Utility-scale PV in Japan: Etrion announces strategic partnership with Hitachi

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 9:40 (Solarserver)

Etrion Corporation (Geneva, Switzerland), a solar independent power producer (IPP), on January 7th, 2014 announced a strategic partnership with Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Tokyo; Japan), a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., for the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Japan. Etrion and HHT have signed a development agreement and have been working closely together for more than one year to form a joint development team. Read more

Welspun signs up for 150MW Punjab PV project

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 18:31 (PV-Tech)

Welspun Energy has signed a memorandum of understand with India’s Punjab government to develop a 150MW solar project. Read more

North Carolina and Texas shine in record 2013 for US solar

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 17:36 (PV-Tech)

North Carolina and Texas both surged up the rankings of leading US solar states in 2013 in what was a record-breaking year for the country, according to analysts NPD Solarbuzz. Read more

Solar Energy UK roadshows return for February

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 16:49 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar Energy UK has announced that its annual series of roadshows is returning in February, helping solar companies to ‘cut costs and boost profits’. Read more

Goldpoly reaches 337 MW of solar PV plants

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 15:31 (Solarserver)

Goldpoly New Energy Holdings Ltd. (Hong Kong) reports that a subsidiary and EBODHK (Hong Kong) have completed their acquisition of three operational solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 180 MW in Qinghai Province, China. Read more

Asia Report: China Gets Serious About Culling its Solar Herd

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 15:20 (Renewable Energy World)

China has some massive targets for solar energy (and renewable energy in general), but its famously overcrowded solar industry may finally be forced to trim to size -- after the government issued what reportedly amounts to a "death sentence" for three-quarters of companies in the sector. Read more

Bolivia to build its first utility-scale solar PV plant as initial phase of solar program

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:48 (Solarserver)

The government of Bolivia has announced plans for the nation's first utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, a 4-5 MW plant in the Pando Department, near the Brazilian border. The project will represent an investment of USD 11 million, with 60% of the funding coming from Denmark and the remaining 40% from Bolivia. Read more

Chile solar project delayed as mining productions reduced

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:30 (PV-Tech)

The construction of Chile’s 8.8MW Aguas Blancas solar park is to be delayed for 12 months due to falling iodine prices, according to its owner Etrion. Read more

Lightsource plans two solar farms in Northern Ireland

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:04 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK’s largest solar developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy, is exploring the possibility of installing two solar farms in Northern Ireland. Read more

Bolivia plans first megawatt-scale PV plant

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:04 (PV-Tech)

Senior Bolivian minister Juan Ramón Quintana has announced that US$11 million will be invested to build the country’s first megawatt-scale solar power station. Read more

Yingli Expects Return to Profit as Solar-Panel Demand Rises

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., the world’s biggest solar-panel maker, expects to post its first quarterly profit in three years as early as next quarter as demand climbs and cost controls show results. Read more

US government opens Chinese solar trade investigation

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 12:46 (PV-Tech)

The US government has officially opened an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese solar products imported into the US. Read more

Yingli signs 500MW China distributed PV deal

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 12:20 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green Energy and a subsidiary of state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) have signed an investment agreement to enter a joint venture (JV) with the goal of developing 500MW of distributed solar power capacity. Read more

Bluefield solar fund over 75% committed after six months

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 12:09 (Solarpowerportal)

Six months after the company was listed on the stock exchange, Bluefield Solar Income Fund has reached total commitments of £94 million in solar assets, representing more than 75% of the available fund. Read more

Independent Solar Power Producer Sonnedix announces closing of EUR 96 million PV project financing in France

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 9:24 (Solarserver)

Sonnedix (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) announced its financial closing of a long term non-recourse project financing for a portfolio of two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in operation at Istres and Saint Martin de Crau, South East of France. These plants will provide solar power to an area of France with high irradiation and limited power reserves. Debt financing is provided by HSH Nordbank AG (Hamburg, Germany). Read more

