Dyesol claims 90% initial performance retention after extended IEC 61646 test

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 17:56 (PV-Tech)

Employing its liquid-based dye solar cell (DSC) substrate, Dyesol claimed it had surpassed the standard IEC 61646 design qualification for PV modules, without disclosing the approved testing house. Read more

Eighteen EU member states vote against solar duties

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 19:21 (PV-Tech)

EU member states have overwhelmingly voted against the imposition of provisional duties on Chinese solar panels with 18 member states voting against, four in favour and five abstaining. Read more

Eighteen EU member states vote against solar duties

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 18:59 (Solarpowerportal)

EU member states have overwhelmingly voted against the imposition of provisional duties on Chinese solar panels with 18 member states voting against, four in favour and five abstaining. Read more

SolarWorld’s Q1 shipments and revenue fall as losses continue

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 17:14 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld continued to experience further declines in shipments and revenue in the first quarter of 2013. Read more

Minnesota's New (Standard Offer) Solar Energy Standard

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 16:40 (Renewable Energy World)

A friend at Fresh Energy generously called me the “architect” of Minnesota’s new solar energy standard (signed last week), and although that may be a bit generous, I’d like to provide a detailed description of the nation’s newest solar energy standard. The topline: 1.5 percent solar standard for the state’s investor-owned utilities (with some exemp Read more

Skytech Solar offers new solar discount program

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 15:51 (Solarserver)

On May 24th, 2013, Skytech Solar (San Francisco, California, U.S.) announced that it has partnered with California Rainguard Inc. to offer a new discount program for customers who will install a new roof and solar panels. Read more

Massachusetts to hold Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 15:46 (Solarserver)

On May 23rd, 2013, SRECTrade Inc. announced that the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will be holding a Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction. According to SRECTrade, all clients utilizing its EasyREC asset management services will have any unsold MA2012 SRECs automatically deposited into the auction account. The first round of the auction is scheduled to be held on July 26th, 2013. Read more

Japanese sales boost Canadian Solar's Q1 results

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 15:37 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada) has released financial results for the first quarter of 2013, reporting a 19% year-over-year fall in revenues to USD 264 million, a 6.8% operating margin and a net loss of USD 3.9 million. Read more

Intersolar North America to feature latest innovations in balance of systems, mounting and tracking

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 15:14 (Solarserver)

Intersolar North America (ISNA) will feature an expanded selection of balance of systems (BoS) and mounting and racking solutions for solar photovoltaic (PV) plants at this years' trade show, which will be held from July 9th-11th, 2013 in San Francisco, California. ISNA notes that balance of system costs offer the largest opportunity to drive down the cost of solar, and this year the exhibition space dedicated to BoS solutions has grown by more than 25%. More than 50 exhibitors showcased BoS products at the 2012 event, including Advanced Energy, which will this year will exhibit two new inverters, a utility-scale and three-phase string. Read more

Japan accounts for 24.5% of Canadian Solar’s Q1 total shipments

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:13 (PV-Tech)

Canadian Solar has reported that the hot Japanese market accounted for 24.5% of shipments in the first quarter of 2013, a 75.9% increase from the previous quarter. Read more

Wiser Capital Aims to Match Solar Project Developers with Building Owners and Investors

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

As solar energy becomes more widely accepted by a broader spectrum of investors, an increasing number of services also are cropping up to match money with projects. Wiser Capital is launching an online portal to do that and targeting installations in the commercial market. Read more

Get Ready for a Revival in Solar Tech Investments

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Slumping solar PV equipment spending has finally bottomed out, and we're about to witness a "revival" in investments that will finally close the yawning gap between oversupply and demand, according to a pair of analysts reports. Read more

Chinese accused of pressurising EU to oppose trade duties

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 13:29 (Solarpowerportal)

European trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has accused China of forcing EU member states to oppose duties against Chinese solar manufacturers. Read more

Chinese accused of pressurising EU to oppose trade duties

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 13:13 (PV-Tech)

European trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has accused China of forcing certain EU member states to oppose duties against Chinese solar manufacturers. Read more

Storage and self-consumption projects top Intersolar Europe award topics

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 13:13 (PV-Tech)

Storage and self-consumption projects feature strongly in the entries for this year’s Intersolar award due to be revealed at the eponymous event in Munich next month. Read more

Soitec and MET complete Chile CPV pilot

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 12:32 (PV-Tech)

Concentrator PV (CPV) manufacturer Soitec has completed a 64kW pilot solar installation at a remote copper mining operation in Chile. Read more

