Uganda Launches Innovative Feed-in Tariff Programme

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 20:33 (Renewable Energy World)

In an effort to draw more private investment into renewable power projects in the country, Uganda has launched an innovative new renewable energy development financing programme, the Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariff (GET FiT). Read more

Enel commissions two PV plants totaling 21 MW in Italy

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 18:42 (Solarserver)

Enel Green Power (EGP, Rome, Italy) has connected two new solar photovoltaic (PV) plants to the grid, located in Serre Persano, in the province of Salerno, home of Enel’s first PV plant, which has long been the largest in Europe and which was recently completely upgraded. Read more

French PV producer Senersun launches a line of “made in Germany” modules

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 17:36 (Solarserver)

Senersun (Bordeaux Cedex, France) announced the launch of a new line of Europe-made solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The modules are manufactured in Germany. Like every other solar panel from the manufacturer, Senersun EU-made panels will follow Senersun’s premium quality program, hence complying with Senersun’s industry-leading quality standards, the company emphasizes. Read more

TrendForce: Chinese PV producers are eliminating their inventory

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 17:25 (Solarserver)

With the grace period for the anti-dumping and countervailing policy approaching, Chinese manufacturers accelerate shipment to alleviate inventory pressure, TrendForce (Taipei City, Taiwan) reports. The grace period is half way through. Currently, different interest groups in the solar photovoltaic (PV) market have come up with different sayings. Although a compromise among Europe, China, and the committee hasn’t been reached yet, the overall market trend is transforming quietly. Read more

Astronergy completes 10 MW rooftop PV plant in Hangzhou

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 16:04 (Solarserver)

Astronergy (Hangzhou, China) has completed a 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on the roof of the newly rebuilt Hangzhou East Railway Station in Hangzhou, China. Read more

Conergy to build 450kW rooftop plant in Bucharest despite certificate cuts

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 12:27 (PV-Tech)

Germany-based solar provider Conergy is installing a 450kW roof-mounted solar plant in Bucharest, Romania, despite cuts to government funded ‘Green Certificates’. Read more

Conergy to build 540kW rooftop plant in Bucharest despite certificate cuts

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 12:27 (PV-Tech)

Germany-based solar provider Conergy is installing a 540kW roof-mounted solar plant in Bucharest, Romania, despite cuts to government funded ‘Green Certificates’. Read more

TÜV Rheinland to launch “smart” PV inverter testing program

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 8:39 (Solarserver)

TÜV Rheinland (Cologne, Germany) has announced that it will launch a testing program to evaluate grid-connect functions for string and micro-grid inverter deployments at its California inverter and smart grid laboratory. The program will evaluate “smart” solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters for function in connect/disconnect, real power curtailment, low/high voltage ride-through, low/high frequency ride-through, and volt-VAR control. TÜV Rheinland notes that these functions will soon be mandatory in California. Read more

Sol Voltaics Adds Backers for Solar Panel Nanowire Tech

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 20:47 (Renewable Energy World)

Sol Voltaics, the Swedish startup that aims to apply nanowire materials to solar modules to dramatically hike their efficiency, has pulled in more funding to keep it on track for a demonstration by year's end, a pilot line within the next two years, and commercial readiness by 2016. Read more

Solarbuzz: Solar PV demand to reach 20 GW in the second half of 2013

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 20:45 (Solarserver)

Citing “explosive” growth in Japan and China, NPD Solarbuzz (Santa Clara, California, US) has released a report which predicts that global solar photovoltaic (PV) demand will reach 35.1 GW over the full year 2013. Read more

Lack of energy storage threatens to undermine UK solar’s benefits

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 18:52 (Solarpowerportal)

The Electricity Storage Network has warned that the benefits of the burgeoning UK solar industry will be lost unless effective energy storage technology is developed and deployed. Read more

Hanwha Q CELLS provides PV-modules for large solar rooftop array in Turkey

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 18:46 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Q CELLS (Thalheim, Germany) was selected by ELSE Enerji (Istanbul, Turkey) to provide its Q CELLS Q.PRO solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for one of the largest solar power plants in the fast developing Turkish PV market. The 500 kWp PV installation has already been built on the 17,000 square meters rooftop of Prokon AS' steel construction and manufacturing factory at its Ankara-Kazan location. Read more

ORIX marks Japan FiT anniversary with plan for 77 PV projects

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 18:04 (PV-Tech)

ORIX, a Japanese financial institution, is jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon with 77 solar power projects – marking the anniversary of Japan’s solar feed-in-tariff (FiT) scheme. Read more

