PV wholesalers react to anti-dumping duties, buy more European solar modules

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 22:06 (Solarserver)

Scandinavian-German solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer Innotech Solar (ITS, Narvik, Norway) reports, that it has contracted six new distributors. In doing so, the company is benefitting from the increased demand for European solar modules from distributors who want to avoid paying backdated anti-dumping duties for purchasing modules made in China. ITS notes, that in order to survive in the ongoing price war, increasing numbers of wholesalers are incorporating PV modules with unique selling points in their product portfolios. Read more

Solimpeks installs Turkey’s largest rooftop PV plant

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 21:57 (Solarserver)

In a project managed by its commercial projects subsidiary Seiso, Solimpeks (Konya, Turkey) is currently installing a 500 kilowatt (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the south of Turkey. The plant is expected to open in early May. The booming town of Burdur is the venue of the biggest on-roof PV installation the country has ever seen, Solimpeks emphasizes. Read more

IKEA distribution center in Maryland installs 2.67 MW PV plant

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 21:43 (Solarserver)

On April 16th, 2013, home furnishings retailer IKEA announced that it has officially plugged-in a solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed at its distribution center in Perryville, Maryland. The 768,972-square-foot PV array, a 2,674.9 kilowatt (kW) system, consists of 18,576 solar panels. The company claims that it is the largest rooftop PV array in Maryland. Read more

Power One, PhonoSolar launch exchange testing program for PV products

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 21:50 (Solarserver)

On April 16th, 2013, Power-One Inc. (Camarillo, California, US) and Phono Solar (Nanjing, China) announced that they have launched an exchange testing program. The program involves both parties’ products for review and inspection in their respective testing facilities, and is expected to help improve product reliability, compatibility and performance. Read more

Masdar completes Africa's largest solar PV plant at 15 MW

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 20:47 (Solarserver)

Masdar (Abu Dhabi, UAE) has completed a 15 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, as the largest solar PV plant in the continent of Africa. Read more

SolarWorld sells 46.3MW of PV projects in Germany and US

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 19:04 (PV-Tech)

Although financial details were not disclosed, SolarWorld subsidiaries in the US and German have built and sold three PV power plant projects that had a total combined capacity of 46.3MW. Read more

German acquisition to boost revenues by 50-80% for Surana Group

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 18:54 (PV-Tech)

The addition of a manufacturing equipment acquired from Schott Solar will augment India-based Surana Ventures’ revenue by 50 to 80% claims its managing director. Read more

Germany to Support Solar Energy Storage with New Subsidy

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 18:34 (Renewable Energy World)

Germany will subsidize consumers' purchases of battery systems to store power from solar panels through a 25 million-euro ($32.6 million) program to promote wider use of renewable energy, according to the German Solar Industry Association. Read more

aleo solar reports weaker quarter sales and higher losses

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 18:00 (PV-Tech)

Following its full-year 2013 guidance, German-based PV module manufacturer, aleo solar provided preliminary first quarter sales of approximately €31.1 million and an expected EBIT loss of approximately €31.1 million 16.3 million. Read more

SunEdison, Petrobras to build 1.1 MW solar PV plant in Brazil

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 15:57 (Solarserver)

SunEdison LLC (Beltsville, Maryland, US) has signed an agreement with Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to build a 1.1 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, adjacent to one of Petrobras' thermoelectric plants. Read more

Update: Solar Wins in Louisiana Net Metering Fight

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 15:25 (Renewable Energy World)

We did it! Thanks to an outpouring of public support from people like YOU, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) decided NOT to dismantle net metering today! This marks the 2nd time the Commission Chair has pulled the vote due to lack of Commissioner support for changing Louisiana net metering, the simple policy that clears the way for cus Read more

LDK Solar soldiers on despite massive, ongoing losses

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 15:23 (Solarserver)

LDK Solar Company Ltd. (Xinyu, China) has released results for the fourth quarter of 2012, reporting a 54% year-over-year collapse in revenues to USD 136 million, an operating loss of USD 409 million and an net loss of USD 515 million. Read more

Weekly ≤50kWp Solar PV installations break 8MW barrier

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 13:24 (Solarpowerportal)

The latest solar installation figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) reveal that weekly installations broken the 8MW barrier for the first time in 2013. Read more

The US Solar Industry Puts People to Work in All 50 States

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 13:00 (Renewable Energy World)

