Making Emergency Power Available During Disasters — Without Batteries

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 14:56 (Renewable Energy World)

“Why can’t I use my solar system to generate electricity during a power outage?” This is a common question among residential solar owners, particularly those in Oregon who have recently experienced blackouts caused by the high winds that spread across Western Oregon. Homeowners often purchase photovoltaic (PV) systems to protect themselves from utility power loss. Read more

China Solar Project Delays Mean Japan Could Be Largest Market

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 16:52 (Renewable Energy World)

China risks being displaced as the world’s largest solar market as measured by annual installations after some project approvals were postponed. Read more

China Solar Shares Look Oversold on Oil Plunge

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 16:00 (Renewable Energy World)

U.S. investors were showing signs of new energy indigestion in the shortened trading day after Thanksgiving, dumping stocks of all the major solar panel makers in a messy post-holiday sell-off. With no major news from any of the companies, the driving force behind the sell-off appears to be the recent plunge in oil prices, which hit new four-year l Read more

Solar and storage take centre stage in Panasonic’s Japan ‘smart town’

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 12:06 (PV-Tech)

The grand opening of Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, a joint private-public sector project to develop a community of 1,000 households, including rooftop solar generation capacity and energy storage, has been held near Tokyo, Japan. Read more

GCL-Poly confirms sale of solar wafer production assets for US$1.3 billion

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 11:48 (PV-Tech)

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, the largest polysilicon and wafer producer in the PV industry has confirmed the sale of its wafer production assets for approximately US$1.3 billion in cash. Read more

South Africa delays REIPPPP solar bid decision as utility Eskom confirms inability to connect more projects to the grid

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 11:08 (Solarserver)

South Africa’s Energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has failed to announce the much-anticipated winners of the fourth bid window of the country's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), leaving the fate of the process to speculation, the South African Alternative Energy Association (SAAEA) reports. Read more

IBC SOLAR completes and sells milestone solar PV project in Japan; 2.3 MW in Sakura

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 7:10 (Solarserver)

IBC SOLAR (Bad Staffelstein, Germany) has completed the construction of the “Mega” solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Sakura, located north-west of Tokyo, Japan. The German company has realized the installation as a project developer together with a local partner and now sold the 2.3 megawatt (MW) turnkey solar park to a Japanese investor. Read more

Innovation and Investment Drive the Wind Power Industry

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 12:48 (Renewable Energy World)

New investment vehicles are making it easier for renewable energy developers to attract financing. While banking appetite may vary, institutional investors offer tremendous liquidity. Historically, yield has been relatively thin and institutional investors tended to shy away from the energy sector. Recently, greater market liquidity has attracted g Read more

Gas and Coal To Replace Hydropower in Brazil, Pollution to Follow

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 16:57 (Renewable Energy World)

The Brazilian government is seeking to award contracts in an auction tomorrow for natural gas- and coal-fueled power plants, reversing a drive that previously favored renewable-energy projects. It would lead to the first new thermal plants in three years, after the government scaled back such projects and awarded wind contracts starting in 2009 and solar energy earlier this year. Read more

IEA: More intergration and investment to reach EU 27% renewables goal

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 18:38 (PV-Tech)

Improved integration of energy markets and more investment are both needed if the European Union is to hit its new 2030 renewable energy targets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Read more

IEA: More integration and investment to reach EU 27% renewables goal

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 18:38 (PV-Tech)

Improved integration of energy markets and more investment are both needed if the European Union is to hit its new 2030 renewable energy targets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Read more

Japan Should Continue Its Road Towards Renewables

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 14:10 (Renewable Energy World)

The power sector crisis in Japan has entered a new stage. The recent refusal of Japanese utilities to grant grid access to new renewable energy projects should not be seen as a failure of Japan’s renewable energy policy, but as a consequential and necessary phase to extend Japan’s technological leadership into the power sector. Read more

E.ON switches from fossil fuels to renewables in major revamp

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 12:22 (PV-Tech)

Germany’s largest utility E.ON is to stake its future on renewable energy in a major corporate restructuring. Read more

New strategy: Utility E.ON to focus on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 11:32 (Solarserver)

On December 1st, 2014 the E.ON (Dusseldorf, Germany) Supervisory Board approved the new strategy decided on by the Board of Management, announced on November 30th, 2014. This includes carving out the company's conventional upstream and midstream business (conventional power generation, global energy trading, and exploration and production), spinning off a majority of it to E.ON SE shareholders, and listing the shares on the stock market in 2016. E.ON would then deconsolidate its remaining stake, the company reports in an Ad hoc announcement. Read more

LG Electronics merges business units to enhance competitiveness, creates Energy Business Center

Monday, 12.1.2014 - 7:04 (Solarserver)

LG Electronics (LG, Seoul, Korea) on November 27th, 2014 announced the merger of its Home Appliance and Air Conditioning & Energy Solution business units to create a consolidated LG Home Appliance & Air Solution (H&A) Company. Executive Vice President Sang-bong Lee will lead the LG Energy Business Center, a new division created from the strengths of three existing businesses: Solar photovoltaics (PV), Lighting, and Energy Storage System (ESS). Read more