JA Solar claims first to pass TÜV SÜD ‘Thresher Test’

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 17:58 (PV-Tech)

Despite the bragging rights being already taken by Seraphim Solar, JA Solar has also claimed to be the first to pass the ‘Thresher Test’ for PV modules conducted by TÜV SÜD. Read more

Solar shakeout: CIGS thin film start-up Solarion exits bankruptcy

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 17:34 (PV-Tech)

Having received an unspecified capital injection, CIGS thin-film start-up Solarion has successfully exited insolvency proceedings. Read more

Solar drives 50% rise in South West renewable capacity

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 16:49 (Solarpowerportal)

The level of renewable capacity installed in the South West has grown by almost 50% in the last 12 months, according to a new report published by Regen SW. Read more

The Clean, Simple Solar and Storage Solution to US Utility Business Model Woes

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 16:34 (Renewable Energy World)

This morning while driving into work, I heard a great interview with former United States Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu on utility business models.  While the gist of what he said wasn’t new to me, the clean and elegant way he laid out what he sees as the future of utilities and solar power is worth sharing. Similar to how in the past telephone c Read more

Chinese firm buys Germany’s asola but PV module production not in business plan

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 16:30 (PV-Tech)

Bankrupt German module manufacturer, asola Solar Power has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Chinese electrolytic capacitor manufacturer, STGCON Group. Read more

LDK Solar taps Fulai Investments for more money

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:43 (PV-Tech)

Struggling PV manufacturer, LDK Solar has issued more shares to Fulai Investments in return given over US$25 million as the company continues to suffer from acute cash flow problems and is technically bankrupt. Read more

Joint venture 100MW solar power plant approved in north India

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:29 (PV-Tech)

A joint venture 100MW solar project in north India has been approved and is expected to be complete by 2014. Read more

Solar Energy With a Side of Wind

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 13:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Throughout the U.S., the sun shines the brightest and longest during the summer months, when the wind speeds are lowest. During the winter, the winds are more intense and sunlight is less available. Because peak operating times are different for these methods of alternative energy, combining the two systems can help generate a steady source of powe Read more

Apple to build solar array with Buffett’s NV Energy

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 13:38 (PV-Tech)

Silicon Valley giant Apple is planning a 20MW solar installation to power a new data centre the company is building in Nevada. Read more

New Mexico’s largest solar power plant underway

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 13:36 (PV-Tech)

Construction of New Mexico’s largest solar power plant, the 50MW Macho Springs Solar Project, is now underway in Demming, Lunar County. Read more

PV Crystalox provides €12.3 million to polysilicon plant management buyout

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 13:19 (PV-Tech)

PV Crystalox Solar has disposed of its polysilicon production operations in Bitterfeld Germany to the former management team, contributing €12.3 million to the renamed Silicon Products Research Engineering Production GmbH in the process. Read more

NPD Solarbuzz: Risk of over-dependence on Japan and China for 2013 boom

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 13:04 (PV-Tech)

Global PV demand is set to reach a record high of 35.1GW in 2013, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz quarterly report. Read more

TiSUN installs Greece's largest solar thermal system

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 10:54 (Solarserver)

TiSUN GmbH (Söll, Austria) is currently building a solar thermal system for a hospital in Kalamata, Greece, with almost 535 square meters of collector area and 35,000 liters of hot water storage in seven Pro-Clean stratified tanks. The 226-panel system is installed on the roofs of eight buildings at the hospital. TiSUN expects to commission this system in July 2013, upon which it will be the largest solar thermal project in Greece. Read more

Taiwan aims to increase renewable energy to 18% of power capacity by 2025; solar generation capacity reaches 222.4MW

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 10:50 (Solarserver)

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) intents to accelerate the nation’s renewable energy generation capacity by increasing the capacity goal, and reaching it 5 years earlier. Total installed RES capacity is scheduled to grow from present 6,600 MW to 9,952 MW by 2025. BOE reports this progress has been made since the start of Taiwan’s Renewable Energy Development Act 2009. A capacity of 551MW has been newly added to 3,697MW of total accumulated capacity from renewable energy sources, which now represents 6.8% of the installed power capacity. Read more

Canadian Solar to supply Soleq with 91 MW of solar PV modules for Thai PV projects

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 8:44 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada) has announced that it will supply Soleq Pte. Ltd.'s (Singapore) Thai affiliate with 91 MW of its CS6X solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for ten PV projects in Thailand. The projects will be located in four provinces in the northwest, east and northeast of the nation. Canadian Solar has already begun supplying modules, and expects to complete delivery in the fourth quarter of 2013. Read more

