Copper contacts boost i-PERC-type solar cell efficiencies to 20.6%

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 13:06 (PV-Tech)

Employing an i-PERC-type solar cell at imec, researchers have been able to demonstrate a best cell efficiency of 20.1% using atomic layer deposition (ALD) Al2O3 passivation with standard screen printed contacts. However, using front-side copper contacts boosted efficiency to 20.6%. Read more

French PV association criticises government plan to cut tax credits

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Soler, the solar power division of the French renewable energy association Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables (SER), has criticised the French government for including a measure to cancel tax credits of up to 11% for residential PV systems in its 2014 budget plan. Read more

Solar Shakeout: Conergy receives offers for production subsidiaries

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 17:58 (PV-Tech)

System manufacturer and developer, Conergy, has received offers for its production subsidiaries, Mounting Systems and Conergy SolarModule, as insolvency negotiations continue. Read more

Rajasthan gets U$500 million ADB loan for renewables transmission

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

The Asian Development Bank is to provide US$500 million for the construction of a power transmission system to link solar and wind plants in Rajasthan, India, to local and national grids. Read more

Solarcentury founder Jeremy Leggett warns of global fossil fuel crash in latest book

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:10 (Solarserver)

Solarcentury (London) Founder and Chairman Jeremy Leggett has published a new book which predicts that the energy industry is leading the economy towards a global crash, based on risk-taking in energy and financial markets. Leggett bases this warning on both a study of oil and gas markets and human behavior, and notes that the biggest risk being run is that of climate change. “The Energy of Nations: Risk Blindness and the Road to Rennaisance” also states that there is a way to avoid this crash. Read more

India sets target for 10 GW of solar PV by 2017

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 14:58 (Solarserver)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced a target to reach 10 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity in the nation through 2017. MNRE notes that the first phase of the nation's Nation Solar Mission has built 1.68 GW, in excess of the target of 1.1 GW. Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah has also stated that he expects the cost of electricity from renewable energy sources to continue to fall, noting that electricity from PV has already fallen to INR 8 (USD 0.13) per kWh from INR 18 (USD 0.29) per kWh a few years prior. Read more

Key Lawmakers Support Efforts To End U.S.-China Solar Dispute

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 14:44 (Renewable Energy World)

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? An industry proposal aimed at ending a long-running solar trade dispute between the United States and China is gaining support among key lawmakers at both the state and federal levels, including the chairmen of the U.S. Senate Finance and Budget committees. For months, the Solar Energy Industries Associatio Read more

Order Focus: Kyocera supplies 3.6MW of modules to solar park in tsunami-hit Japanese city

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 13:45 (PV-Tech)

The solar power division of Japanese electronics and ceramics maker Kyocera Corporation has supplied 3.6MW of PV modules for the construction of a solar park in tsunami-hit Miyagi prefecture, less than 100km north of Fukushima, Japan. Read more

ET Solutions completes 4.2MW Ukraine PV plant

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

Construction has been completed on a 4.2MW solar power plant in Odessa, Ukraine, by ET Solutions, a subsidiary of the multi-national ET Solar. Read more

Semprius sets new record for mass-produced solar CPV modules at 35.5%

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

Semprius Inc. (Durham, North Carolina, U.S.) reports that it has produced concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules at its manufacturing facility in the U.S. state of North Carolina with an efficiency of 35.5%, as confirmed by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Freiburg, Germany). This is a new world record for mass-produced solar photovoltaic (PV) module technology, and the modules incorporate standard production techniques and materials, including epitaxial wafers provided by Solar Junction (San Jose, California, U.S.). Semprius also reports that it has reached a 37.1% efficiency with its demonstration modules. Read more

U.S. BLM signs off on 250 MW Silver State Solar South PV project in Nevada

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

Citing biological and recreational concerns, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has confirmed a reduction in the size of the Silver State Solar South project in the state of Nevada from 350 MW to 250 MW, in its final proposed plan for the project. BLM has released its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the project and a proposed amendment to a regional planning document, which starts a 30-day protest period and a 60-day governor's review before a final decision is made. Read more

