Department of the Interior, to replace Secretary Ken Salazar. All 11 “no” votes were cast by members of the opposition Republican Party, representing states in the US South, Great Plains and Mountain West. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington DC, US) has expressed its support of Jewell as the new leader of the agency. Read more

Centrosolar management board approves financial restructuring measures

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

On April 9th, 2013 the management board of Centrosolar Group AG (Munich, Germany) approved a share merger, capital increases, and other financial restructuring measures. The plan also has the approval of the supervisory board. These measures will now need the approval of creditors and shareholders, which will be sought in a series of meetings in May 2013. Centrosolar first announced the restructuring proposal on February 20th, 2013. Read more

Overhauling the Third Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Work several years in the making is about to commence at the Third Power Plant of the 6,809-MW Grand Coulee project in Washington. Rehabilitation of all six units, including potential uprating of three of them, will ensure continued reliable operation of this valuable asset and a possible extra 240 MW in generating capacity. Read more

Overhauling the Third Hydro Plant at Grand Coulee Dam

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Work several years in the making is about to commence at the Third Power Plant of the 6,809-MW Grand Coulee project in Washington. Rehabilitation of all six units, including potential uprating of three of them, will ensure continued reliable operation of this valuable asset and a possible extra 240 MW in generating capacity. Read more

Breathing Life Into US Geothermal: First EGS Project Feeding Power to Grid

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 21:39 (Renewable Energy World)

A major challenge for the geothermal industry is reducing the risk of its exploration and drilling phase – there is a 40-60 percent chance that each $5-7 million well is ultimately deemed unproductive. But that statistic may soon change. In what many in the industry are calling a game-changer, the nation's first enhanced geothermal system (EGS) to supply electricity to the grid came online last week. ORMAT's Desert Peak 2 project is producing an additional 1.2 megawatts (MW) of power to its existing nearby power plant. Read more

Iceland First in Europe to Sign Free Trade Pact with China, Offers Geothermal Expertise

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 16:39 (Renewable Energy World)

Iceland became the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China in a bid to sell its expertise in geothermal energy to the $7.3 trillion Asian economy. Read more

Obama Budget Proposal Calls for Nearly $1B in Clean Energy Spending

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

On April 10, President Barack Obama sent his proposed budget for the fiscal year 2014. In it he called for nearly $1 billion ($989 million) in spending to support deployment and long-term development in the clean energy industries. That and his nomination for Department of the Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell (former CEO of outdoors outfitting gian Read more

REAL Consumer Code renamed Renewable Energy Consumer Code

Monday, 4.15.2013 - 13:02 (Solarpowerportal)

REAL Consumer Code, the consumer code for the domestic renewable energy sector, has been renamed as the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) in order to “better describe the nature and purpose of the code”. Read more