ReneSola certified by TUV SUD for PID Testing of PV modules

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 22:41 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd. (Shanghai, China) on September 9th, 2013, announced its ReneSola Jiangsu Product Center Laboratory has successfully completed an audit performed by TUV SUD, one of the world's leading providers of testing and certification services. The audit certifies that the Company's laboratory is qualified for potential induced degradation (PID) testing on solar photovoltaic (PV) modules according to International Electrotechnical Commission standards. Read more

California Senate approves changes to net metering policy

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 19:38 (Solarserver)

On September 9th, 2013 the California Senate approved an amended version of a bill affecting California's net metering policy for residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) system owners. The bill also allows changes to the state's retail electricity rates. Read more

Order Focus: JinkoSolar set to supply 274MW of solar modules to ACCIONA projects

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

JinkoSolar has scooped a massive solar module supply deal for several utility-scale PV power plant projects led by renewable energy company, Acciona. Read more

Researchers pledge to crack open BIPV with flexible encapsulant

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology, ISC and IVV are working to develop a flexible weather-resistant PV encapsulation film aimed at building-integrated PV (BIPV) applications. Read more

Ontario reduces but does not eliminate domestic content in draft feed-in tariff rules

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 9:49 (Solarserver)

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA, Toronto) has released a draft of rules for the third version of the province's feed-in tariff (FIT), including limiting the maximum project size to 500 kW and greatly reducing the proportion of domestically produced equipment required. Under the draft FIT 3 rules, participating crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) systems must use a minimum of 22% equipment manufactured in Ontario, and 28% for thin-film PV plants. Read more

Kyocera seeks partners for PV project development in the United States

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 8:50 (Solarserver)

Kyocera Corp. (Kyoto, Japan) is looking for partners to acquire and/or co-develop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the United States. The company currently has 9 MW of U.S. PV projects under construction and scheduled for completion in 2013. Kyocera plans to engage in multiple aspects of PV project development, including design and engineering and providing project management and technical support, as well as using its global procurement to deliver reduced equipment costs. Additionally, the company will offer construction finance, debt financing through partners and will utilize its bonding capability, as well as directly investing in select projects. Read more

IBC SOLAR commissions megawatt-scale PV Plant for commercial solar power self-consumption

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 22:55 (Solarserver)

IBC SOLAR AG, (Bad Staffelstein, Germany), has finalized three ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants for WVE GmbH (Kaiserslautern, Germany) as general contractor (EPC). As the owner of the plant, WVE GmbH, a subsidiary of the utility Kaiserslautern (Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern SWK), now takes over responsibility for the operation and maintenance activities. IBC SOLAR AG was responsible for the technical detailed planning and construction of all three PV plants. Read more

SolarCity completes acquisition of Paramount Solar

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 22:46 (Solarserver)

SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, Calif.) has completed the acquisition of the assets of Paramount Energy Solutions, LLC, doing business as Paramount Solar (Granite Bay, California, U.S.), a subsidiary of Paramount Equity, for a total consideration of USD 120 million, including 3,674,565 shares of SolarCity common stock priced at USD 31.65 per share, and USD 3.7 million in cash. Read more

California rate reform set to boost solar

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 21:43 (PV-Tech)

California’s state Senate yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of fiercely contested residential rate reforms. Read more

Coupled Solar and Energy Storage Market to Grow

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 17:44 (Renewable Energy World)

The symbiotic match between the solar and energy storage sectors shows significant market promise, according to a new analysis from Lux Research. Read more

SunEdison secures financing, begins construction on Latin America's largest solar PV project at 100 MW

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:22 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has begun construction of a 100 MW-DC solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Atacama region of Chile, as the largest PV project to reach this phase in Latin America to date. SunEdison expects to complete the Amanecer Solar CAP plant in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

NFL Goes Solar, Who's in the Lead?

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

  Our NFL goes solar infographic celebrates the 2013 season’s kickoff by showcasing five solar-powered stadiums. East coast teams have an early lead in solar production, but the new San Francisco stadium will be solar-powered by 2014. The largest NFL solar installation is in Philadelphia. It has 11,000 solar panels for a total of 3,000 kW of solar Read more

Solar PV meets 10.7% of Italian electricity demand in August 2013

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 14:36 (Solarserver)

Italian solar photovoltaic (PV) plants produced 2.74 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in August 2013, according to national grid operator Terna SpA (Rome). This is a 16% increase over the previous year, and enough to meet 10.7% of the nation's electricity demand. Read more

Order Focus: JA Solar to ship 96MW of modules to world’s largest hybrid hydro-solar power station

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

A 320MW hybrid hydro-solar power station in China’s Qinghai Province will be partially supplied modules from JA Solar in September. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne’s module shipments hit new high

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Continued strong demand from Japan and South Africa as well as tolling modules for Hanwha Q CELLS supported improving business conditions at Hanwha SolarOne in the second quarter of 2013. Read more

Cost of Bangladesh solar plan estimated at US$2.76 billion

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 13:07 (PV-Tech)

