EH Smith joins the British Photovoltaic Association

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 17:29 (Solarpowerportal)

Building merchants EH Smith has joined the British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA), with the company’s sustainability director John Cave appointed as a member of the executive committee of the association. Read more

Order Focus: Suntech to supply ‘largest’ PV array in Latin America

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:53 (PV-Tech)

Troubled Chinese manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings is to supply PV modules for what is claimed will be Latin America’s largest PV array, a 30MW plant in La Paz, Baja California Sur in Mexico. Read more

Order Focus: Ingeteam to supply inverters for 75MW Jasper PV project

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:09 (PV-Tech)

Spain’s Ingeteam is to supply modules to one of South Africa’s largest solar projects, the 75MW Jasper PV plant in Northern Cape. Read more

ReneSola finalises 63MW Thailand deal

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 13:18 (PV-Tech)

Chinese module producer ReneSola has struck a deal to provide 63MW of modules to Thailand’s Energy Absolute as part of a project in Nakornsawan, Thailand. Read more

U.S. financial investor Kawa to buy essential Conergy AG sales activities; solar module factory in Frankfurt (Oder) resumes production

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 8:43 (Solarserver)

On July 19th, 2013 financial investor Kawa Capital Management, Inc. (Miami, USA) and the Conergy AG (Hamburg, Germany) Board, acting with the consent of Conergy's preliminary insolvency administrator, reached a general understanding on the sale of Conergy's essential sales activities to Kawa Capital Management. The understanding provides for the sale of a large part of the operative national and international sales units and of Conergy Services GmbH as well as associated holding functions of Conergy AG, in particular administration, management and infrastructure facilities, and the 'Conergy' brand. Read more

Solar owners help shine light on UK’s future energy needs

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 17:45 (Solarpowerportal)

More than 400 solar PV system owners are taking part in a new smart grid project designed to shed light on how Britain can become low-carbon. Read more

Call for Japan and EU to be included in India solar dumping probe

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 17:05 (Solarpowerportal)

Indian solar companies who successfully petitioned for an investigation into alleged dumping of modules from China, the US, Taiwan and Malaysia, have called for the inquiry to include Japan and the EU. Read more

Mortgage Company Paramount Equity Creates Solar Fund with Clean Power Finance

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 16:44 (Renewable Energy World)

Paramount Equity’s subsidiary Paramount Solar has partnered with U.S. Bank to create a new fund to support solar leases with Clean Power Finance. The new fund, the Paramount Energy Fund, will allow homeowners to finance solar projects through Paramount Solar. Paramount Solar in turn will use Clean Power Finance’s CPF Market, its software, underwrit Read more

German solar PV generation peaks at just under 24 GW on July 21st, supplies 46% of mid-day demand

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 16:39 (Solarserver)

Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation in Germany reached a new record of 23.95 GW from 1-2 PM on July 21st, 2013, according to data from Agora Energiewende (Berlin) and the EEX Transparency Exchange (Leipzig, Germany). Read more

Westinghouse Solar financial position precarious: Merger deal cancelled

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 15:40 (PV-Tech)

US-based PV module supplier, Westinghouse Solar is teetering on the brink of insolvency, recent SEC filings reveal. Read more

EnergyTrend: Chinese solar PV driving out European manufacturers

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 15:10 (Solarserver)

TrendForce's (Taipei City, Taiwan) EnergyTrend division reports that Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) modules represented roughly 60% of the roughly 15 GW of shipments in the first half of 2013. The company also warns that the future of European PV manufacturing looks difficult, due to feed-in tariff reductions, high production costs and competition from Chinese manufacturers. Read more

Call for Japan and EU to be included in India solar dumping probe

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 15:00 (PV-Tech)

Indian solar companies who successfully petitioned for an investigation into alleged dumping of modules from China, the US, Taiwan and Malaysia, have called for the inquiry to include Japan and the EU. Read more

