Sunways safely exits insolvency proceedings

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 18:53 (PV-Tech)

As expected, Sunways said that preliminary insolvency proceedings against the assets of the company by its banks have been stopped and the local court in Konstanz has closed the case. Read more

Order Focus: Trina Solar to supply 1.1 million solar modules to Copper Mountain 3

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

The 345MW Copper Mountain Solar 3 PV power plant project being built by AMEC in Boulder City, Nevada is to use 1.1 million PV modules supplied by Trina Solar. Read more

DEK Solar and Yingli Green team on solar cell metallization R&D

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 17:04 (PV-Tech)

Screen printing specialist, DEK Solar is to collaborate with leading PV module manufacturer, Yingli Green Energy on next generation metallization technology. Read more

Enphase micro-inverters deployed in 2.3 MW agricultural PV installation in Canada

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:45 (Solarserver)

Enphase Energy, Inc. (Petaluma, Calif.) on August 12th, 2013 announced a 2.3MW (2MW AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) project at Vine Fresh Produce, Ltd., in Ontario, Canada, utilizing Enphase micro-inverters. The three-phase commercial system is the largest rooftop solar PV array as part of the province’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program, Enphase emphasizes. Read more

SolarCity to acquire Paramount Solar in US$120 million deal

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 18:48 (PV-Tech)

PV developer SolarCity has announced it is to acquire one of its direct marketing partners, Paramount Solar, in a deal worth US$120 million. Read more

Activ Solar completes 69.7MW Nikolayevka Solar Park in Ukraine

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 17:16 (PV-Tech)

Austrian PV developer Activ Solar has completed construction work on the 116 hectare Nikolayevka Solar Park in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. Read more

Manz expects record growth year without solar equipment sales contribution

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 16:32 (PV-Tech)

The strategy to diversify its business away from dependence on sectors such as solar is proving to be a significant success for equipment supplier, Manz AG. Read more

Will Yingli or Trina Solar Bid for Suntech?

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 15:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Late last week we were bombarded with a flurry of news that showed the solar sector is rebounding and could also see its first major merger. In the former category, earnings updates from Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and Trina (NYSE: TSL) are showing steady improvement for the embattled panel-making sector, while a quarterly report from Canadian Solar (Nasdaq Read more

Activ Solar commissions 69.7 MW solar PV plant in Crimea

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 15:04 (Solarserver)

Activ Solar GmbH (Vienna) has begun commissioning yet another enormous solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Ukraine, this time a 69.7 MW plant in the Crimean Peninsula. The Nikolayevka Solar Park covers 116 hectares, comprising 52 inverters and more than 290,000 multicrystalline PV modules. Read more

Trina Solar to supply 345 MW of solar PV modules for Copper Mountain Solar 3 project

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 14:42 (Solarserver)

Trina Solar Ltd. (Changzhou, China) has announced that it will supply 1.13 million of its multicrystalline solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to the 345 MW-DC Copper Mountain Solar 3 Project in the U.S. state of Nevada. Read more

SEIA comments on White House plan to upgrade grid: Solar can support energy security, grid reliability

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:42 (Solarserver)

Reacting to a new report issued on August 112th, 2013 by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington, D.C.) says its members are well-positioned to assist efforts to modernize the U.S. electric grid and to make it more resilient in the future when pounded by severe weather. “Ten years after the largest blackout in U.S. history, which blanketed eight states in the Northeast in the summer of 2003 and left 50 million Americans in the dark, solar is more important than ever to our nation’s energy security and grid reliability,” says SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch. Read more

Schletter unveils lightweight, ballasted PV mounting system

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:37 (Solarserver)

Schletter Inc. (Shelby, NC.), manufacturer of solar mounting systems, on August 13th, 2013 announced the release of “PvMini”, a lightweight, ballasted ground mount system for landfills, brownfields, and areas with rocky terrain. The system’s triangle supports and proprietary new ProfiPlus XT rail design allows for longer spans and decreased ballast weight, Schletter emphasizes. Read more

Serbian “OneGiga” Solar Power Project Cancelled; Lawsuit Threatened

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:26 (Renewable Energy World)

A 1 GW solar photovoltaic (PV) project which would have seen 100 10 MW solar power plants built in Serbia has been cancelled by its developer, Securum Equity Partners International Ltd of Malta. The company claims the Serbian government violated an agreement signed by both parties by failing to provide the promised 3,000 ha of land for the project by the agreed deadline, and says it plans to sue. Read more

Musk Explains Hyperloop, a Solar-powered High-speed Transportation System

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:26 (Renewable Energy World)

Almost a year after Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors (TSLA) and SpaceX, first floated the idea of a superfast mode of transportation, he has finally revealed the details: a solar-powered, city-to-city elevated transit system that could take passengers and cars from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes. In typical Musk fashion, the Hyperloop, as he calls it, immediately poses a challenge to the status quo — in this case, California’s $70 billion high-speed train that has been knocked by Musk and others as too expensive, too slow, and too impractical. Read more

Solar Shakeout: Sunselex Germany files for insolvency, Zurich arm takes over

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:17 (PV-Tech)

Owing to a possible loss of liquidity, PV systems provider Sunselex Germany has filed for insolvency. Read more

