Ofgem confirms feed-in tariff freeze for October

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 17:55 (Solarpowerportal)

Energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed that the feed-in tariff rates (FiT) for solar will remain the same for the period 1 October 2013 to 1 January 2014. Read more

ECCC: Cost of smart meter roll-out must be controlled

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 16:55 (Solarpowerportal)

The Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) has warned that there are still several key issues facing the mainstream roll-out of smart meters in the UK. Read more

New directors for Suntech as bond negotiations continue

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 12:22 (PV-Tech)

Beleaguered PV manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings has added two new directors to its board. Read more

Solectria Renewables powers large college PV installation in New Jersey

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 12:09 (Solarserver)

Solectria Renewables, LLC (Lawrence; Mass), on July 30th, 2013, announced that its SGI 500 solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters will power an 8MW PV system, the largest college solar installation in North America, at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) in West Windsor, New Jersey. The PV system is located on a 45-acre parcel of land at MCCC) and will save the college approximately USD 750,000 annually, Solectria notes. Read more

Meeco Group completes 400 kW PV plant in Greece

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 12:05 (Solarserver)

Meeco Services Hellas S.A., Greek subsidiary of the Meeco Group (Zug, Switzerland), has finalized a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the municipality of East Attica. The turnkey PV plant is located in Oropos, 50 kilometres north of Athens. The grid-connected plant consists of four PV arrays of 100 kilowatts nominal power capacity (kWp) each. Read more

AGL, First Solar to Build Australia’s Largest Solar Project

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 19:06 (Renewable Energy World)

AGL Energy Ltd., Australia’s largest developer of renewable energy projects, said it will go ahead with a A$450 million ($408 million) solar project in New South Wales state with First Solar Inc. Read more

Solarpack receives USD 65 million in IDB funding to support Chilean solar PV projects

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 18:55 (Solarserver)

Solarpack (Getxo, Spain) has closed on USD 65 million in financing from The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, Washington D.C.) for two of its solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Northern Chile. IDB will fund the projects through the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector of the Americas and French development agency PROPARCO (Paris). Read more

Solarcentury partners with Habitat Aid to boost solar farms’ biodiversity

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 17:32 (Solarpowerportal)

Solarcentury has partnered with Habitat Aid to boost the biodiversity of its solar farms across the UK. Read more

European Commission accused of using biased data in solar dumping case

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 14:52 (Solarpowerportal)

The European Commission (EC) has been accused of using biased information from Europressedienst, the German-based market and media consultancy that provided statistics for the EU/China dumping dispute. Read more

Solarpack receives USD 65 million in IDB funding to support solar PV projects

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 14:40 (Solarserver)

Solarpack (Getxo, Spain) has closed on USD 65 million in financing from The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, Washington D.C.) for two of its solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Northern Chile. IDB will fund the projects through the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector of the Americas and French development agency PROPARCO (Paris). Read more

Xcel faces backlash over Colorado solar net metering plan

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 13:58 (PV-Tech)

Solar industry and environmental groups in Colorado have united to oppose proposals by utility company Xcel Energy they say could restrict the growth of rooftop PV in the state. Read more

First Solar to build Australia's largest solar PV plants

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 13:45 (Solarserver)

AGL Energy Ltd. (Sydney, Australia) has achieved financial close on two Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, a 102 MW-AC PV plant in Nyngan and a 53 MW-AC PV project in Broken Hill. Both are located in the state of New South Wales (NSW). Read more

Jinko Solar wins 39MW Indiana module contract

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 13:22 (PV-Tech)

China-based module manufacturer JinkoSolar has been contracted to supply 39MW of PV modules for three solar projects in Indiana, USA. Read more

BNEF: Solar stock prices on road to recovery

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 12:55 (PV-Tech)

Solar stock prices could have begun a longer term recovery, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Read more

Overlooked Areas for Solar Provide Greatest Benefit

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 12:04 (Renewable Energy World)