New York raises capacity limit in solar energy drive

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:54 (PV-Tech)

New York has increased the maximum capacity size of commercial and residential solar projects eligible for state funding. Read more

ReneSola to supply 63 MW of Virtus II solar PV modules for Thai PV projects

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:34 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd. (Jiashan, China) has announced that it will provide 63 MW of its Virtus II solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Energy Absolute PCL (Bangkok) for a PV project in Thailand. Read more

ARPA-E to make USD 30 million available for solar, storage projects

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:14 (Solarserver)

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will make USD 30 million available for a new program to support research on hybrid solar solar electric and thermal technologies and hybrid energy storage systems through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). DOE states that the goal of the Full-Spectrum Optimized Conversion and Utilization of Sunlight (FOCUS) program is to be able to use the electricity and/or heat generated by solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) systems when the sun is not shining. Read more

Solarcentury forms joint venture for the South African PV market

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:10 (Solarserver)

Solarcentury (London, UK) and Momentous Energy (Johannesburg, South Africa) have formed a joint venture to build solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in South Africa. Solarcentury Africa will work in the commercial rooftop, utility-scale and isolated grid markets. Solarcentury states that it brings both extensive experience, its engineering team and products to Solarcentury Africa. Momentous Energy will supply in-country knowledge and its infrastructure, and is currently building one of the first projects through the nation's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme. Read more

TUUSSO commissions 20 MW Antelope solar PV plant in Southern California

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:07 (Solarserver)

TUUSSO Energy, LLC (Seattle, Washington, US), along with its investment partner, Akula Energy Ventures, LLC (Jersey City, New Jersey, US), on July 19th, 2013 announced that the 20 MW Antelope Project, initiated and developed by TUUSSO Energy, has achieved commercial operation. The Antelope solar photovoltaic (PV) Project, also known as TA – High Desert, is a 20 MW plant located in Lancaster, California. The Project began delivering solar power to Southern California Edison in Q1 2013, and is currently owned and operated by NRG Solar. Read more

US adds 979 MW of utility-scale solar PV in the first half of 2013

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 13:07 (Solarserver)

94 utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 979 MW have been built in the United States from January through the end of June 2013, according to a report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC). This represents 11% of all new capacity added during the period, compared to natural gas, which made up more than 56%. Together, PV and wind totaled 23% of new capacity added during these six months. Read more

ClearSky Advisors: Canada set to install 3.48 GW of solar PV by 2018

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 13:03 (Solarserver)

The Canadian solar photovoltaic (PV) market is expected to have a cumulative installed capacity of 3.48 GW by 2018 according to ClearSky Advisors’ (Toronto, Canada) recently released Canadian Solar PV Sector Market Forecast. The report, which details the policies and expected installations of each Canadian province between 2014 and 2018, also forecasts an average annual rate of PV installations of 450 MW over these years. Read more

Eastern Bank provides USD 42 million in financings for five solar PV projects in the US

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 12:59 (Solarserver)

Eastern Bank (Boston, Massachusetts, US) has provided USD 42 million in financing for four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the US state of Massachusetts and one in the US state of New Jersey, for a total of 17 MW. The bank provided financing to three firms, Mark Investment (Newton, Massachusetts, US), Kearsarge Energy LP (Waterton, Massachusetts, US) and NuGen Capital Management LLC (Rhode Island). Read more

Solar Eclipsed? Global PV “Shake Out” Calls for Public Sector Approach

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 12:51 (Renewable Energy World)

What is happening to the solar PV industry? At a time when solar PV should be helping us win the war against rising emissions, and creating jobs, the industry is being hurt by a trade war between the U.S. and China and, perhaps, between China and the EU. Read more

IFC approves $49 million loan for Chile PV plant expansion

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 12:35 (PV-Tech)

The International Finance Corp (IFC), part of the World Bank group, has approved a $49 million loan to Selray Energias to advance the construction of La Huayca II, a 29.1MW solar power plant in the Atacama region of Chile. Read more

