Suntech Power Holdings finds new CFO

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:07 (PV-Tech)

Bankrupt Suntech Power Holdings has appointed its former corporate finance and treasury director, Deyong He, as acting chief financial officer and the fourth member of its board of directors. Read more

Sharp signs EPC and supply agreement for 52MW Thai PV project

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 13:34 (PV-Tech)

Sharp has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to construct a 52MW DC photovoltaic (PV) plant in Thailand for Thai company Serm Sang Palang Ngan (SSP). Read more

Solarbuzz: Yingli, Trina reach 15% of the global solar PV market in Q4 2013

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 20:26 (Solarserver)

NPD Solarbuzz Inc. (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) reports that Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (Baoding, China) and Trina Solar Ltd. (Shanghai) have together shipped 5.8 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in 2013. This is more than double the two companies' 12-month shipment volume of 2.4 GW at the end of the second quarter of 2012. Read more

Wymeswold solar farm outperforms predictions

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 18:24 (Solarpowerportal)

The 31MW solar farm on the disused airfield in Wymeswold has generated 15% more power than was initially predicted. Read more

Wrong China solar market demand data spooks stock markets

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 17:42 (PV-Tech)

Stocks in a large-number of PV companies were heavily sold-off last Friday on the same day erroneous market forecasts for PV demand in China and misinterpretation of recent Chinese Government agencies commitment targets for the sector in 2014 emerged. Read more

US Solar Jobs Growing Ten Times Faster than National Average Employment Growth

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 17:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Today The Solar Foundation (TSF), a non-profit organization that seeks to further the understanding of solar energy through research and public education, released its 4th National Jobs Census report that shows remarkable growth in the U.S. labor market as it pertains to solar energy employment. Read more

Fraunhofer ISE: Solar PV and onshore wind to generate electricity below cost of fossil fuels by 2030

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 15:48 (PV-Tech)

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from both solar PV and onshore wind in Germany are expected to decline below that of fossil fuels by 2030, according to a new study conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. Read more

Asia Report: India's Vastly Oversubscribed Solar Allocations

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 15:39 (Renewable Energy World)

Last week India finally held its national solar auction, the first in two years, seen as the least risky of several national and state-level solar auctions held over the past few years. Read more

Hanergy orders 600 MW of CIGS thin film solar PV equipment, plans for 3 GW factory

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 15:16 (Solarserver)

Hanergy (Beijing) has ordered two copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) lines for a subsidiary, representing a combined capacity of 600 MW of annual output. These lines will be based on technology Hanergy gained through the acquisition of CIGS makers MiaSolé and Solibro. Read more

Today’s Top 10 Must-Have Solar Content Marketing Channels

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:52 (Renewable Energy World)

As I mentioned in a post from a few weeks ago, 64 percent of non-solar marketers said they’re increasing their budgets for content marketing in 2014. Wow. That’s a significant trend, so let’s focus on what “Content Marketing” means in relation to the solar industry. What Is Content Marketing? Content marketing has many definitions, but I like this Read more

Solar Mergers Will Quicken Pace as Projects Proliferate, Says Trina

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:47 (Renewable Energy World)

The pace of consolidation in the solar manufacturing industry will accelerate in the next three years as the cost of the technology declines and installations surge, the founder of the fourth-biggest solar-panel maker said. Read more

Asia Report: The Solar Dragon Awakens

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Even if you've been paying attention to China's growing appetite for renewable energy, and especially solar energy, these latest statistics deserve emphasis. Read more

China's Solar Dragon Awakens

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Even if you've been paying attention to China's growing appetite for renewable energy, and especially solar energy, these latest statistics deserve emphasis. Read more

The U.S. added 2.94 GW of utility-scale solar PV, CSP in 2013

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:33 (Solarserver)

The United States added 266 utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) power plants totaling 2.94 GW in 2013, according to the latest report from the nation's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Read more

Hanergy Solar to start building 3GW CIGS thin-film manufacturing complex in China

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 13:33 (PV-Tech)

Hanergy Solar has said it will start construction of a planned 3GW CIGS thin-film manufacturing complex in Caofeidian, Hebei Province, China in March 2014 with tool install starting by the end of the year. Read more

Solar top US renewable of 2013

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 12:47 (PV-Tech)

Solar was the star performer of the US renewable energy generators in 2013, adding 2,963MW of new capacity over the year, according to new figures from the country’s Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC). Read more

NRE secures US$250 million for Japan PV projects

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 12:47 (PV-Tech)

Investment groups Equis Funds and Partners Group have raised ¥26.1 billion (US$250 million) of equity to fund utility-scale solar power stations for developer Nippon Renewable Energy through a joint investment platform, Japan Solar. Read more

