SolarCity Broadens Its Financial Reach in the Barely-tapped Residential Market

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 17:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Residential solar has soared in the past several years, with installation demand expected to soon surpass 1 GW of capacity. Much of this growth is due to the introduction of solar leasing. SolarCity, a major player in the residential solar leasing space, recently introduced new mechanisms to get more customers on board the solar train, and was at Solar Power International this week to discuss where the industry is headed. Read more

SolarCity Broadens Its Financial Reach in the Barely Tapped Residential Market

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 17:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Residential solar has soared in the past several years, with installation demand expected to soon surpass 1 GW of capacity. Much of this growth is due to the introduction of solar leasing. SolarCity, a major player in the residential solar leasing space, recently introduced new mechanisms to get more customers on board the solar train, and was at Solar Power International this week to discuss where the industry is headed. Read more

Viable Battery Backup for Rooftop Solar Still Years Away

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 17:11 (Renewable Energy World)

Using batteries to retain energy from rooftop solar systems will be too expensive for at least two years, according to industry executives. Read more

Suntech Back from Dead, Eyeing 1.5 Gigawatts in Solar Shipments

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 16:58 (Renewable Energy World)

Wuxi Suntech Power Co., the solar manufacturer acquired earlier this year by Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd., plans to ship almost twice as many modules this year, in the latest sign of a rebound. Read more

Local Solar Rules Can Save You Big Bucks

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 16:52 (Renewable Energy World)

The price of an average U.S. home solar power system is about $20,000. (That’s before a 30 percent federal tax credit and any state, local and/or utility incentives.) If the price were to drop to $17,000, or even $16,000, would you be buying? Read more

California’s Conservation Proposal Kneecaps Utility-scale Solar

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 16:35 (Renewable Energy World)

Six years in the making, state and federal agencies released five options with a “Preferred Alternative” draft for the Desert Renewable Energy and Conservation Plan (DRECP), potentially kneecapping development in the best solar region in the U.S. by cutting off previous access to public lands and reducing eligible acreage by two thirds. Read more

Lightsource opens Scottish office; predicts PV ‘boom’

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 15:09 (Solarpowerportal)

Lightsouce is predicting a ‘solar boom’ in Scotland and has opened a new office in Livingston to take advantage of it. Read more

Nuneaton brewery installs 15kWp solar array

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 13:54 (Solarpowerportal)

Church End Brewery in Nuneaton is now using solar to help power its operation thanks to the completion of a 15kWp array by the TGE Group. Read more

Santander to provide US$377 million facility for SunPower project

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 12:30 (PV-Tech)

Santander Bank will provide a US$377 million credit facility to Solar Star California XIII, a SunPower hold co. Read more

Chinese company to invest US$600 million in Mexico solar plant

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:52 (PV-Tech)

Risen Solar, based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China is to invest US$600 million in a 300MW solar plant in Mexico. Read more

Concentrating solar PV: Soitec has executed an agreement to sell 150 MW of PPAs to large solar services provider

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:48 (Solarserver)

Soitec SA (Bernin, France) on October 23rd, 2014 announced that Soitec Solar Development, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into a sales agreement with one of the largest providers of solar energy services in North America to sell 150 MW (AC) of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) for a solar CPV project under development in California. Construction of the project that is expected to deploy up to 83,400 Soitec concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules is subject to certain conditions pertaining to the transaction. Read more

Deutsche Bank to finance SunEdison project

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:39 (PV-Tech)

SunEdison has closed construction finance with Deutsche Bank for a 26MW solar power plant in California. Read more

SPI Solar announces agreements with GD Solar to acquire and develop multiple PV projects in China totalling 1.5 GW

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:38 (Solarserver)

SPI Solar (Roseville, Calif., US) on October 23rd, 2014 announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SPI Solar Power Suzhou Co., Ltd. (SPI Meitai Suzhou), has entered into several agreements with GD Solar Co., Ltd. (GD Solar) to acquire existing PV projects from GD Solar and develop new PV projects with GD Solar. Read more

SolarWorld showcases advanced PV products at Solar Power International in Las Vegas

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:30 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld announces busy days at Solar Power International in Las Vegas. Tens of thousands of solar-industry participants gathered for Solar Power International (SPI) for the first time in this desert city. SolarWorld showcased a portfolio of solar photovoltaic (PV) products featuring the high performance and reliability that increasingly sophisticated customers seek in maximizing the value of energy production over the lives of solar systems. Read more