Aleo solar announces H1 losses, shrinking European market to blame

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 12:20 (PV-Tech)

Aleo solar announced its half-year financial results on Tuesday, revealing that the company’s revenue to the end of June had decreased 58.9% compared to the equivalent period of 2012. Read more

Frost & Sullivan: Brazilian solar PV market to reach USD 431 million in 2017

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 10:21 (Solarserver)

Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, California, U.S.) has released a new report which predicts that the Brazilian solar photovoltaic (PV) market will increase to USD 431 million in 2017, growing at 71% annually. The company states that PV projects for stadiums which will host FIFA World Cup football games will give a “huge boost” to the nation's solar market. Frost & Sullivan also notes that while the high level of solar radiation in much of the nation is very attractive to developers, Brazil's market is struggling with other barriers. Read more

LightSource acquires 20 MW solar PV project in UK

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 10:13 (Solarserver)

LightSource Renewable Energy Ltd. (London) has acquired a 20 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Kent, England, from developer BNRG Renewables (Dublin, Ireland). The EUR 35 million (USD 47 million) Sycamore Solar Farm project has already obtained temporary planning permission. The plant will comprise 82,000 PV modules on 49 hectares in Old Romney. Read more

U.S. installed solar PV system prices fall 10-15% in the first six months of 2013

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 10:12 (Solarserver)

The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Lab (Berkeley, California, U.S.) has released a report which finds that prices for installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems fell 6-14% in the United States in 2012, and another 10-15% in the first six months of 2013. 2012 was the third consecutive year of significant price reductions. The sixth edition of “Tracking the Sun” finds that the majority of these cost reductions come from falling PV module costs, noting that “soft” costs have not fallen as much, and are now attracting the focus of the industry and policymakers. Read more

Frost & Sullivan: Brazilian solar PV market to reach 431 million in 2017

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 8:59 (Solarserver)

Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, California, U.S.) has released a new report which predicts that the Brazilian solar photovoltaic (PV) market will increase to USD 431 million in 2017, growing at 71% annually. The company states that PV projects for stadiums which will host FIFA World Cup football games will give a “huge boost” to the nation's solar market. Frost & Sullivan also notes that while the high level of solar radiation in much of the nation is very attractive to developers, Brazil's market is struggling with other barriers. Read more

Solar Voters a Force to Be Reckoned With

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 7:05 (Renewable Energy World)

Yesterday, the West Australian State Government reversed its decision to apply retrospective changes to its feed-in tariff. The WA government realized that its proposal to halve the payment given for excess solar electricity had angered 70,000 voters all in order to save a paltry $51 million. This remarkable turn-around occurred in the space of fou Read more

Biofuel Credit Shortage to Boost U.S. Gasoline Exports, IEA Says

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 13:19 (Renewable Energy World)

A shortage of biofuel credits needed for gasoline sales in the U.S. may lead to an increase in exports of the fuel from America in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency. Read more

600 Investors in South Dakota’s Premier Community Wind Project

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 15:19 (Renewable Energy World)

In this episode of Local Energy Rules, ILSR's Director of Democratic Energy, John Farrell, speaks to Brian Minish, CEO of South Dakota Wind Partners about a community wind project that attracted over 600 local investors.  The project was the brainchild of four state organizations rooted in rural South Dakota–the East River Electric Cooperative, Sou Read more

Energy Storage Technology at Renewable Market’s Edge

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 15:11 (Renewable Energy World)

A host of new technology developments in energy storage are at the edge of the massive commercial market for solutions to renewable energy intermittency. While storage prices must continue to drop prior to mainstream adoption, there are a few substantial niche markets where storage already makes overwhelming sense. While high performance batteries today can cost between $700 and $800 per kilowatt hour (kWh), and lower performance batteries cost between $400 and $500/kWh, prices are headed downward drastically for those battery companies that survive, several sources at the Renewable Energy Storage Symposium said in San Diego last week. Read more

Cleantech Turnaround Report Shows Renewable Energy Recovery

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 14:24 (Renewable Energy World)

Despite challenging market conditions, bankruptcies and consolidation, key indicators show signs of improvement in the clean tech sector, according to EY’s newly released annual cleantech industry performance report. Read more

REC restructuring moves step closer after new bond issue is oversubscribed

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 12:06 (PV-Tech)

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has announced its new US$110 million convertible bond offer was oversubscribed and is now closed. Read more

Fears of blackout Britain prompt energy storage surge

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 11:51 (Solarpowerportal)

Reports that Britain could be facing blackouts has prompted demand for GreenKit’s energy storage kit to dramatically rise. Read more

EnergyTrend: PV product prices hard to predict in Q3 2013

Tuesday, 8.13.2013 - 8:57 (Solarserver)

TrendForce's (Taipei, Taiwan) EnergyTrend division states that solar photovoltaic (PV) prices may be unpredictable in the third quarter of 2013, due to the PV price undertaking agreement between the EU and China. The company has confirmed that the deal entails a minimum PV module price of EUR 0.56 (USD 0.74) per watt, as well as a market size cap, which is currently set at 7 GW but has not been finalized. It states that this price is higher than what Chinese manufacturers proposed but lower than EU PV production costs. Read more