NAPIT: Smart meter delay “could have been avoided”

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 15:46 (Solarpowerportal)

The National Association for Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT) has criticised government plans that have seen the mass roll-out of smart meters delayed until 2015. Read more

Optimising Small Wind Inverters

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 13:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Small wind turbines (SWTs) less than 50 kW are playing a growing role in electricity generation, and are now being deployed in domestic, commercial and agricultural scenarios. The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) predicts that the global SWT market will increase from 95 MW in 2011 to 700 MW in 2020, growth of approximately 25 percent per year. But market share has remained small when compared to domestic-scale photovoltaics (PV). Read more

Order Focus: RENA and Tempress Systems win 100MW advanced cell line contract from US-based Nexolon

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 11:52 (PV-Tech)

Wafer producer Nexolon, which plans to invest more than US$115 million to become a major US-based PV module manufacturer has selected the n-PASHA Alliance (RENA, ECN and Tempress Systems) to provide its advanced n-type solar cell technology for bi-facial module production. Read more

Intersolar EU 2013: REC displays bi-facial solar module for Middle East market entry

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 11:23 (PV-Tech)

REC is expanding its regional sales footprint by opening its first sales operations in Dubai, UAE and is displaying at Intersolar Europe a bi-facial PV module concept said to be ideal for desert conditions. Read more

Pufin Power, Eurener partner on “Made in Europe” PV modules

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 8:41 (Solarserver)

Pufin Power BV (Maastricht, The Netherlands) and the Eurener Group (Alicante, Spain) have signed an agreement to partner in solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and sales, which will allow the companies to produce PV products entirely made in Europe. This will include Pufin's PV manufacturing subsidiaries in three nations, as well as the manufacturing and marketing facilities of the Eurener Group, which will allow the production of 150 MW of PV products annually. Read more

Suntech's European subsidiary granted six-month moratorium on creditor claims

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 8:35 (Solarserver)

A court in Switzerland has granted Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd.'s (Wuxi, China) European subsidiary a definitive moratorium on creditor claims for six months, which may be extended thereafter. This follows a two-month moratorium on creditor claims granted in April 2013, and the company notes that most of Suntech Power International Ltd.'s (SPI, Schaffhausen, Switzerland) debt is inter-company debt. Suntech's Chinese subsidiary has also been declared insolvent, and is currently restructuring. Read more

Intersolar Award winners presented

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 23:49 (Solarserver)

On June 19th, 2013, the Intersolar Award was presented to eight companies at the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich. This year included a fourth category: Solar Projects in Europe. Read more

EU begins discussions with China towards negotiated settlement on solar PV trade case

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 20:39 (Solarserver)

The EU Trade Office reports that it began “confidential technical-level discussions” with Chinese experts towards a negotiated settlement on solar photovoltaic (PV) duties on July 17th, 2013 in Brussels. Read more

Large-scale solar in the UK generates over £13 million a year

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 17:52 (Solarpowerportal)

Commercial-scale solar PV projects are generating an estimated £13.5million worth of electricity a year according to new research published by SmartestEnergy.  Read more

Automating Solar PV Installation With Alion Energy's Robots

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 16:47 (Renewable Energy World)

Alion Energy has officially transformed from its origins in thin-film manufacturing, to now offering a way to significantly streamline utility-scale solar plant construction, using robots. Read more

Weekly solar installations break 10MW barrier

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 16:39 (Solarpowerportal)

The weekly number of sub 50kW solar photovoltaic installations has broken through the 10MW barrier for the first time this year. Read more

Solar PV, wind reach 60% of mid-day German electricity output on June 16th

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 15:32 (Solarserver)

The International Economic Platform for Renewable Energies (IWR, Münster, Germany) reports that on June 16th, 2013 wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation peaked at over 60% of German electricity output, a new record. Read more

Are Solar Utilities Obsolete?