Former head of First Solar Europe joins juwi to lead restructured project arm

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 12:41 (PV-Tech)

The former managing director of First Solar Europe, Stephan Hansen, has joined Germany’s juwi Group to co-head its restructured project development arm, juwi International. Read more

Solar project pipeline runs dry in Greece

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 12:19 (PV-Tech)

The growth of installed solar energy capacity in Greece remained almost non-existent in the second half of 2013 with no new large projects added in December at all as a government moratorium took hold. Read more

Solar industry welcomes new community energy strategy

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 11:00 (Solarpowerportal)

Energy secretary Ed Davey has lifted the lid on the government’s new community strategy. Read more

Lux Research: Solar PV balance-of-systems costs to fall up to 30% by 2020

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 9:01 (Solarserver)

Lux Research Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) has released a new report which predicts that balance-of-systems (BOS) costs for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will fall 15%–30% by 2020, depending on geography. “The Squeeze: Trends in Solar Balance of Systems” estimates that this will bring down the levelized cost of electricity of PV generation by USD 0.04–0.08/kWh from today's costs. The report also finds that the residential PV sector will show the largest gains, and that thin-film plant costs are falling the fastest for utility-scale PV. Read more

Juwi acquires Australian solar PV EPC provider Qi Power

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 8:54 (Solarserver)

Juwi AG (Wörrstadt, Germany) has acquired a controlling stake in Qi Power Ltd. (Brisbane, Australia), stating that this will improve its abilities to offer engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Qi Power founding Directors Bertus de Graaf and Andrew Drager will remain as directors of the company, which has focused on building solar photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid systems for remote power supply. Under Juwi, the company will also offer EPC services to utility-scale grid-tied projects. Read more

India's MNRE releases December 2013 data on solar PV, CSP plant performance

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released data on solar plant performance in December 2013. This time figures included the nation's first concentrating solar power (CSP) plant under the National Solar Mission, as well as solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. Godawari Green Energy Ltd.'s (Chhatisgarh, India) 50 MW CSP plant only reported a 9.99% capacity utilization factor (CUF) during the month. CUFs for PV plants generally continued their slow decline from highs in September 2013. Read more

JinkoSolar raises USD 272 million in sale of stocks, bonds

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 8:40 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has closed on its offering of 3.75 million American depositary shares (ADS), as well as USD 150 million in bonds. The company received USD 272 million in net proceeds from these two offerings. The USD 150 million in proceeds from the sale of bonds included a USD 20 million follow-on offering. JinkoSolar previously stated that it will use these funds for purposes including expanding manufacturing capacity, development of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects and general working capital. Read more

Vivint Solar closes on acquisition of Solmetric

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 8:35 (Solarserver)

Vivint Solar Inc. (Provo, Utah, U.S.) has closed on its acquisition of test and measurement equipment maker Solmetric Corp. (Sebastopol, California, U.S.) in an all-cash transaction. Solmetric will now become a subsidiary of Vivint, with all employees remaining in Sebastopol, and day-to-day business continuing under the Solmetric brand. Solmetric President and CEO Willard McDonald will join Vivint as VP of Technology Development. Read more

Wind Energy Joint Ventures: A Sign of the Times?

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 16:38 (Renewable Energy World)

Henry Ford was, of course, a man who knew a few things about working together. He pioneered cooperation with Giovanni Agnelli of Fiat in 1912, when the Ford Motor Company was only nine years old. This enabled Ford to establish a foothold in the European markets and challenge other early manufacturers. Read more

Renewable Energy Provides 37% of All New US Electrical Generating Capacity in 2013

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 18:08 (Renewable Energy World)

According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) accounted for 37.16 percent of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed during calendar-year 2013 for a total of 5,279 MW. Read more

The Right Risk Partner Makes the Difference in Renewable Energy

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

As renewable sources play an increasingly important role in producing sustainable energy, the need to recognize, define and manage the risks associated with these technologies is an emerging priority. New risks are arising even from renewable technologies that have been used for years, as solar, wind and other projects are pursued on an industrial scale, in new environments and in novel ways. These new exposures underscore the importance of selecting the right risk partner to mitigate operational risks and de-risk with regard to certain financial or regulatory exposures. Read more

Citi Sees Capital Markets Reviving Renewables as Banks Bow Out

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 14:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Renewable energy companies will derive more of their funding from bond markets as banks curb lending to the industry, Citigroup Inc.’s head of environmental finance said. Read more

REA launches community energy resource hub

Monday, 1.27.2014 - 12:58 (Solarpowerportal)

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has launched a new online renewables marketplace to help connect community energy groups with the expertise, finance and logistical support needed to get projects off the ground. Read more