A programme for introducing 500MW capacity of solar power in Bangladesh will cost an estimated US$2.76 billion, according to a document issued by the government’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. Read more

Solar technologies for a growing market: First Intersolar South America starts on September 18th in São Paulo (Brazil)

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 12:27 (Solarserver)

For the first time, around 70 exhibitors in the areas of photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal technologies are presenting their latest technologies, products and services at Intersolar South America, which is held in the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo from September 18th to 20th. Running alongside the exhibition is the Intersolar South America Conference. Here, around 60 speakers and 600 attendees discuss current market trends and technological developments within the solar industry. Read more

Clenergy opens solar EPC business in China

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Sino-Australian mounting manufacturer Clenergy has developed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) arm that will begin operations in China shortly. Read more

Report on solar potential of Saudi Arabia to be released at this year’s Joint Forces for Solar networking briefing in Riyadh

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 9:19 (Solarserver)

Renewable energy initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may soon create an attractive new market for international solar partnerships. The first major report to focus exclusively on concrete solutions and practical approaches for Saudi Arabia will be released at the 2nd PV Briefing & Networking Forum Saudi Arabia, hosted by the global network initiative Joint Forces for Solar and the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) Read more

Solar Universe acquires Gen110

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 9:03 (Solarserver)

Gen110 (San Francisco, California, U.S.) has been acquired by Solar Universe Inc. (Livermore, California, U.S.), which the company says will allow it to utilize the direct sales capabilities developed by Gen110 to acquire customers without expensive marketing campaigns. Solar Universe describes itself as a solar franchising concept, and provides PV systems to customers through a network of installation franchises. The company also launched an online design tool for prospective customers in August 2013. Read more

Solar PV supplies 11.9% of German electricity production in August 2013

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 8:59 (Solarserver)

German electricity production from solar photovoltaics (PV) reached 4.13 TWh in August 2013, a 6% increase over the prior year, according to a data supplied by the EEX Transparency Exchange (Leipzig, Germany). In an analysis for Renewables International, Bernard Chabot calculates that PV provided 11.9% of Germany's electricity production during the month, and 7.9% of the electricity produced over the first eight months of 2013. Solar power production reached its peak in July at 5.1 TWh, representing 14.4% of electricity production. Read more

First Solar and BELECTRIC create joint venture for PV power plant projects

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 8:56 (Solarpowerportal)

A joint venture firm has been created between First Solar and BELECTRIC to pursue the building of PV power plants in Europe, North Africa and the US. Read more

Grid connection for first PV project under South Africa renewables programme

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 6:15 (PV-Tech)

The 75MW Kalkbult solar plant has become the first PV project under South Africa’s renewable energy programme to be connected to the grid. Read more

The Time is Right for Small Pumped Energy Storage, UK Hydropower Developer Says

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 13:16 (Renewable Energy World)

A plan for a 50-MW capacity pumped storage facility capable of generating up to 500 MWh of energy has been approved by the local council, the developer has announced. The facility will be built in the Glyn Rhonwy cluster of abandoned slate quarries near Llanberis in north Wales. Read more

Just Say No to Combustion in Buildings, And Say Yes to Geothermal Heat Pumps

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:29 (Renewable Energy World)

As kids we were told “don’t play with matches.” The reasoning was simple. But as adults, we ignore this warning and play with fire to heat our homes and office buildings and our laws and policies encourage it. It doesn’t have to be that way. We need to create paths to safer, cleaner and more efficient energy sources to satisfy the “thermal loads” of buildings and geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are the answer. Read more

SunEdison gets finance for 100MW planned PV power plant in Atacama Desert

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Having first been showcased as a potentially large emerging market several years ago, finally PV installations in Chile are starting to materialise. Major PV energy provider (PVEP) SunEdison has secured US$212.5 million in project finance for a 100MW PV power plant in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Read more

Development Banks Lend Record $108.9 Billion to Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 17:12 (Renewable Energy World)

Development banks worldwide lent a record $108.9 billion to renewable energy and energy-efficient technology last year as they scale back investment in coal-fired power plants, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said. Read more

Davey: Shale gas exploration won’t threaten UK climate change targets

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:52 (Solarpowerportal)

Secretary of state, Ed Davey, has said that the ‘safe and responsible’ exploration of shale gas will not threaten the UK’s climate change targets. Read more

5 Barriers and Solutions for Community Renewable Energy

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:32 (Renewable Energy World)

Community renewable energy has significant political and economic benefits, but is often hindered by five major barriers.  Read on for a summary of the five barriers, watch them in a 17-minute presentation, or check out the illustrated slideshow below. Barrier one is tradition. Utilities are simply used to operating a grid in a 20th century model, Read more

Lux Research: Japan to lead PV energy storage market

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 15:15 (PV-Tech)

Japan is expected to be the leading adopter if combined PV and energy storage systems, according to the latest findings from Lux Research. Read more

Netherlands energy reforms pave way for 2 million residential PV systems

Tuesday, 9.10.2013 - 14:01 (PV-Tech)

After months of negotiations, the Netherlands government has reached an agreement on energy policy reforms. Read more