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 15:22 (Renewable Energy World)

Are traditional solar photovoltaic (PV) financing models dead? Are solar utilities dinosaurs, about to become extinct? For utilities, says Dirk Morbitzer, general manager of analysis firm Renewable Analytics, “the old times are gone. Utilities must embrace renewables or suffer the consequences.” Read more

GTM: Technology to lead fall in Chinese solar PV production costs

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 14:59 (Solarserver)

Greentech Media Research (GTM, Boston, Massachusetts, US) has released a new report which predicts that production costs for leading Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers will fall 28% to USD 0.36 per watt by the end of 2017. Read more

SolarWorld saved but not out of the water

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 14:21 (Solarpowerportal)

A cash injection from Qatar Solar Technologies and bondholder settlements on some of its debts would seem to have pulled SolarWorld from the brink of bankruptcy. Read more

Residential Solar Projects Insured for Success

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Demand for solar residential systems is at an all time high. In 2013, residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are expected to grow by 40 percent due to lower pricing and alternative solar financing options, according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012 research report conducted by Solar Energy Industries and GTM Research. Read more

Japan: Solar's Real Deal?

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Japan's solar market is soaring. Spurred by a generous incentive, developers are announcing mega-scale projects, investors are closing deals and manufacturers are placing orders. The nation is fast becoming the industry champion of 2013. Read more

SolarWorld saved but not out of the water

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:50 (PV-Tech)

A cash injection from Qatar Solar Technologies and bondholder settlements on some of its debts would seem to have pulled SolarWorld from the brink of bankruptcy. Read more

Belectric secures 30% credit increase

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:38 (PV-Tech)

German solar EPC firm Belectric has agreed a 30% extension to its credit line. Read more

Australia reaches 1 million solar PV systems as market growth slows

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:32 (Solarserver)

Clean Energy Council (Melbourne, Australia, U.S.) has released a report which finds that as of March 2013, there were more than 1 million solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in operation in Australia, representing a capacity of 2.3 GW. “Clean Energy Australia Report 2012” also finds that PV generation contributed roughly 1% of Australia's electricity in 2012. However, after five years of exponential growth, the nation's PV market grew only 7% in 2012 to 872 MW. Read more

Hanwha Q CELLS equips Japan’s ‘largest’ PV project

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:22 (PV-Tech)

German manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS is to supply modules to what is said to be Japan’s largest solar power plant. Read more

Barker: UK is ‘the most exciting growth market for solar in Europe’

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:21 (Solarpowerportal)

Greg Barker has hailed the potential of the British solar industry, stating that the market is now the most exciting growth market in the whole of Europe. Read more

TSMC Solar produces 15.7% efficient CIGS PV module

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 9:00 (Solarserver)

TSMC Solar Ltd. (Taichung, Taiwan) has produced a copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) module with a 15.7% efficiency, as confirmed by TÜV SÜD (Munich). This 1.09 square meter “champion” module sets a new record for commercial-sized CIGS PV modules, and was produced using current manufacturing equipment and materials at the company's factory in Taichung. This also surpassed the company's previous record of 15.1% in January 2013. Read more

Germany Energy Storage Incentive Could Push PV Market Further

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 15:54 (Renewable Energy World)

As more and more solar is installed and some countries, like Germany, are seeing consumers get an increasing amount of their electricity from intermittent sources, grid storage and batteries are sure to be hot topics at this year’s Intersolar Europe in Munich. Tobias Rothacher, senior manager of renewable energies at Germany Trade and Invest, will Read more

Chilean congress makes changes to bill calling for 20% renewable energy

Wednesday, 6.19.2013 - 10:27 (Solarserver)

In an agreement with Chilean Energy Minister Jorge Bunster, a committee in the lower house of the nation's congress has made changes to a bill calling for 20% “non-conventional” renewable energy in Chile, including moving the target date to 2025. The earlier version of the “20/20” bill was approved by Chile's Senate in January 2012 and had also been approved by the Mining and Energy Commission in the Chamber of Deputies. However, it had been consistently opposed by Bunster. Read more