SEMI: PV equipment book-to-bill ratio remains depressed in Q4 2012

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 20:42 (Solarserver)

SEMI (San Jose, California, US) has released a report which finds that the book-to-bill ratio for the global solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment industry recovered slightly in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 0.45, remaining below parity for the seventh consecutive quarter. Read more

Germany's ruling coalition abandons plans to limit feed-in tariff

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:49 (Solarserver)

German MP Hans-Josef Fell (Green) has confirmed that Germany's ruling Christian Democrat/Free Democrat (CDU/FDP) coalition has abandoned plans to make further cuts to the nation's feed-in tariff (EEG) before federal elections in September 2013. Read more

NewDev, EEPro to start construction on a 4 MW PV plant in Romania

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:01 (Solarserver)

Construction works on the joint venture PV project “Tartasesti” by NewDev Projects GmbH & Co. KG (Hamburg, Germany) and the Bavaria based EEPro GmbH have begun, the partners announced. The technical construction of the 4 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project located near Bucharest is expected to be completed by the end of May 2013. Read more

Foxconn subsidiary to produce solar modules for SunEdison in Mexico

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:40 (PV-Tech)

With 61% of its 827MW PV project backlog concentrated in the US, SunEdison has signed solar module manufacturing agreement with a Mexican-based subsidiary of sub-contractor Foxconn Technology. Read more

Monarch Power offers to buy Suntech's Arizona manufacturing facility

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 8:28 (Solarserver)

The CEO of Monarch Power (Scottsdale, Arizona, US) has offered to purchase Suntech Power Holding Company Ltd.'s (Wuxi, China) solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facility in the US state of Arizona. If successful, Monarch Power plans to use the plant to manufacture its “Lotus Mobile” PV systems, which it began selling on March 27th, 2013. The company has launched a “crowdfunding” effort through indiegogo.com to help fund the purchase. Read more

India releases details of viability gap funding mechanism in NSM phase 2 batch 1

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 8:23 (Solarserver)

On April 18th, 2013 India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) released draft guidelines for phase 2, batch 1 of the nation's National Solar Mission (NSM), which will support 750 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. This includes details of the Viability Gap Funding (VGF), a novel funding mechanism which will serve as the subsidy for these projects. Under phase 2, batch 1 developers will bid for VGF on projects between 10 MW and 50 MW, which can include projects already under construction. Read more

Solar technology could boost natural gas plant efficiency 25%

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 21:14 (PV-Tech)

A new technology being developed at a Department of Energy laboratory could turn natural gas power stations into hybrid solar plants. Read more

Vogt Solar plans 15MW solar park in the South Downs

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 16:24 (Solarpowerportal)

Cambridge-based solar developer vogt solar is seeking locals’ views over plans to install a 15MW solar park on land located on the South Downs National Park. Read more

Trina Solar’s head of EU public affairs to be EPIA’s vice-president

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:40 (PV-Tech)

Trina Solar has announced the election of its head of EU public affairs Jodie Roussell as vice-president of the board of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). Read more

Trilogy/ Shea Homes, SolarCity announce sale of 1,000th SheaXero home

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:06 (Solarserver)

SolarCity (San Mateo, California, U.S.), Trilogy and Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities announced that they have completed the sale of 1,000 SheaXero energy efficient homes. The companies states they will celebrate Earth Day this year by honoring the first 1,000 SheaXero homeowners who are living in no electric bill homes powered by clean, renewable solar electricity. Read more

Phoenix Solar builds 416 kW rooftop PV plant in Spain

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:58 (Solarserver)

The Spanish subsidiary of Phoenix Solar AG (Sulzemoos, Germany) has built a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant with a peak capacity of 416 kWp in the Province of Jaén in Spain. The PV plant will generate more than 590.000 kWh of solar power per year, according to Phoenix Solar. Read more

Solar Foundation reports 119,000 US solar jobs in state-level census

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:52 (Solarserver)

On April 18th, 2013, The Solar Foundation (Washington, DC, U.S.) announced that it has launched a web-based map that provides the first-ever solar jobs numbers for each of the 50 U.S. states. The map data comes from The Solar Foundation's National Solar Jobs Census 2012, which found that the U.S. solar energy industry employs 119,016 Americans and that solar employment grew 13.2% over the prior year. Read more

Making Sense of PV Parity: Quantifying Solar's Competitiveness

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:38 (Renewable Energy World)

The PV industry is the subject of an increasingly confusing discussion about its future. Statements that solar PV is competitive today and will expand exponentially are countered by detractors pointing out grid limitations and studies suggesting cost shifting. What is missing from this discussion is a clear and systematic framework which provides a common vocabulary to bracket discussions about solar PV's competitiveness. Read more

United States' Solar Decathlon Readies for Its First Road Trip

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The world’s first Solar Decathlon was held in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall, our nation’s front yard, in 2002. Since 2005 the competition, which invites university teams from around the world to design tomorrow’s solar homes—today, has been held biennially on the mall. It’s also inspired Europe and China to hold their own Solar Decathlons, Read more

Solar shakeout: Banks pull LDK subsidiary Sunways’ credit facilities

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 13:06 (PV-Tech)

