SCHMID sells 150 MW of PV module production lines to Turkish customer

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:18 (Solarserver)

The SCHMID Group (Freudenstadt, Germany) sold three solar photovoltaic (PV) module production lines to a customer in Turkey at the recent Intersolar Europe trade show. Read more

KACO new energy taps Power Pro-Tech Services for US and Caribbean inverter support

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 12:53 (PV-Tech)

PV inverter manufacturer KACO new energy has teamed with US-based Power Pro-Tech Services (PPT) to provide product support services in the US and Caribbean. Read more

Order Focus: SCHMID to supply three module assembly lines to Turkish buyer

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 11:58 (PV-Tech)

In a rare sector occurrence, a new market entrant based in Turkey has placed a 150MWp turnkey solar module assembly line order with equipment specialist, SCHMID Group. Read more

Solairedirect raises EUR 156 million to support PV projects in three continents

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 10:53 (Solarserver)

Solairedirect SA (Paris, France) has raised EUR 156 million (USD 205 million) to support solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in France, India and South Africa through a series of financings. This includes EUR 60 million in equity and EUR 96 million in debt. The company states that this funding establishes that PV is now competitive with other energy sources. Solairedirect describes PV investments as a new asset class, which it says fits the needs of certain investors. Read more

Quality, Quality, Quality – It Should Not Be a Minimum Standard

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 19:52 (Renewable Energy World)

All conferences sell trends – at Intersolar Europe trends included an uptick in prices for modules in advance of the August 6 tariff increase on Chinese modules, self-consumption as the next driver for PV industry growth, utility charges for grid-access as well as the next big market, application, technology, and so on and so forth. A trend worth starting is a return to high quality standards as well as a rejection of adherence to the ever lowering of the bar of what constitutes minimum standards. Read more

East of England Ambulance service to install five solar arrays

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 15:54 (Solarpowerportal)

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust will install solar arrays at five of its control centres in an attempt to reduce costs. Read more

East of England Ambulance service installs five solar arrays

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 15:54 (Solarpowerportal)

East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust has installed solar arrays at five of its control centres in an attempt to reduce costs. Read more

Welspun Solar secures financing for 7MW PV project

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:50 (PV-Tech)

An unnamed financial institution has invested INR48.75 crore in a 7MW solar project being developed by Welspun Solar Kannada in Karnataka, India. Read more

NPD Solarbuzz: Annual demand in emerging APCA markets to reach 1 – 1.3 GW by 2014

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:40 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz (Santa Clara, California, US) predicts that annual solar photovoltaic (PV) demand from emerging markets in the Asia Pacific and Central Asia (APCA) region will exceed 1 GW by 2014, with the potential to reach 1.3 GW. Read more

Gehrlicher Solar America wins five-year US government supply contract

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

EPC firm Gehrlicher Solar’s American subsidiary has been awarded a five-year preferred PV supplier contract with the US government. Read more

GE sets sights on Chinese PV market

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 13:29 (PV-Tech)

The energy division of US industrial heavyweight GE has signed a deal with two Chinese firms that will see it expand its presence in China’s solar market. Read more

Largest Australian CPV solar park completed

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 13:13 (PV-Tech)

Australia’s largest concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar park has been completed in Mildura, Victoria, Silex Systems has announced. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2013 attracted 50,000 visitors from 150 countries; focus on energy storage systems

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 12:57 (Solarserver)

The world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry and its partners ended on June 21. Some 50,000 visitors from more than 150 countries and 1,330 exhibitors from 47 countries attended Intersolar Europe in Munich, from June 19–21, Solar Promotion GmbH (Pforzheim, Germany) reports in a press release. This year, the exhibition focused on the topics that will determine the future of the solar industry, such as Energy Storage Systems, Grid Integration and On-site Consumption of Solar Power. Read more

Sunrun to Utilities: It's Time to Innovate with Rooftop Solar

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 12:12 (Renewable Energy World)

As the cost of distributed solar, like rooftop solar, continues to become cheaper for home and business owners, utilities are getting worried that distributed solar will hurt their bottom line. Sunrun CEO Ed Fenster says that to thrive, these utilities should take a page from telecom companies, which changed their business model from entrenched mon Read more

European solar thermal installations fall again in 2012; ESTIF calls for greater policy support

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 10:56 (Solarserver)

