Ofgem confirms 2014 feed-in tariff freeze

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 17:15 (Solarpowerportal)

All feed-in tariff levels for solar PV will remain the same from 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014 following disappointing deployment levels in all tariff bands. Read more

ReneSola modules among top performers in PV Evolution Labs testing

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 15:00 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd (Jiashan, China), provider of solar photovoltaic (PV) products, on July 30th, 2014 announced the Company's industry-leading results in a series of reliability tests conducted by PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). The Company's PV modules achieved top performance rankings on PVEL's "PV Module Reliability Scorecard" for 2014 in four testing categories: Dynamic Mechanical Load, Damp Heat, Potential Induced Degradation, and Humidity-Freeze. Read more

Indian PV producer Vikram Solar opens U.S. sales office to launch solar modules in North and South America

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 14:57 (Solarserver)

Vikram Solar (Kolkata, India), tier-1 producer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, executes its latest global expansion by opening an international office in Boulder, Colorado, US. New Head of Business Development Americas is Ken Oatman, a well-known executive in the American solar industry. Prior to joining Vikram Solar in July 2014, he was employed by ET Solar Group as Sales Manager, and has over six years of experience in various positions along the solar supply chain. Read more

Energy storage: Ideal Power secures multi-year purchase agreement with Sharp Electronics

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 10:09 (Solarserver)

Ideal Power Inc. (Austin, TX), a developer of a disruptive power conversion technology, on July 30th, 2014 announced that it has signed a multi-year purchase agreement with Sharp Electronics Corporation whereby Sharp will utilize Ideal Power’s 30 kW battery converter in its SmartStorage systems. Ideal Power has received an initial order from Sharp under this agreement, and it expects order volumes to scale along with Sharp’s SmartStorage business. Read more

E-Ton Solar’s sales decline in June

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based solar cell producer, E-Ton Solar Tech, has reported a decline in revenue for June, following other merchant suppliers in the region ahead of US anti-dumping preliminary findings. Read more

Solar PV in Italy: Innotech Solar supplies 3.6 MW of PV modules to project dubbed “The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow”

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 14:37 (Solarserver)

The Scandinavian-German manufacturer Innotech Solar (ITS; Narvik, Norway) has supplied 3.6 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to the project “Domani splende il sole” (In English “The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow”). During the project, businesses in the Italian Province of Reggio Emilia installed 100 solar PV systems on the roofs of public buildings such as schools, sports centers and town halls. Read more

KYOCERA solar PV installation with over 2,030 modules makes Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s energy-intensive process sustainable

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 14:30 (Solarserver)

Kyocera Solar Inc. (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on July 30th, 2014 announced that Sundance Power Systems Inc. has installed 650 kilowatts (DC) of Kyocera solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s new Mills River, North Carolina brewery. Read more

Brazil set to announce local content policy for solar

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 14:20 (PV-Tech)

National renewable energy auction organisers in Brazil have said a local content requirement for solar is to be announced within the next fortnight. Read more

Hareon Solar and ILB Helios sign 6.2GW deal for planned PV power plants

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

China-based PV manufacturer and project developer, Hareon Solar Technology Corp has signed a major project development framework agreement with Swiss-based PV developer, ILB Helios. Read more

Kyocera revenues down as Japan solar business slows

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:38 (PV-Tech)

PV manufacturer Kyocera has identified a slowdown in its Japanese solar business as one of the factors behind a fall in income in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

Arizona Utility Opposing Rooftop Solar Seeking to Provide Panels

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:16 (Renewable Energy World)

Arizona Public Service Co., the first U.S. utility to charge extra fees for customers with solar systems, is requesting permission to own its own residential systems and to pay rent for the rooftops. Read more

Koyocera revenues down as Japan solar business slows

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

PV manufacturer Kyocera has identified a slowdown in its Japanese solar business as one of the factors behind a fall in income in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

‘Trojan Horse’ claim over Arizona utility solar plan

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Motives behind a proposal by the largest utility company in Arizona to install 20MW of solar on its customers’ rooftops have been questioned by the US Solar Energy Industries’ Association (SEIA). Read more

Low Carbon begins construction of 10MW Dorset Solar Park

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 12:14 (Solarpowerportal)

Low Carbon has announced that it has completed a deal to construct a 10MW solar farm in Dorset. Read more

BTU International books PV pilot line orders in Q2

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

Thermal processing equipment specialist, BTU International, has reported second quarter sales of US$16.4 million, a 40.7% increase from the previous quarter, while the company booked several PV pilot line equipment orders in the quarter. Read more

