Smart Meter Central Delivery Body appoints new chief executive

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 18:31 (Solarpowerportal)

The Smart Meter Central Delivery Body (SMCDB) has appointed Sacha Dashmukh as its new chief executive. Read more

Lightway to supply PV modules to Sunnova for residential lease program

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 17:45 (Solarserver)

Lightway Solar America, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Lightway Green New Energy Co., Ltd. (Iselin, N.J.), has announced their addition as an approved provider of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Sunnova Energy Corporation (Houston, Texas), provider of long-term, low-cost solar electricity to homeowners. Read more

PacWest acquires DayStar’s CIGS PV patents

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 17:40 (Solarserver)

PacWest Equities, Inc. (Las Vegas, NV) through its recent purchase of DayStar Technologies, Inc.’s (Santa Clara, CA) line of CIGS solar Technology has received ownership of 51 US and China patents, patents pending, and patent applications. The ownership is protecting PacWest Equities’ intellectual property rights of DayStar's 15 Chamber CIGS PV production line which produces glass covered solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Read more

The Evolution of Photovoltaic Waste in Europe

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 16:17 (Renewable Energy World)

With ever increasing measures to encourage the use of renewable energy sources, it can be assumed that solar photovoltaics (PV) will continue to thrive in Europe and worldwide. However, there is an issue that needs to be considered when talking about PV, especially in Europe given the important growth, and this is the waste collection and disposal capacities. Read more

JA Solar pushes multicrystalline solar cell to record 18.3% efficiency

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 11:56 (PV-Tech)

JA Solar has reported a record cell efficiency of 18.3% for a standard (156x156 mm2) multicrystalline solar cell. Read more

Germany installs 309 MW of PV in June 2013, feed-in tariff for larger plants to fall below EUR 0.10/kWh

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 8:48 (Solarserver)

Germany installed another 309 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in June 2013, according to the nation's Federal Network Agency. This brings Germany to 1.80 GW installed in the first half of 2013, and a cumulative capacity of 34.2 GW of PV. As the nation has installed 4.99 GW in the previous 12 months, a 1.8% monthly feed-in tariff degression applies at the beginning of August, September and October 2013. In October, the feed-in tariff for PV plants larger than 1 MW will fall to EUR 0.0988 (USD 0.131) per kWh, its first time under EUR 0.10/kWh. Read more

Solar Energy and the WECC: Beefing Up the Western US Grid

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 20:40 (Renewable Energy World)

If solar energy costs come down within goals set by the Department of Energy's (DOE) SunShot program, solar could contribute a large chunk of the power used by the western regions in North America, according to new research. Read more

Canadian Solar sells five utility-scale PV plants to Concord Green Energy

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 19:22 (PV-Tech)

Canadian Solar subsidiary Canadian Solar Solutions announced that it has reached an agreement to sell five utility-scale solar power plants in Ontario valued at more than C$290 million (US$277 million) to Concord Green Energy. Read more

Hanwah SolarOne CSO, board member DK Kim leaves company, joins Hanwha Q CELLS

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 17:52 (Solarserver)

Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. (Shnaghai, China) on August 2nd, 2013, announced that DK Kim, Chief Strategy Officer and a board member of Hanwha SolarOne, will resign from his positions effective August 1st and join Hanwha Q CELLS, a sister company also owned by Hanwha Chemical and a part of the growing network of solar entities under the Hanwha Group. Kim played an integral role in developing Hanwha Group's strategy to identify solar as an important growth engine for the business group and has been instrumental in the management of Hanwha SolarOne since December 2011. Read more

TrendForce: Raising China polysilicon price causes minor fluctuations in solar PV market

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 17:35 (Solarserver)

China polysilicon manufacturers have started to raise prices, according to research by EnergyTrend, a research subsidiary of TrendForce (Taipeh, Taiwan). Some downstream manufacturers have agreed to adjust prices, but the price change has been incremental. In Taiwan, prices remained flat, due to U.S. manufacturers’ refusal to budge on prices and demand doubts, manufacturers need to carefully maneuver in the spot market, TrendForce notes. Read more