The European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) has released its annual report on solar thermal markets in the EU, noting that new installations fell 6.4% year-over year to roughly 3.4 million square meters of collector area in 2012. This is the fourth straight year of declines from a market peak in 2008. ESTIF notes that current and planned policy initiatives are failing, and predicts that solar thermal will fall far short of 2020 targets without more support. Read more

NREL produces 31.1% efficient dual-junction solar PV cell

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL, Golden, Colorado, US) has achieved a 31.1% conversion efficiency using a dual-junction solar photovoltaic (PV) cell under one sun of illumination, a new world record. The previous record of 30.8% for this technology and condition was set by Alta Devices (Sunnyvale, California, US) in March 2013. NREL's 0.25 square centimeter III-V PV cell comprises a gallium indium phosphide cell on top of a gallium arsenide cell, measured under the AM1.5 global spectrum at 1,000 watts per square meter. Read more

PV Grid project releases report on improved solar PV grid integration

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 8:51 (Solarserver)

The EU PV Grid project has released a report which outlines a package of measures to promote the cost-effective integration of solar photovoltaics (PV) into EU electricity grids. Program coordinator German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar, Berlin) states that “Prioritization of Technical Solutions Available for the Integration of PV into the Distribution Grid” shows that there are numerous technical and regulatory solutions for grid integration. Read more

India Plans to Revive Wind-Farm Tax Break, Raise Subsidy

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

India plans to revive tax breaks for wind farms after the expiry of earlier incentive programs led to a 47 percent slump in installations, according to two government officials with direct knowledge of the matter. Read more

Can Wind Power Keep Energy Prices in Check?

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 13:39 (Renewable Energy World)

Our system of checks and balances in government is important to our democracy. Each of the three branches of government limits the powers of the others to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful. In a similar manner, wind power may serve as a check to future natural gas price hikes. Read more

Barack Obama puts solar at forefront of ‘assault’ on climate change

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 21:48 (PV-Tech)

President Barack Obama today put solar at the forefront of a national strategy to cut carbon emissions in the United States as part of a “coordinated assault on a changing climate” Read more

Inside Obama's Climate Change Plan

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 19:23 (Renewable Energy World)

This afternoon President Obama will be speaking at Georgetown University about his plans to broadly address climate change. Minutes ago, ahead of his actual talk, the White House has released the gist of what he'll be proposing. Read more

China Tops Table for Renewables Investment

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 17:57 (Renewable Energy World)

China is currently the best country in the world for renewable energy investment, while India has the strongest potential for conventional power investors, according to a new report. Read more

Obama's climate plan includes CO2 standards for existing power plants, 13 GW of new renewables on federal lands

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 17:39 (Solarserver)

US President Barack Obama will direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create new carbon pollution standards for existing power plants, according to an action plan released by his administration on June 25th, 2013. Read more

Bankrupt Electric Vehicle Maker Coda Becomes Energy Storage Firm

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 16:31 (Renewable Energy World)

Coda Holdings, which formerly made electric vehicles under the name Coda Automotive, sold its battery energy storage technology to a consortium of investors to form Coda Energy, which will design and build utility-scale energy storage solutions. Coda declared bankruptcy in May 2013. Read more

In Face of Climate Change, Major Wildlife Group Calls for Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Climate change is altering and destroying important habitats that America’s migratory birds depend on and urgent action is needed to change that dangerous "flight path," including rapid development of renewable energy sources, according to a new report released yesterday by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Read more

DECC insists Green Deal ‘inspiring people’ despite criticisms

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 13:37 (Solarpowerportal)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has responded to widespread reports that the Green Deal is failing by publishing new data which shows the scheme is “inspiring people” to install energy saving measures. Read more

Report: Energy storage ‘key’ to off-grid deployment in developing world

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 12:31 (PV-Tech)

Public authorities in developing countries must step up the deployment of energy storage to support the expansion of off-grid renewable energy generation, according to the Alliance for Rural Electrification. Read more

PROINSO signs NEOWATTS as new official dealer in Mexico

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

PV systems provider, PROINSO, has partnered with a renewable energy service provider in Mexico to enable the company to expand in the country. Read more

Energy Efficiency & Competitive Secrets

Tuesday, 6.25.2013 - 10:58 (Renewable Energy World)

Several corporate leaders have volunteered to reduce energy use 20 percent by 2020 as part of a challenge initiated by President Barack Obama. But that’s not the big deal. The big deal is that they have agreed to publicly disclose how they’re doing it. Factories, data centers, stores and other large energy users often balk at revealing their energy Read more