Did You Just Buy a Sustainable Mutual Fund? No

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Did you just buy a sustainable mutual fund? No. The answer is no because human economies are still so far from real sustainability that even a highly idealized portfolio of our most sustainable enterprises necessarily still falls short. Ultimately, the best any portfolio can do is mirror the reality of the world, and today, still, even the best representatives of sustainability can be found wanting compared to what will be required if we would like to keep society thriving indefinitely. At best, whatever fund you just bought can only be described as, to a greater or lesser degree, more sustainable than its non-green counterparts. Read more

TrendForce: Benefiting from anti-dumping and countervailing policy, Taiwan’s PV cell shipments increased by 6.7% in 1H13

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 11:46 (Solarserver)

Despite the persistence of the global trade war, Taiwan’s PV cell demand continued to increase in 1H13 compared with 1H12, the global market intelligence organization TrendForce (Taipeh, Taiwan) reports. The amount of solar cell shipment reached 3.2GW and the growth rate turned out to be 6.7%. “Under the influence of Europe’s subsidy reduction and the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy trade policies within Europe and USA, there’s no doubt that Taiwan’s PV cell manufacturers were the direct beneficiaries,” TrendForce’s research division EnergyTrend notes. Read more

IHS: EU prices for Chinese solar PV modules increase 4% in June 2013

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 20:17 (Solarserver)

IHS (Englewood, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which finds that average EU prices for Chinese crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules increased 4% in June 2013 to EUR 0.54 (USD 0.71) per watt, which it credits to preliminary anti-dumping duties. Read more

Five Lessons That Define LIPA's New CSI Solar Program

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 17:34 (Renewable Energy World)

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is planning another round of solar energy support with its Clean Solar Initiative-II (CSI-II) program, building off lessons learned from the first such program. The CSI-II seeks to bring on another 100-MW of solar energy generated on Long Island, with a couple of unique criteria. LIPA expects to begin accepting applications for CSI-II from the end of September through the end of January. Read more

ISC Konstanz and Technical University of Berlin open desert module test facility in Egypt

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 16:39 (PV-Tech)

The International Solar Energy Research Center Konstanz (ISC Konstanz) in Germany is expected to hold an official opening over the next few months of a new desert module testing facility in El Gouna, Egypt. Read more

The (R)evolution of Solar Battle of the Bands – Round Three

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 16:15 (Renewable Energy World)

  If you don’t know about Solar Battle of the Bands, then you probably haven’t been to Intersolar North America in the last three years. Sponsored by multiple solar companies (see below), Solar Battle of the Bands is the new annual “must-attend” event where the solar industry comes together in one room and celebrates music and solar. “Battle” reall Read more

Rwanda in line for first grid-connected solar park

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 16:10 (PV-Tech)

Rwanda’s government has signed a power purchase agreement for the country’s first grid-connected solar project. Read more

EU-China dispute to drive European solar firms to bankruptcy: IHS

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:59 (PV-Tech)

More European solar construction firms will face insolvency this year as the European Union’s anti-dumping tariffs drive up prices for Chinese-manufactured solar modules. Read more

SolarWorld to lay off 50 workers at Oregon factory

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:50 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) has announced that it will lay off roughly 50 employees at its silicon wafer and solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and module factory in the US state of Oregon “late this summer”, but notes that these workers will be eligible for US federal trade-adjustment assistance. Read more

‘Era of low-cost solar in Europe over’ as EU tariffs fuel price rise

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 14:48 (Solarpowerportal)

The European Commission’s imposition of anti-dumping tariffs has driven an increase in price for Chinese-manufactured solar modules, according to the latest report by IHS. Read more

Era of low-cost solar in Europe over as EU tariffs fuel price rise

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 14:48 (Solarpowerportal)

The European Commission’s imposition of anti-dumping tariffs has driven an increase in price for Chinese-manufactured solar modules, according to the latest report by IHS. Read more

Solarpraxis publishes "PV Power Plants Guide" 2013

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 14:30 (Solarserver)

The new edition of the industry report “PV Power Plants 2013” has been published and is the only one of its kind to focus on large-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations, Solarpraxis and Sunbeam Communications (both located in Berlin, German) announced. Read more

China Sunergy supplies solar PV modules for a megawatt-level plant in Malaysia

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 14:25 (Solarserver)

China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (Nanjing, China) on July 22nd, 2013, announced that the Company further expands its solar photovoltaic (PV) market share in Malaysia with shipment of 1MW QSAR solar modules for the first megawatt-level ground-mounted of Pekat Solar Sdn Bhd. Pekat Solar a subsidiary of Pekat Group, a renowned solar photovoltaic (PV) service and engineering solution provider in Malaysia certified by the Ministry of Energy, Green Energy and Water (KeTTHA). Read more

Construction begins on 100MW Raasi Solar Park in south India

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 13:46 (PV-Tech)

Construction work is underway on the 100MW Raasi Solar Park in Tamil Nadu, India. Read more

Brazil’s CPFL Renovaveis raises US$400 million for solar and wind

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 13:42 (PV-Tech)

Brazilian alternative energy developer CPFL Renováveis has raised around BRL900 million (US$404 million) through an initial public offering that it intends to invest in renewable energy projects. Read more

Solar Frontier goes rooftop with lightweight PV module

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 13:31 (PV-Tech)