Indian state of Uttar Pradesh seeks bids for 300MW of solar

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

The northern province of India, Uttar Pradesh, is calling for bids to develop 300MW of solar capacity. Read more

Trina Solar opposes U.S. DOC’s antidumping investigations on PV products from China, Taiwan

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 10:38 (Solarserver)

Trina Solar Limited (Changzhou, China) comments the preliminary findings by the U.S. Department of Commerce relating to the antidumping duty investigations concerning imports of solar photovoltaic (PV) products into the United States from mainland China and Taiwan. Trina Solar opposes the preliminary findings and believes the allegations made by SolarWorld are contrary to the principles of free and fair trade and are unfounded. Read more

Enphase Energy partners with Technology Credit Corporation on commercial solar PV financing

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 10:33 (Solarserver)

Enphase Energy Inc. (Petaluma, Calif., US), a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) micro inverters, and Technology Credit Corporation (TCC), a privately held financial products and services firm, are working together to offer financing packages for installer-integrators and customers in the small to medium commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) market. Read more

Martifer Solar realizes 8 MW PV Plant in Ukraine

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 7:12 (Solarserver)

Martifer Solar (Oliveira de Frades, Portugal), a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, has built a new solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Vinnytsia region of Ukraine. The 8 MW PV array, called Shargorod, represents one of the most challenging projects to date that the company has successfully completed in the country. Martifer Solar completed the PV plant on an area of approximately 160,000 m2, using 33,000 modules installed on fixed structures. The Shargorod plant is expected to produce an estimated 9.2 GWh/year, which is sufficient energy to power more than 11,000 inhabitants in the Vinnytsia region per year. Read more

Case Study: Using OPC Software To Operate Wind Farms in Spain

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:20 (Renewable Energy World)

Wind power is increasingly becoming an established source of energy. High oil prices, global warming concerns and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima have all contributed to more people looking at renewable energy sources such as wind power. Germany, for example, has decided to gradually phase-out nuclear power by 2022. Wind power will be the backbone of this energy transition — by the year 2050 it should cover about half of German electricity. Read more

Three Geothermal Bills Look to Speed Up US Development

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 20:10 (Renewable Energy World)

On Tuesday, July 29, there were two hearings in U.S. Congress subcommittees that are significant to the geothermal industry. A House subcommittee discussed three bills, with two specifically relating to geothermal development, while a Senate subcommittee looked at permitting needs. Read more

Renewable energy contributes 14.9% UK electricity in 2013

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 16:55 (Solarpowerportal)

Electricity from renewable sources totalled 14.9% in 2013, according to the latest statistics released on Thursday. Read more

Grid Battery Storage: Four Reasons to Invest

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 15:14 (Renewable Energy World)

Think of a product — chances are that Hawaii has to import it. From food and cars to electronics and building materials, there are few areas where the U.S. state is self-sufficient — and energy is no different. Read more

Deutsche Bank says SunPower could announce 750MW production capacity expansion

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider, SunPower, could announce today plans to expand PV production by as much as 750MW, according to a research note by Deutsche Bank equity analyst, Vishal Shah ahead of SunPower’s second quarter earnings call. Read more

Chinese PV racking solutions provider Clenergy establishes regional office in Malaysia to support its expansion in ASEAN region

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 6:59 (Solarserver)

Clean energy investor and solar solution provider Clenergy (Xiamen, China) announced the opening of its Kuala Lumpur-based regional office in Malaysia. This Regional Office is a key part of Clenergy’s strategic expansion in the ASEAN countries (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and will enhance Clenergy’s efforts to promote renewable energy regionally, the company notes. Clenergy delivers racking solutions for ground mount, rooftop and building-integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for residential, commercial and utility scale installations. Read more

Panasonic Agrees to Help Tesla Build Battery ‘Gigafactory’

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 15:32 (Renewable Energy World)

Panasonic Corp. agreed to help set up the battery factory that Tesla Motors Inc. Chairman Elon Musk needs to sell more electric cars, without settling its share of the investment costs. Read more

Beating the Heat: Hotel Reduces Cooling Costs by 44 Percent with New Solar Carport

Thursday, 7.31.2014 - 15:16 (Renewable Energy World)

  It’s hot in Bakersfield, California, especially during the summer months when temperatures regularly hit 110 degrees. But as The Hampton Inn & Suites Bakersfield North-Airport is discovering, the sun also has its advantages for reducing utility costs and increasing customer acquisition and satisfaction when the hotel goes solar. The attractively Read more