Spain’s government accused of killing solar market

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 12:14 (PV-Tech)

The solar energy industry in Spain faces a spate of bankruptcies and job losses following the latest cut to support by the government, a coalition of trade associations in Spain has claimed. Read more

Chile approves USD 1.1 billion investment by Sky Solar

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 9:20 (Solarserver)

The government of Chile has approved USD 1.1 billion in investment by Sky Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai) for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the nation. Sky Solar had submitted five requests, each for an investment of USD 220 million. The company holds an agreement with Sigdo Koppers SA (Santiago, Chile) and the China Development Bank (Beijing) to develop 300 MW of PV plants in Chile. Read more

MNRE data finds drop in June 2013 performance for Indian solar PV plants

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released performance data for June 2013, showing a general decline in capacity utilization factors (CUFs) from May for most plants, likely due heavy summer rains in many parts of the nation. MNRE reports CUFs between 16.6% and 28.2% for PV plants awarded through both batches in the first phase of India's National Solar Mission, with similar rates for both batches. As was the case in May 2013, plants commissioned through the Rooftop Photovoltaic and Small Solar Power Generation Programme (RPSSGP) showed lower CUFs, ranging from 7.6% to 23.5%. Read more

China’s MOFCOM levies preliminary duties from 2.4% to 57% on US, South Korean polysilicon

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on solar-grade polysilicon imports from the United States and South Korea. Importers of polysilicon from the US must post deposits between 53.3% and 57% starting on July 24th, 2013, and importers of Korean polysilicon must pay between 2.4% and 48.7%. MOFCOM plans to issue a final ruling in late 2013. A separate investigation into EU polysilicon is still pending, as is a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation into imports of US and South Korean polysilicon. Read more

Europe Votes to Cap Conventional Biofuel Target

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 16:46 (Renewable Energy World)

In a vote of 43-21, with one MEP abstaining, Europe’s Parliamentary Environment Committee (ENVI) has voted to cap the amount of biofuel derived from food crops, or “conventional” biofuels, at 5.5 percent of its renewable transport fuel target. Read more

Finland Looks to the Future of Bioenergy

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 16:10 (Renewable Energy World)

Finland is, above all, a land of abundant, and growing, forests. "We produce 100 cubic meters of wood per year, while 50 cubic meters per year is harvested. We have more forest than we can use," said Jukka Leskelä, director of power generation for trade body Energiateollisuus, or Finnish Energy Industries. So it's no surprise that, given an almost complete lack of indigenous fossil fuel resources, high per-capita energy consumption, and a long-running forest management program already in place, Finland is investing in biomass and biofuels in a big way as it looks to define its future energy mix. Read more

First Wind Proposing New England's Largest Wind Farm

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 20:28 (Renewable Energy World)

First Wind Energy, through subsidiary Blue Sky West, is proposing what would be the biggest wind farm in New England: 62 turbines with up to 186 MW capacity, spanning several towns in two counties in a stretch of Central Maine. Read more

Vestas Joins DOE, Texas Tech to Break Ground on Unique Wind Research Facility

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The never-ending push to improve the fundamentals of wind turbines, which have become many times stronger and more efficient through the years, continues. Read more

The Renewable Energy Pain in Spain

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 18:27 (Renewable Energy World)

It was billed as the mother of all electrical reforms. The one that would finally do away with Spain’s pernicious ‘tariff deficit’. But what emerged was yet another savage cut to the country’s crippled energy industry — and one that will not even cure its underlying malaise.  For those unfamiliar with the matter, the tariff deficit is the mismatch Read more

Social housing retrofit project finds serious flaws with Green Deal SAP calculations

Monday, 7.22.2013 - 13:09 (Solarpowerportal)

A major new retrofit project has found that Green Deal SAP calculations over-predicted energy savings by an average of 77%. Read more