According to The Solar Foundation's (TSF) recently released interactive map, California has more solar workers than actors; more Texans work in solar than ranching; and the U.S. solar industry has more workers than the coal mining industry. Those findings and many more were discovered by The Solar Foundation team, led by Andrea Luecke, as they put together comprehensive solar job data about all fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Read more

SDG&E snaps up 47MW of new solar power

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 12:44 (PV-Tech)

Californian utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has finalised three new renewable power purchase agreements for 47MW of solar energy. Read more

UL warns of counterfeit certification marks on PV panels

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

Counterfeit safety markings have been found on modules from Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP), according to independent global certification company Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Read more

Admirals Bank launches renewable energy lending division, offers loans for residential solar energy systems

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 12:13 (Solarserver)

Admirals Bank (Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.) has created a new division to finance residential solar and other renewable energy systems, which it describes as an alternative to the third-party-owned arrangements. The Admirals Alternatives division will offer loans up to USD 40,000 specifically tailored to solar and renewable energy purchases, with rapid pre-qualification. Read more

Hadstone Energy plans 9MW solar park in Somerset

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 12:06 (Solarpowerportal)

London-based solar developer Hadstone Energy Limited is holding a public consultation over plans to develop a 9MW solar park in Watchfield, Somerset. Read more

Somerset community solar park given the green light

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 11:43 (Solarpowerportal)

Sedgemore District Council has granted planning permission for a 1MW community-owned solar park in Wedmore, Somerset. Read more

LDK Solar reports massive quarterly loss; sales evaporating fast

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 10:03 (PV-Tech)

LDK Solar took a massive hit in the fourth quarter of 2012, reporting net losses of US$517 million. Read more

Asia drives solar PV inverter market growth to USD 7.1 billion in 2012

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 8:25 (Solarserver)

The global solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter market grew 5% to a record USD 7.1 billion in 2012 on higher Asian sales, according to a new report by IHS (Englewood, Colorado, US). IHS notes that revenue growth was somewhat constrained by price competition and a shift towards sales in lower-priced markets. The company predicts that demand for PV inverters in Asia will increase by more than 60% again in 2013. Read more

APS, AMEC commission 17 MW of solar PV in Arizona

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 8:19 (Solarserver)

Arizona Public Service Company (APS, Phoenix, Arizona, US) and AMEC (Atlanta, Georgia, US) have completed the first 17 MW of a 35 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on state land in Arizona. AMEC is building the Foothills Solar Power Plant on 160 hectares in Yuma County, Arizona, as the fifth plant to be constructed through APS' AZ Sun program. The company plans to commission the remaining 18 MW by the end of 2013. Read more

Oil Firms Break Promise on Biofuels as Chevron Defies California

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 16:43 (Renewable Energy World)

Chevron Corp. helped write the first-in-the-nation rule ordering reduced carbon emissions from cars and trucks. Its biofuels chief spoke at the ceremony where California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the executive order in 2007, the same year the oil company pledged to develop a gasoline replacement from wood. Read more

Is Ontario Blowing Its Chance to be an Offshore Wind Winner?

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Why is Ontario intent on squandering its "first mover" advantage in the renewable energy field? Huge steps on developing offshore wind are being made globally and by our neighbours to the south and yet in Ontario we are, at best, stuck in neutral. Why are the Americans aggressively committing to new offshore projects on the east coast of the US and Read more

Germany prepares to launch €25 million PV battery storage fund

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 18:04 (PV-Tech)

German government-owned development bank KfW and the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany have confirmed a €25 million (US$32.7 million) fund for battery storage systems for PV installations will launch on 1 May. Read more

The Greenest Organizations in the US: Who Uses the Most Renewable Energy?

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 16:30 (Renewable Energy World)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the updated list of the top 50 organizations in the US that get their electricity from "green power." The rankings are listed in order of annual green power usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh), though there's enough data to call attention to groups in different ways, for how effectively they've brought renewable-generated electricity into their usage profile, and whether they've taken further steps to generate their own renewable energy power. Read more

India demands proof of unlawful domestic allowance

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 15:56 (PV-Tech)

India has demanded the US justify its domestic content allowance for renewable energy products which it believes breaks global trade rules. Read more

India's Prime Minister Vows to Double Renewable Energy Capacity

Thursday, 4.18.2013 - 15:40 (Renewable Energy World)

India will seek to double the amount of renewable energy it can generate to 55 GW in the next four years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his inaugural address. Read more