The future of LDK Solar subsidiary Sunways looks increasingly uncertain after its banks cancelled its €6.6 million line of credit. Read more

SolarCity makes finance and investor relations appointments

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 12:47 (PV-Tech)

PV installation specialist SolarCity has announced the appointment of Jimmy Chuang as vice president of structured finance and Aaron Chew as vice president of investor relations. Read more

Solar power to bloster ailing Cyprus economy

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 12:36 (PV-Tech)

Cyprus has announced plans to boost its solar industry in order to save €51 million (US$67 million) a year, create 650 jobs and bolster its struggling economy. Read more

Solar power to bolster ailing Cyprus economy

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 12:36 (PV-Tech)

Cyprus has announced plans to boost its solar industry in order to save €51 million (US$67 million) a year, create 650 jobs and bolster its struggling economy. Read more

Solar Shakeout: SoloPower shuts down Oregon operations

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 11:49 (PV-Tech)

US-based SoloPower is to suspend operations at its US$340 million plant in Portland, Oregon in June, laying off 29 employees. Read more

IFC considers USD 50 million to finance to Acme Solar PV projects in India

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 11:41 (Solarserver)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering supplying USD 50 million in debt financing to Acme Solar to support a series of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in India. IFC has set a board date for the funding of May 24th, 2013. The first tranche of funding would go to support a 25 MW PV plant which Acme is building in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and plans to commission in November 2013. Read more

Report: PV module ASP declines to slow helping profitable business rebound in 2015

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 11:38 (PV-Tech)

The PV module business is set to rebound in 2015 with leading companies returning to profitability on the back of slowing ASP declines, higher global installations and further company consolidation, according to the NPD Solarbuzz. Read more

Metgen stocks Phono Solar’s Diamond Series in response to EU uncertainty

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 11:35 (Solarpowerportal)

Renewable energy distributor, Metgen, has announced that it will be bolstering its solar offering with the introduction of Phono Solar’s Diamond Series 250MW module. Read more

SolarPlaza: Dutch solar energy growth explodes through local initiatives

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 8:18 (Solarserver)

The growth of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the Netherlands is unstoppable, SolarPlaza (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), reports in a press release. Thanks to hundreds of local initiatives striving for both sustainability as well as independence, the solar photovoltaic (PV) market is growing from the grassroots level, increasing as much as 250% in 2012. According to experts, it is expected that the number of solar panels will more than double in the coming years. Read more

Report: US electrical grids can maintain reliability with 50% renewables

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 11:46 (Solarserver)

The Civil Society Institute (Washington DC, U.S.) has released a report which finds that US electrical grids can maintain reliability while integrating roughly 50% wind, solar electric, hydro and biomass generation by 2050. “Meeting Load with A Resource Mix Beyond Business as Usual” by Synapse Energy Economics Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.) also found that these changes, with increased energy efficiency, would result in USD 83 billion in savings over 40 years. Read more

Energy for All by 2030: Time to Act

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 18:46 (Renewable Energy World)

If an emerging coalition to build a sustainable energy future succeeds in achieving its goals, "everyone in the world will have access to electricity," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim told members of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative's Advisory Board, which held its inaugural meeting in Washington April 19. Read more

President Obama's Proposed FY'14 Energy Budget: What's Missing?

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 17:47 (Renewable Energy World)

The non-profit Environment and Energy Study Institute held one of its many Congressional briefings, and on Friday, April 19th, the briefing was on the Administration's proposed FY14 energy budget. Read more

BNEF: Annual investment in renewables to reach USD 630 billion by 2030

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:47 (Solarserver)

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, New York, New York, US) has released a new analysis which estimates that annual investment in renewables will rise 230% to USD 630 billion annually by 2030, under the most likely scenario. Read more

U.S. States Turning Against Renewable Portfolio Standards as Gas Plunges

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 15:37 (Renewable Energy World)

More than half the U.S. states with laws requiring utilities to buy renewable energy are considering ways to pare back those mandates after a plunge in natural gas prices brought on by technology that boosted supply. Read more

Renewables R&D to boost annual investment by 230%

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:44 (PV-Tech)

Investment in new renewable energy capacity is predicted to increase by 230% annually to US$630 billion by 2030, according to new research by analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Read more

Energy Efficiency Finds Its Cell Phone, Part II

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

If you’re an energy efficiency geek and your refrigerator breaks down, you probably think, “Yes! A chance to buy a new super energy-saving model.”  But you’re the exception. Most consumers consider price tag before ENERGY STAR certification. Human nature being what it is, they choose the cheaper model even if it costs them more in utility bills lon Read more

CDB loans Yingli Green US$165 million for polysilicon purchases

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 13:22 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green has secured two short-term loans worth a total of US$165 million from China Development Bank (CDB) to purchase raw materials. Read more

Draker among BNEF new energy ‘pioneers’

Tuesday, 4.23.2013 - 12:55 (PV-Tech)

PV monitoring system manufacturer Draker is among a number of clean-tech companies chosen by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) as its 2013 ‘new energy pioneers’. Read more