CIS thin-film manufacturer, Solar Frontier, is touting a new lightweight PV module for the residential rooftop market, primarily in Japan. Read more

World Bank calls for investment in solar

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 13:22 (Solarpowerportal)

The World Bank Group (WBG) has released a report calling for more investment in solar energy as a tool for tackling extreme poverty. Read more

Dominion acquires three solar PV projects totaling 28.6 MW in Indiana

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 11:56 (Solarserver)

Dominion (Richmond, Va.) has acquired three solar-power development projects near Indianapolis, Ind., from Sunrise Energy Ventures. Expected to be in service before the end of 2013, the projects will use standard photovoltaic (PV) technology with a fixed-axis system to generate a peak combined electricity output of 28.6 megawatts. Read more

World Bank Group calls for investment in solar

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 11:53 (PV-Tech)

The World Bank Group (WBG) has released a report calling for more investment in solar energy as a tool for tackling extreme poverty. Read more

Spanish government facing court action over cuts to solar support

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 11:13 (PV-Tech)

The Spanish government is likely to face legal action over its recently announced cuts to support for renewable energy, according to a solar trade group based in the country. Read more

Westinghouse Solar cancels merger with CBD, plans restructuring

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

Westinghouse Solar (Campbell, California, US) has terminated its merger agreement with CBD Energy Ltd. (Sydney, Australia), after “repeated delays” in finalizing the merger from the original target of the third quarter of 2012. In an US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated July 19th, 2013 Westinghouse stated that the delays had damaged its supply relationships, leading to a decline in company revenue and forcing cost reduction measures including layoffs. The company says that it now plans to focus its attention of rebuilding its core business. Read more

Suntech supplies solar PV modules to Aura Solar 1 PV project in Mexico

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd. (Wuxi, China) has announced that it is supplying Martifer Solar SA (Oliveira De Frades, Portugal) with the solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for the Aura Solar 1 plant in Baja California, Mexico. At 30 MW, Aura Solar 1 is larger than any operational PV plant in Latin America. Suntech is supplying 132,000 of its Ve and Vd series modules for the plant, which is under development by Gauss Energía (Mexico City) with financial support from the Mexican Development Bank (NAFIN, Mexico City) and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation. Read more

Wind Gets Underway in Georgia

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:33 (Renewable Energy World)

Georgia’s minister of energy and natural resources, Kakha Kaladze, has announced that work has begun on the nation’s first wind energy project, planned as a 20-MW pilot installation. Read more

PV net energy metering reports ‘too inconsistent to compare’

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 22:30 (PV-Tech)

Transparency about assumptions, stakeholder perspectives and basic methodologies will be vital in the deployment of residential solar under policies such as net energy metering (NEM), according to an influential US sustainability and energy think-tank yesterday. Read more

PV net energy metering reports ‘lack consistent data’

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 22:30 (PV-Tech)

Transparency about assumptions, stakeholder perspectives and basic methodologies will be vital in the deployment of residential solar under policies such as net energy metering (NEM), according to an influential US sustainability and energy think-tank yesterday. Read more

New pylons for new nuclear

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 17:12 (Solarpowerportal)

National Grid has revealed that the winner of its Pylon Design Competition, the T-pylon, could carry electricity from the proposed new nuclear station at Hinkley Point. Read more

Can the U.S. Military Meet Its Renewable Energy Goals and Still Give Investors a Fair Return?

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 16:57 (Renewable Energy World)

“We have to try to balance the interest of the military with those of developers, investors, and lenders,” said Scott Provinse, Director of Government Programs at SunEdison, speaking at the ACORE (American Council on Renewable Energy) U.S. Military and Renewable Energy Industry Forum in Washington, D.C. on July 18th. Read more

India’s Renewable Energy Potential Remains Untapped

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:37 (Renewable Energy World)

India has tremendous energy needs and an increasing difficulty in meeting those needs through traditional means of power generation. On July 30th and 31st, 2012 the world's largest blackout, The Great Indian Outage, stretching from New Delhi to Kolkata occurred. This blackout, due to failure of the northern power grid, caused nearly 700 million people — twice the population of the United States — to be without electricity. Read more

Renewable energy groups call new Spanish funding program a “disguised appropriation”

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 15:29 (Solarserver)

A group of Spanish renewable energy associations have strongly condemned the new funding method for renewable energy introduced by the ruling Popular Party, calling it a “disguised appropriation process”, as well as associated retroactive feed-in tariff cuts. Read more

Pro-nuclear party secures majority in both houses of Japanese parliament

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 11:52 (Solarserver)

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won a landslide victory in the upper house of parliament, despite an ongoing negative opinion of the party's plans to renew nuclear generation. According to Reuters, the LDP and its coalition partner New Komeito gained 76 available seats, giving the two parties 135 of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors. The LDP and New Komeito had previously been outnumbered in the House of Councillors, but enjoyed a strong majority in the House of Representatives. Read more

REA: Amendments to UK Energy Bill “no silver bullet”

Tuesday, 7.23.2013 - 9:16 (Solarserver)

The Renewable Energy Association (REA, London) has responded to a UK Government amendment to the Energy Bill to create “last resort” electricity sales measures, stating that it is insufficient to attract equity investors. The UK Government introduced the amendment on July 19th, 2013, and says will make it easier for independent developers to sell the electricity they generate through power purchase agreements as a route-to-market. Read more