LDK Solar enters forbearance agreement over 2014 bonds

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (Xinyu City, China) has entered into a 30-day forbearance agreement with the majority of holders of a group of bonds due in 2014, relating to an overdue interest payment from August 28th, 2013. LDK has not made this payment, and according to a company statement may not do so in the future, stating that it is hopeful that the forbearance agreement is the first step towards achieving a consensual solution. LDK defaulted on an earlier bond payment in April 2013, and continues to post very heavy quarterly losses which add to its enormous debt burden. Read more

First Solar acquires 250 MW PV Project in Nevada from K Road Power

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 8:46 (Solarserver)

First Solar, Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, USA) on September 26th, 2013 announced that it has acquired the 250 megawatt (MW)AC solar photovoltaic (PV) project Moapa from K Road Power Holdings LLC (San Diego, California, USA). The PV project is located in the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada. The project will be designed and built by First Solar using its Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) thin film solar modules, and has in place a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Read more

BNEF: 36.7 GW of new solar PV to be added in 2013

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 8:37 (Solarserver)

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, New York City) has predicted that the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market will grow 20% to 36.7 GW in 2013, with new PV capacities outpacing wind for the first time. This is slightly less than the 38 GW that Mercom Capital LLC (Austin, Texas, U.S.) has predicted, and both companies cite strong markets in Japan and China as primary drivers. Read more

U.S. politicians show support for SEIA measure to end the U.S.-China solar trade war

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 8:25 (Solarserver)

The Solar Energy Industries Association's (SEIA, Washington D.C.) reports that several prominent U.S. politicians have expressed support for its proposal aimed at ending the trade dispute between the United States and China over solar photovoltaic (PV) imports. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee (D) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Washington) Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Max Baucus (D-Montana) and John Tester (D-Montana) have all signaled their support of the measure. The main component of the proposal is a fund to support U.S. PV manufacturers and the U.S. PV market, paid for by Chinese PV makers, and the end of trade actions and tariffs by both nations. Read more

Safety First for Offshore Wind Installation

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 9:00 (Renewable Energy World)

A new, safety-conscious technique for installing offshore wind towers has been used for the first time at the UK’s Dogger Bank site, the developer has announced. Read more

IPCC Concludes Anthropogenic Warming is Real

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:57 (Renewable Energy World)

A new report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that human impact on the climate system is clear and evident in most regions of the globe. Read more

IPCC: 95% likely humans are responsible for climate change

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:38 (PV-Tech)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its fifth assessment report, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, in which the organisation argued that the human influence on climate change was undeniable. Read more

IPCC: Humans are to blame for climate change

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:34 (Solarpowerportal)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that the human influence on climate change is undeniable and has urged governments to take action. Read more

Washington Gas Energy Systems, Sol Systems to build three PV projects across the U.S.

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:15 (Solarserver)

Washington Gas Energy Systems (Herndon, VA, U.S.) announced to build, own and operate three new solar photovoltaic (PV) projects across the United States through financing partnership with Sol Systems (Washington, DC, U.S.). Washington Gas Energy Systems will own and operate the PV plants under 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs). Sol Systems acted as an investment advisor for the projects. Read more

The Inherent Opportunity in Today’s Energy Poverty Crisis

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 15:11 (Renewable Energy World)

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis'. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognise the opportunity," said former U.S. president John F. Kennedy. Read more

Listen Up: Try the Free DOE Home Energy Audit Program

Friday, 9.27.2013 - 12:43 (Renewable Energy World)

If you know where you are wasting energy at home, you can fix the problem. But for many people, getting an energy audit is like flossing your teeth — you know you should do it but just can't seem to get around to it. Fortunately, there's an easy to use energy audit program developed by the DOE that does as good a job as any professional program, and its free. Read more