To Mandate or Not to Mandate Solar Hot Water, That Is the Question

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 16:00 (Renewable Energy World)

While incentives alone have worked to grow the market for solar PV systems in California, the state's generous CSI Thermal rebates — plus the Federal 30% Investment Tax Credit — have yet to create a solar hot water boom in California. At least not yet. Is it time to lobby for some type of state solar thermal mandate? California already has one type Read more

Low solar sales continue at BTU International

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 15:50 (PV-Tech)

Thermal processing equipment specialist, BTU International reported second quarter 2013, sales of $14.2 million, up 35.6 percent compared to $10.5 million in the preceding quarter, due primarily due to sales in the electronics industry. Read more

Chilean government grants land concessions to 17 solar projects totaling 604 MW

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 15:26 (Solarserver)

The Chilean government reports that the capacity of renewable energy projects for which it has approved land concessions has doubled in the last seven months to 1.49 GW, including 17 solar project totaling 604 MW. The Ministry of National Assets reports that all of these concessions have been awarded to foreign companies, including Enel Green Power SpA (Rome) Mainstream Renewable Power (Dublin, Ireland) and SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.). The 24 approved wind and solar concessions represent 12.7 hectares of land. Read more

BrightSource signs MOUs towards deployment of solar CSP technology in China

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 14:44 (Solarserver)

BrightSource Energy Inc. (Oakland, California, U.S.) has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with state-owned electricity producer China Power Investment Corporation (CPI, Beijing) and the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI) towards the deployment of its concentrating solar power (CSP) technology in the nation. Read more

Solar Shakeout: Gehrlicher closing in on sale of US subsidiary

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 14:11 (PV-Tech)

Gehrlicher Solar is close to selling its successful US subsidiary less than a month after beginning insolvency proceedings, according to a statement released by the firm. Read more

Solarbuzz: Slow return to growth predicted for European PV next year

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 13:20 (PV-Tech)

New PV installations in Europe are expected to pick up slowly by mid-2104 after a disappointing 2013 in which the continent’s transition away from solar subsidies will continue to stifle demand, according to Solarbuzz. Read more

Solar PV Capacity Expands Quickly when States Provide the Right Incentives

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 13:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The United States solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has grown tremendously in recent years. In 2012, more than 3,300 MW of solar power were installed throughout the United States, with a record 1,300 MW installed in the last three months of the year alone. Read more

Exclusive: Brownfield solar declared a ‘myth’ as study exposes scarcity of UK sites

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 12:39 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK has fewer than 30 brownfield sites suitable for large-scale solar, according to research carried out by one of Britain’s largest solar developers. Read more

IHS: Market for energy storage to accompany solar PV will reach 6 GW by 2017

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 12:19 (Solarserver)

IHS Inc. (Englewood, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which forecasts that the global market for energy storage systems to accompany residential solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will grow exponentially, rising from 12 MW in 2012 to 2.5 GW annually by 2017. The company predicts another 3.5 GW energy storage market for larger solutions. “The Role of Energy Storage in the PV Industry” predicts that Germany's energy storage subsidy will “kick-start” this growth, but notes that in Germany and many other nations changing market dynamics are making self-consumption of energy a more desirable option at the residential scale. Read more

ACERA: Proposed rules for bidding process will block wind, solar generation in Chile

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 12:16 (Solarserver)

The Chilean Association for Renewable Energy (ACERA, Chile) has argued that proposed changes to Chile's system of competitive solicitations for electricity will block the participation of wind and solar electric generation. The change which is causing the greatest concern is a requirement that generators be able to produce power at any time during a 24-hour period. A decision by Chile's Congress on changes to the Concessions Law is expected on August 12th, 2013. Read more

Hanwha Solar One executive joins Hanwha-owned Q-Cells

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 12:16 (PV-Tech)

A senior executive at Hanwha Solar One has resigned from his position at the company to join Hanwha Group-owned German PV manufacturer Q Cells. Read more

Gehrlicher Solar reports “good progress” on post-insolvency restructuring

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 12:12 (Solarserver)