Solar panels provide the greatest benefit in areas with consistent sunshine, right? Wrong, say researchers at Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Solar energy, which aims to improve human health and reduce pollution by phasing out coal plants, actually provides the most benefit in the cloudy East and Midwest, as opposed to the sunny So Read more

First Solar to build Austalia’s largest solar farms

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 11:49 (PV-Tech)

US PV manufacturer and developer First Solar is to act as supplier and EPC contractor for what are expected to become Australia’s two largest utility-scale solar farms. Read more

First Solar to build Australia’s largest solar farms

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 11:49 (PV-Tech)

US PV manufacturer and developer First Solar is to act as supplier and EPC contractor for what are expected to become Australia’s two largest utility-scale solar farms. Read more

European Commission accused of using biased data in solar dumping case

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 11:14 (PV-Tech)

The European Commission (EC) has been accused of using biased information from Europressidienst, the German-based market and media consultancy that provided statistics for the EU/China dumping dispute. Read more

European Commission accused of using ‘impartial’ data in solar dumping case

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 11:14 (PV-Tech)

The European Commission (EC) has been accused of using “impartial” information from Europressidienst, the German-based market and media consultancy that provided statistics for the EU/China dumping dispute. Read more

Claims of Faulty Data in EU-China Solar Trade Case Now Under Investigation

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 10:39 (Renewable Energy World)

In an update to our coverage of questions raised about the European Commission’s investigation into alleged Chinese solar panel dumping, new reports say the Commission has notified the analysis firm which provided the data on Europe’s solar market that it will itself be investigated. Read more

U.S. and European PV Developers Hold Lead, as Chinese Advance

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 10:37 (Renewable Energy World)

American and European companies still lead the latest ranking of utility-scale solar project developers to be published by Wiki-Solar. However, Chinese players are leaping up the rankings. Read more

Six Basic Emotions to Market Solar: Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness and Surprise

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 10:00 (Renewable Energy World)

A few days ago, I read a blogpost from marketing author and speaker Seth Godin about the theory that there are six basic emotions that drive people to take action. After I read it, I of course wondered if the same emotions applied to solar marketing. Short answer: Yup. You can read Godin’s original post here, but the six basic emotions he identifie Read more

JinkoSolar to supply modules for 39 MW of PV plants in Indiana

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 9:11 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has announced that it will supply 39 MW of its high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to AMEC plc (Knutsford, UK) for three projects in the U.S. state of Indiana. JinkoSolar will supply its 300 watt, 72-cell PV modules, with deliveries scheduled for completion during the fourth quarter of 2013. The three plants will be located in Marion County and will be the largest PV projects in Indiana. Read more

BNEF: Solar PV stocks beginning to recover

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 8:53 (Solarserver)

As the small, short-term bump in the stock prices of Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) makers following the EU-China trade deal mostly subsides, a larger trend is the recovery of PV company stock prices over the last 12 months. This in turn is part of a growth of clean energy stock prices, as reported by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, New York City). BNEF reports that the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX), which focuses on clean energy stocks, has increased 57% in the last 12 months from its low point in late July 2012. Read more

Wood-Boring Gribbles Intrigue Biofuels Researchers

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Tiny wood borers known colloquially as gribbles make their own enzymes and use them to eat through docks in harbor towns, earning enmity from fishermen all around the world. Read more

Predictive Maintenance Driving Value for the Wind Industry

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 15:23 (Renewable Energy World)

Despite the opportunities fueled by new offshore projects and enhanced efficiencies in operating existing sites, the European wind industry today faces challenges around energy and wind power costs – a problem made worse by the current squeeze on operating budgets. Read more

What Can the UK Renewable Industry Learn from the Rest of the World?

Wednesday, 7.31.2013 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Two years ago the UK renewables market was booming; solar panels offered consumers a strong return-on-investment and at the UN Climate Change Conference heads of state from around the world came together in a pledge to cut their country’s carbon emissions. Read more