First Solar sells 150MW California plant to Southern Power

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 11:04 (PV-Tech)

US wholesale energy provider, Southern Power announced it has acquired a 150MW solar plant in California. Read more

REC Solar ASA announces Q3, 2014 results: PV module revenues down 9.3% from Q2

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 9:08 (Solarserver)

On October 23rd, 2014 REC Solar ASA (Oslo, Norway) announced financial results for Q3, 2014 including solar PV module revenues of USD 149.1 million, down 9.3% from Q2, 2014, due mainly to the seasonal slowdown in Europe. Over the past months REC has signed several major long term contracts in the US residential and utility-scale PV markets, totalling 685 MW, of which approx. 532 MW are expected to be delivered in 2015, the company notes. Read more

MGM and NRG Energy celebrate the installation of the world’s largest convention center solar PV array; 6.4 MWdc in Las Vegas

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 7:19 (Solarserver)

NRG Energy Inc. (Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.) and MGM Resorts International (Las Vegas, Nevada, US) on October 23rd, 2014 announced the completed installation of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop array on a convention center. Covering approximately 20 acres atop the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the 6.4 megawatt direct current photovoltaic array (5.0 MWac) will produce enough solar power to supply the equivalent of approximately 1,000 U.S. homes annually and is the first of its kind on the Las Vegas Strip. Read more

REC Solar ASA to supply for PV panels totaling 300 MW to Recurrent Energy for projects in California

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 6:58 (Solarserver)

REC Group (Oslo, Norway) has closed two supply agreements with Recurrent Energy, LLC (San Francisco, California, U.S.), a leading North American solar photovoltaic (PV) project developer, for the supply of an aggregate of 300 MW photovoltaic panels for utility-scale developments in California. REC will supply the recently introduced Peak Energy 72 Series panels from Q1 2015 until Q2 2016 at a fixed price, the company notes. Read more

SPI Slideshow Day Three: Seen on the Tradeshow Floor

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 2:42 (Renewable Energy World)

The last day of Solar Power International tends to be a little more casual. Exhibitors, exhausted from frenzied activity over the first two days, can take a step back and reflect a bit. Check out our slideshow for more scenes from the tradeshow floor. Read more

Designing Reliable, Cost-effective Wind Turbine Shaft Systems

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 15:48 (Renewable Energy World)

A wind turbine’s main shaft requires a reliable bearing for operation. Some bearing designs have been known to fail prematurely resulting in costly maintenance repairs. Recent upgrades and advances in bearing designs increase reliability, and ensure main shaft stability. Selecting the proper bearing is beneficial to a wind turbine’s overall performance. Read more

Australia Seeks to Reduce Renewable Energy Target to ‘Real’ 20 Percent

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 17:22 (Renewable Energy World)

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government will negotiate with the opposition to cut Australia’s renewable energy target and exempt industries such as aluminum and copper smelting. Read more

Evaluating Powerful Batteries for Modular Grid Energy Storage

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 16:46 (Renewable Energy World)

Sandia National Laboratories has begun lab-based characterization of TransPower’s GridSaver, the largest grid energy storage system analyzed at Sandia’s Energy Storage Test Pad in Albuquerque, N.M. Read more

Renewable Energy Contractors Benefit from PACE Financing

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 16:03 (Renewable Energy World)

One third of all energy is wasted. Is PACE the solution? According to current energy data, commercial and industrial buildings use about 60 percent of the energy generated in the U.S. and about a third of this energy, especially in older buildings, is wasted due to inefficiency. But how do we know which third, and what can we do about it? The answe Read more

New York Green Bank in debut clean energy transactions

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 15:42 (PV-Tech)

The New York Green Bank announced its debut transactions, expected to stimulate US$800 million of investment for clean energy projects in New York. Read more

EU sets 2030 renewable energy target of 27%

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 12:00 (Solarpowerportal)

The European Council has reached an agreement over the 2030 climate and energy policy framework. Read more

EU sets 2030 renewable energy target of 27%

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 10:46 (PV-Tech)

The European Council has reached an agreement over the 2030 climate and energy policy framework. Read more

US Energy Department announces USD 53 million to drive next generation PV technologies, advanced manufacturing

Friday, 10.24.2014 - 6:46 (Solarserver)

Building on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution and continue U.S. leadership in clean energy innovation, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on October 22nd. 2014 announced more than USD 53 million for 40 innovative research and development (R&D) projects that aim to drive down the cost of solar energy, tackling key aspects of technology development in order to bring innovative ideas to the market more quickly. Read more