GSE publishes results of second registry under Conto Energia V; solar PV plants totaling 727 MW enrolled

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 12:09 (Solarserver)

Italian grid operator GSE reports that it has 3,690 solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 727 MW in the second registry under the nation's fifth Conto Energia. These plants represent an annual cost of EUR 58.0 million (USD 75.0 million), short of the EUR 70 million (USD 91 million) cap for the second registry. Only 491 plants are currently operational, and developers have until May 24th, 2014 to commission the remainder. Read more

Solar trade war update: EU ready to negotiate, warns of Chinese pressure on member states

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 8:42 (Solarserver)

On May 27th, 2013 EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht received Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan for an informal meeting in Brussels. While EU trade officials stress that there have been no formal negotiations yet, the European Commission (EC) states that it remains open to dialogue, including the possibility of a negotiated settlement with the United States. EU trade officials also alleged that China has put pressure on EU member states. Read more

Mining company builds pilot solar CPV plant in Northern Chile

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 8:38 (Solarserver)

Minera El Tesoro (MET, Santiago, Chile) has built a 64 kW concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plant using Soitec's Concentrix technology to support a remote copper mining operation in Chile. The plant will supply electricity for the site's data center, as well as serving as a research and demonstration platform. On Many 22nd, 2013 MET and Soitec signed a memorandum of understanding to leverage the experience gained from this project to support the development of additional CPV plants in Chile. Read more

DoD awards $16M Towards Parity-cost, Drop-in, Non-food Biofuels

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 19:02 (Renewable Energy World)

In Washington, the DoD will award three contracts totaling $16 million to Emerald Biofuels, Natures BioReserve and Fulcrum Biofuels for drop-in military biofuels, according to Sharon Burke, assistant secretary of defense for operational energy, who relayed the news initially to Bloomberg. Read more

Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage: It's All About Networking

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 19:26 (Renewable Energy World)

A pair of analyst reports this week attach some numbers to the potential market for grid-scale energy storage using battery technologies, and why getting there will depend upon individual companies tying up with the right partners. Read more

Global Tracking Framework Sheds Light on the State of Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 17:59 (Renewable Energy World)

How many people around the world lack access to electricity and safe household fuels? What’s the share of renewable energy in the global mix? How are we doing in improving energy efficiency? Read more

US Senators introduce 30% tax credit bill for energy storage

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 16:25 (Solarserver)

On May 24th, a bipartisan group of US Senators proposed legislation to offer a 30% investment tax credit to homeowners and businesses who install energy storage, and a 20% investment tax credit for grid-scale storage systems. Read more

IEA commends German green energy transformation programme

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:43 (PV-Tech)

An International Energy Agency report has advised Germany to review its energy policies to maintain a balance between sustainability, affordability and competitiveness. Read more

UK rejects EU renewable target – calls for 50% emission reduction by 2030

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:02 (Solarpowerportal)

The secretary of state for energy and climate change, Ed Davey, has rejected plans to upgrade the EU’s renewable energy target, labelling it “inflexible and unnecessary”. Read more

Wave and Tidal Energy Finally Entering Spotlight in Scotland

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The All Energy conference and exhibition in Aberdeen, Scotland saw growing evidence of the wave and tidal sector's push toward commercialisation. Over 210 of the 580 exhibitors were involved in marine energy, the organizers said, and 15 hours of the conference were devoted to the sector. And, for the first time at this long-running show, an innovation technology showcase featured wave and tidal device developers from the UK, Norway, Australia, Canada and Russia. Read more

“20% by 2020” renewable energy bill moves forward in Chilean legislature

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 12:14 (Solarserver)

The Mining and Energy Commission of the lower house of Chile's legislature has unanimously approved a bill to require that utilities source 20% of their electricity generation from “non-conventional” renewable energy by 2020. Senator Jaime Orpis (UDI) originally introduced bill 7201-08 in September 2010. The difficulty it has had in passing is in part due to opposition by Chilean Minister of Energy Jorge Bunster, who has called the bill “overly ambitious”. Read more

IEA: German energy policy is successful in addressing climate change, but details need further action

Tuesday, 5.28.2013 - 8:34 (Solarserver)

Noting Germany's success in implementing policies to address climate change, The International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris, France) has published a review of the nation's energy policies. “Energy Policies of IEA Countries - Germany” argues that further action is needed if the nation's Energy Transition (Energiewende) is to maintain a balance between sustainability, affordability and competitiveness, noting the unequal distribution of feed-in tariff surcharges. The agency also warns against sudden policy changes. Read more