Gehrlicher Solar AG (Neustadt/Coburg, Germany) has released an update on its insolvency filing, stating that it is nearing the conclusion of its discussions with investors, and reporting good progress on its search for an investor for its U.S. subsidiary. Consultants are also offering for sale the projects of Gehrlicher's Italian and Spanish subsidiaries. The company notes that the business has been stabilized and all areas continue to operate, and that bridge financing has been secured to pay employees through the end of September 2013. Read more

Update: Europe Votes to Adopt China Solar Trade Deal

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 11:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The European Commission has now voted on what it called an amicable solution to its solar trade case with China. Read more

EU solar trade deal sets floating price on Chinese panels

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 10:32 (Solarpowerportal)

The EU and China have announced the terms of the deal to end their long-running solar trade dispute, setting a minimum import price linked to industry price reports. Read more

UCLA Researchers Double Efficiency of See-Through Solar Power

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 9:50 (Renewable Energy World)

While the majority of the solar devices on market today are conventional solar panels that are installed on rooftops or in-field to produce power, there’s a lot of research and effort going into other types of photovoltaic (PV) devices. One of the most exciting areas is invisible photovoltaics. These are devices that you can see through, yet they a Read more

BNEF: Solar PV shipments, prices improve in June 2013; Global PV demand to rise 21% up to 37.0 GW

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reports that solar photovoltaic (PV) shipments increased in June 2013, with prices recovering as well. The company also notes that prices have risen slightly along the value chain in recent months, including polysilicon spot prices. BNEF cites the boom in Japanese demand as a prime factor, as well as a rush to ship products into the EU before the feared imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on August 2013. The company also predicts that global PV demand will rise 21% in 2013 to 37.0 GW. Read more

NPD Solarbuzz: European solar PV market to fall to 11.2 GW in 2013

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 8:52 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) has released a new analysis which predicts that the European solar photovoltaic (PV) market will fall 33% to 11.2 GW in 2013. The company states that the market is currently undergoing a transition away from feed-in tariffs towards “competitively priced PV electricity”. NPD Solarbuzz expects the European PV market to bottom out in the first quarter of 2014 at 2.3 GW, and remain flat year-over-year in 2014. Over the next four quarters, the company expects the leading markets to be Germany, the UK and Italy. Read more

Utility Scale Solar and the Probable Rise of Virtual Rooftop Solar

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 8:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Often when people think of solar energy they immediately think of panels installed on rooftops. Our research team at Sustainable Williamson found some interesting trends that may re-situate the way we think about solar development and the necessity of installing it on rooftops. Our team has found that the paradigm of rooftop installations may be de Read more

A Bigger Boat: Offshore Wind Service Vessels Grow Up

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 15:33 (Renewable Energy World)

As offshore wind development moves further out to sea, into deeper waters and harsher weather conditions, service and support vessels — boats used for installation, crew transfer and maintenance — have seen a sea change from smaller boats, often re-purposed from other sectors, to purpose-built craft of 20 metres and larger. Read more

University of California To Test Energy Storage Grid Services

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 17:04 (Renewable Energy World)

How does the grid value energy storage? What are the actual costs of grid smoothing, reliability and other services that a given amount of energy storage can offer? The answers to these questions may be a bit more transparent this Fall after the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) conducts a two-month market simulation of their grid territory beginning in September, including a test of the supply of commercial-scale energy storage services by the University of California at San Diego. Read more

Advanced Energy expects continued sales growth from acquisition and US PV utility market

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 15:46 (PV-Tech)

PV inverter specialist, Advanced Energy (AE) reported better than expected second quarter PV inverter sales on the back of its recent acquisition 3-phase string inverter specialist REFUsol and increased PV utility-scale inverter orders. Read more

Mainstream Renewable Energy sells 25% stake to Marubeni for €100 million

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 14:03 (PV-Tech)

Irish renewables developer Mainstream Renewable Power has signed an equity investment deal worth €100 million (US$133 million) with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation trading company. Read more

Clenergy supplies China’s largest rooftop PV system; completes 100KW in Vietnam

Monday, 8.5.2013 - 11:56 (PV-Tech)

Clenergy has supplied 24MW of its mounting equipment for a rooftop PV system in China, and also completed its first project in Vietnam. Read more