Gintech’s solar cell sales drop 14% in October

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 17:30 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based solar cell producer, Gintech Energy reported October, 2014 monthly sales of NT$904 million (US$29.55 million), down 14.2% from the previous month. Read more

NSP reports third quarter loss as sales slump after US anti-dumping decision

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 13:32 (PV-Tech)

The largest merchant solar cell producer, Neo Solar Power Corporation (NSP) reported a net loss in the third quarter of 2014, due to the imposition of US anti-dumping duties on Taiwanese made solar cells. Read more

SPI Solar fast-tracking 10MW PV power plant in Shunde County, China

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 19:03 (PV-Tech)

EPC and PV project developer, SPI Solar said its China-based subsidiary Suzhou Xinwei has signed two EPC contracts in China totalling 80MW. Read more

Dominion adds another 50MW of solar with Utah project

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 18:01 (PV-Tech)

US energy giant Dominion has added another 50MW to its solar portfolio with the purchase of its first project in Utah. Read more

SAS wafer sales remain strong in October

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 17:53 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based solar wafer producer, Sino-American Silicon (SAS) experienced a slight fall in revenue in October, 2014 after rebounding from flagging sales in July and reaching record levels in September. Read more

Texas Utility Plans Battery Storage Fix for Wavering Wind, Solar Output

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 17:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Oncor Electric Delivery, owner of the largest power-line network in Texas, wants to spend more than $2 billion on batteries to solve the problem of fluctuating output from wind and solar. Read more

Sky Solar cuts US$138 million IPO value by two-thirds

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 17:38 (PV-Tech)

Hong Kong-based Sky Solar has reduced its initial public offering (IPO) of shares by about US$90 million, falling from October’s estimation of a US$138 million deal to US$48 million, as reported by Renaissance Capital. Read more

GCL-Poly Mops Up China's Chaori Solar Mess

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 16:02 (Renewable Energy World)

The latest deal involving an insolvent solar panel maker is seeing a group led by GCL-Poly Energy (HKEx: 3800) take control of bankrupt Chaori Solar, in a takeover that looks slightly ominous but also potentially interesting for investors. The ominous element comes from the fact that these bankruptcy proceedings are occurring Chinese courts, where Read more

Positioning Solar Production for Global Export, Protected Markets

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 15:00 (Renewable Energy World)

The recent announcement by Hanwha Q CELLS of plans to expand its Malaysia solar panel capacity by 800 MW may be an indication that other panel makers will isolate their production in China for domestic consumption, while establishing new capacity in trade-neutral zones for global export. The move also may foretell a trend toward the establishment of more capacity where local content is an issue. Read more

SCHMID Group is building an integrated 71 MW solar PV factory in the Argentine province of San Juan

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 14:21 (Solarserver)

After a detailed engineering phase in cooperation with the energy provider Energia Provincial Sociedad del Estado (EPSE), province of San Juan, Argentina, the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for a fully integrated 71 MW production of ingots, wafers, solar cells and photovoltaic (PV) modules took place on October 24th, 2014. Later in 2014, the first machines of the SCHMID Group will be delivered to San Juan. Fabrication of the first modules is scheduled for October 15th, 2015. Read more

Clenergy completes first megawatt-size distributed solar PV project in Fujian, China

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 14:06 (Solarserver)

Clenergy Energy Investment Clenergy (Xiamen, China) recently completed a PV project on the China-Xiamen Hi-tech Innovation Center (XMIBI), which, according to the company, is the largest distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the province of Fujian. The total installed capacity of this PV project is over 1 MW. Spread over 23 buildings, the system covers 14,000 square meters of roof area in urban Xiamen. Read more

France’s Q3 PV installations reach 286MW

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 13:51 (PV-Tech)

France connected 286.3MW of new PV systems in the third quarter of this year, according to the country’s solar association, Enerplan. Read more

Japan could turn to CfD scheme next year as solar becomes political issue

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 13:03 (PV-Tech)

Japan’s renewable energy policy could see a drastic overhaul next year, with a possibility the Asian country could choose a scheme similar to the UK’s contracts for difference (CfDs), according to one advocacy group. Read more

From Module Cleaning Robots to Flying Drones: Japan’s Growing Solar O&M Market

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 12:55 (Renewable Energy World)

Japan has installed almost 11 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in just two years after the introduction of the feed-in tariff (FIT) program. This amount is equivalent to twice as much as the cumulative capacity installed over the two decades before the FIT. Besides over 16.5 GW of installed PV capacity, Japan has close to 70 GW of reserved PV capacity under the FIT as of July 2014. Read more

Scatec Solar secures finance for 43MW of Jordan PV

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 12:26 (PV-Tech)

Norway-based independent power producer, Scatec Solar, has secured finance for 43MW of PV in Jordan. Read more

Fears allayed of 2015 solar eclipse PV blackouts

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 11:33 (PV-Tech)

The impact of a solar eclipse on European power grids will be negligible despite warnings of blackouts by the chief of the French network as a consequence of the amount of PV now on the system. Read more

SunPower buys SolarBridge to develop next-gen AC module product offering

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 11:04 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider, SunPower, is to acquire SolarBridge Technologies, a US-based small-cap microinverter firm for an undisclosed sum. Read more