Solar Frontier re-starts PV module production at Miyazaki No. 2 plant

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 8:42 (Solarserver)

Citing “growing demand”, Solar Frontier KK (Tokyo) re-started production at its Miyazaki No. 2 plant on July 1st, 2013. The factory can produce 60 MW of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIS or CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules annually. The company will manufacture conventional thin-film CIS PV modules at the factory, while arrangements are being made to begin producing a new type of module. Solar Frontier isn't saying what technology will be used in these new modules, which it expects to begin manufacturing in the second half of 2013. Read more

A Slimy Marine Organism Fit for Biofuel

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 21:04 (Renewable Energy World)

It sounds too good to be true: a common marine species that consumes microorganisms and can be converted into a combustible biofuel for filling petrol tanks. And it can be cultivated in vast amounts: 200 kg per square metre of ocean surface area. Read more

Google Signs Wind PPA in Finland

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Technology giant Google has announced plans to power its data center in Hamina, Finland with wind energy from Sweden. The company has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Swedish developer O2 for the energy from O2’s planned 72-MW wind farm at Maevaara, in the Övertorneå and Pajala municipality in northern Sweden, which is slated to feature 24 Nordex 3-MW wind turbines. Read more

US Geothermal Industry Targets Technology & Policy

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal developers and industry advocates assembled in Reno this week for the Third Annual National Geothermal Summit focused much of their discussion on the potential for cost reduction through the use of new technology, and on revealing geothermal energy as more competitive with sun and wind renewables. “If we can reduce costs and increase revenues the market will react immediately,” surmised Aaron Mandell, the chief commercial officer for AltaRock Energy, a geothermal technology company based in Seattle. Read more

US Geothermal Industry Targets Technology and Policy

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal developers and industry advocates assembled in Reno this week for the Third Annual National Geothermal Summit focused much of their discussion on the potential for cost reduction through the use of new technology, and on revealing geothermal energy as more competitive with sun and wind renewables. “If we can reduce costs and increase revenues the market will react immediately,” surmised Aaron Mandell, the chief commercial officer for AltaRock Energy, a geothermal technology company based in Seattle. Read more

Solar Offers Hope in Fight Against Climate Change

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 21:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Source: DOE Public Database As we celebrate the 4th of July holiday, Americans everywhere will take a moment to remember the men and women who have made freedom possible. But let's not forget: freedom also carries a responsibility. It's simply not enough to remember those who have come before us and offer them thanks. We must also remember those wh Read more

Saudi Arabia Starts Survey Assessing Renewable Energy Potential

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 16:40 (Renewable Energy World)

Saudi Arabia started a program to assess its potential for generating renewable energy, part of an effort to lure $109 billion for building a solar industry that will free up more of its crude oil for export. Read more

Desertec chief: Split was culmination of simmering dispute

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 15:29 (PV-Tech)

The split between the two bodies that had jointly been working to realise the ambitious Desertec renewable energy vision was the culmination of a long-running dispute over the project’s strategy and governance, it has emerged. Read more

ReneSola returns to full production at 10,000 MT Sichuan polysilicon plant

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 15:10 (Solarserver)

On July 1st, 2013 ReneSola Ltd. (Jiashan, China) returned to full production at its Sichuan polysilicon plant, following upgrades to its furnaces and hydrochlorination technology. These improvements both increased the plant's capacity and reduced energy consumption. Read more

Renewable Resources Will Help Armenia Avoid Energy Crisis

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Armenia is set to develop its renewable energy resources in the coming years, announced its deputy minister of energy and natural resources Areg Galstyan. It will set its focus mainly on hydropower plants, but it will put some emphasis on solar energy, as well. However the government is hesitant towards the development of its wind sector. Read more

California Energy Commission says more information needed on the Palen CSP project

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 10:45 (Solarserver)

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has released its preliminary staff assessment (PSA) of the Palen Solar Electric Generating System project, a 500 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) project planned in Southern California. The report expresses concerns in several areas, including biological resources, cultural resources and geology and paleontology, and finds that the project does not comply with state rules in the area of visual resources. In five areas CEC staff was unable to determine compliance. Read more

41% of Brits would buy electric car but cost concerns put them off

Tuesday, 7.2.2013 - 19:38 (Solarpowerportal)

Rexel and Censuswide reveal 41% of British drivers would consider buying an electric/hybrid vehicle (EV) in the next five years, but cost and infrastructure worries are stopping them. Read more