GP JOULE opens 26.5 MW solar PV park in Italy, intends to expand PPA business

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 9:10 (Solarserver)

German power plant project planners GP JOULE (Reußenköge) have connected a solar photovoltaic (PV) park with a total capacity of 26.5 MW to the grid in the Friaul region in the north of Italy. The PV park consists of 6 sections which are located near Udine, the capital of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia. Solar power generated in the PV plants secures the supply of 7,300 households, GP JOULE notes. Read more

Yingli, CNNC to build 500 MW of distributed solar PV in China

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 8:54 (Solarserver)

A subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (Baoding, China) has agreed to establish a joint venture with a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC, Beijing), with the aim of developing 500 MW of distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in China. This will include 200 MW of PV installed on sites provided by CNNC or its subsidiaries. Yingli notes that these projects will be located in close proximity to the end-users of the electricity which will be generated. Read more

Shunfeng borrows USD 160 million for solar PV projects in China

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 8:50 (Solarserver)

Subsidiaries of Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd. (Changzhou, China) have entered into six loan agreements totaling USD 160 million with China Development Bank (CDB, Beijing) to support 110 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Northwestern China. Five of the projects are 20 MW in capacity, and the sixth is 30 MW. All are located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The individual loans are all USD 25–35 million, with interest determined in reference to prevailing market rates. Read more

JinkoSolar borrows USD 66 million to finance Chinese PV projects

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 8:44 (Solarserver)

China Development Bank (CDB, Beijing) has agreed to provide a 15-year, USD 66 million loan to JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) to finance three solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 50 MW in Northwestern China. JinkoSolar connected the three PV plants in Xinjiang and Qinghai Province to the grid in the fourth quarter of 2013. Additionally, CDB has provided JinkoSolar with a USD 500 million credit line for solar project financing. Read more

Austria subsidizes 37 large-scale solar thermal systems in 2013

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 8:39 (Solarserver)

Austria provided EUR million (USD 6.1 million) to support the installation of 37 large-scale solar thermal systems in 2013, the fourth year of a subsidy program for these projects. The 37 systems supported through the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund represent a total collector area of 14,800 square meters. The largest amount of funding at EUR 1.6 million (USD 2.2 million) went to six solar process heat systems totaling 5,300 square meters. Read more

Wind Energy Helps Ward Off Power Outages

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 18:29 (Renewable Energy World)

Over the last 48 hours, wind energy played a critical role in keeping homeowners warm as grid operators across the Eastern and Central U.S. worked overtime to keep up with record-breaking winter demand. Read more

60 Seconds of Thought on 60 Minutes’ Recent Clean Energy Bashing Vignette

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 20:59 (Renewable Energy World)

Listening to last weekend’s 60 Minutes, I felt I was watching a Saturday Night Live sketch on parallel universes. The bash fest by Leslie Stahl seemed like it was co-written by the Koch Brothers, lead funders of climate denier organizations and Keystone XL pipeline advocacy groups. Read more

Green Energy Technology adding wafer capacity on strong sales

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 19:37 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based specialist solar wafer producer, Green Energy Technology (GET) said that continued strong sales would lead to capacity expansion as utilisation rates remained at 95% in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

Central Appalachia’s New Year Resolutions: What Stereotypes and Renewable Energy Development Have in Common

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

A newly emerging network called the Central Appalachian Sustainable Economies (CASE network) has launched an interesting social media campaign focused on New Year’s Resolutions for 2014. Yet, what these resolutions won’t tell you are what stereotypes and renewable energy development have in common. Read more

Banks provide Hanergy with US$3.3 billion line of credit

Wednesday, 1.8.2014 - 12:51 (PV-Tech)

Hanergy Group has secured financing from several Chinese banks totalling around 20 billion yuan (US$3.3 billion), according to reports, as it looks to become a major PVEP (PV Energy Provider) employing a-Si and CIGS thin-film technology for downstream PV power plants. Read more