Hitachi Rail Europe’s UK manufacturing facility powered by 1MW solar array

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 10:11 (Solarpowerportal)

Hitachi Rail Europe’s train manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, Durham will be partly powered by a 1MW solar array. Read more

SunPower announces acquisition of PV micro-inverter maker SolarBridge

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 9:36 (Solarserver)

SunPower Corp. (San Jose, California, US) on November 10th, 2014 expanded its product portfolio for its residential solar photovoltaic (PV) customers with the acquisition of SolarBridge Technologies, Inc. (Austin, TX, US), a producer of integrated micro-inverter technologies for the solar industry. SunPower will utilize this technology, which converts direct current (DC) generated by a single solar PV panel into alternating current (AC), to develop next generation micro-inverters for use with SunPower's high efficiency solar panels. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Read more

Scatec Solar secures USD 100 million project financing for solar PV projects in Jordan totaling 43 MW

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 9:30 (Solarserver)

Scatec Solar ASA (Oslo, Norway) and its partners have entered into financing agreements totaling USD 100 million for the development and construction of three solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Jordan. The projects have a combined capacity of 43 megawatt (MW) and total investments are estimated to USD 135 million, Scatec Solar announced on November 10th, 2014. Read more

Big PV in Australia: FRV breaks ground on 70 MWp solar farm in Moree, NSW

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 9:23 (Solarserver)

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV, Madrid, Spain) has officially started constructing the 56 MWAC (70 MWp) Moree Solar Farm in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. FRV is receiving USD 101 million support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for the USD 164 million project. Once completed, the PV plant will be one of the largest solar farms in Australia and generate enough solar power to supply 15,000 average NSW homes. It will also deliver an estimated 130 local jobs during the construction phase over 2014–2016. Read more

German energy provider RheinEnergie produces solar power using Q CELLS PV modules

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

In a show of its continued dedication to solar energy, the municipal energy and drinking water provider RheinEnergie AG (Cologne, Germany) has switched on further solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. A 320 kilowatt PV array made of Q CELLS solar modules on the roof of a storage building belonging to the Cologne-based waste disposal and recycling company Abfallentsorgungs- und Verwertungsgesellschaft Köln mbH (AVG Köln) has been connected to the grid. Read more

Singulus Technologies: Financial key figures below prior-year levels; course of business in 2015 will depend on success with solar and Blu-ray

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 7:16 (Solarserver)

In an ad-hoc release pursuant on September 18th, 2014 Singulus Technologies AG (Kahl am Main, Germany) already adjusted the annual forecast for the full-year 2014 due to the subdued order environment for Blu-ray Disc production machines and announced that the company’s Executive Board expects the losses of the 1st half-year 2014 to still expand and therefore result in a significantly negative results for the full-year 2014. The financial key figures of the first nine months of 2014 of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES as well as the projections for the full-year are negatively impacted by the weak course of business in the Optical Disc segment as well as further delays in agreement Read more

JinkoSolar provides 5 MW of salt and mist resistant PV modules for a project in Japan’s Mie Prefecture

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 7:08 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) on November 7th, 2014 announced that it has supplied 5 MW of highly efficient, salt and mist resistant solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to DMM, a Japanese digital content distributor and solar installation company, for a ground mounted PV project in Meiwa, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The project has been connected to the grid and is operating. It is expected to generate approximately 5.55 million kWh of solar power annually, enough for 2,500 local households, JinkoSolar reports. Read more

Canadian Solar wins 114 MW of solar PV Projects in Brazil

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 6:58 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontario) on November 6th, 2014 announced that it has won 3 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 114 megawatts (MW) in the Brazilian state Minas Gerais. Canadian Solar, in partnership with local project developer Solatio, will develop, build and own the PV plants which, once connected to the grid, will sell the solar power generated to the Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica, a Brazilian government entity, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement at USD 86.42/MWh. Read more

SPI Solar announces completion of USD 48.25 million private placement

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 6:52 (Solarserver)

SPI Solar (Roseville, CA, US) on November 7th, 2014 announced the completion of the private placement of its common stock for an aggregate price of USD 48.25 million, as previously announced on September 23rd, 2014. Read more

Can Biogas Systems Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions in South Africa?

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 21:55 (Renewable Energy World)

South Africa’s need to speed up grid electrification has surpassed and suppressed the process to pursue grid independence with renewable energy. Statistics suggest that 6 percent of South African electricity is consumed by agriculture, however many related industries are not considered, such as processing plants, cold room facilities, packaging, canning and abattoirs. These industries likely double consumption, if not more. Read more

Khosla-Backed Biofuel Firm Kior Files Bankruptcy, Plans Sale

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 19:29 (Renewable Energy World)

Kior Inc., a maker of biofuels from crops such as switchgrass, wood chips and corn husks, filed for bankruptcy protection with a plan to sell its assets to affiliates of backer Vinod Khosla if no better offer emerges. Read more

Ex-Im Bank finances US$200 million for US renewable energy exports

Monday, 11.10.2014 - 11:38 (PV-Tech)

US financer Ex-Im Bank has budgeted approximately US$200 million for US renewable energy exports for the 2014 Fiscal Year. Read more