Schneider Electric begins shipping Conext Core XC-NA inverters

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 8:51 (Solarserver)

Schneider Electric SA (Rueil-Malmaison, France) has begun shipping an outdoor, UL-certified version of its Conext Core XC central inverter for large commercial and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. The company's Conext Core XC-NA Series inverters are available in 540, 630 and 680 kW versions and are listed to 1000 volts-DC. The inverters include optional monitoring and are Ontario feed-in tariff compliant. Read more

SunEdison Mulls Massive PV Factory in Saudi Arabia

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 21:21 (Renewable Energy World)

The Middle East holds a lot of growth promise for solar energy, particularly large-scale generation. Can solar PV pencil out in this high-DNI region -- especially if you build out most of the entire supply chain there? Read more

U.S. DOE announces USD 30 million for novel and hybrid solar technologies

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 20:22 (Solarserver)

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has announced USD 30 million in Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) funding to 12 projects to develop solar technologies which can produce electricity when the sun is not shining. DOE will award the funds through ARPA-E's Full-Spectrum Optimized Conversion and Utilization of Sunlight (FOCUS) program. Read more

Mosaic to Offer Crowdsourcing Investments in Residential Solar Projects

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 18:59 (Renewable Energy World)

Mosaic Inc., the operator of an online financing system that lets individuals invest in commercial solar systems, is expanding into residential projects. Read more

Is the Pennsylvania Solar Market on the Rebound?

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 16:16 (Renewable Energy World)

Pennsylvania has long been a model of a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) market gone wrong. The market was (and still is) four times oversupplied, and SREC prices fell to $20 in 2013 from $300 in 2010. However, prices have surged to $70, which has many people asking, what is going on in Pennsylvania, and more importantly, will this bust market Read more

Neo Solar Power sales continue upward march in January

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 15:45 (PV-Tech)

Major merchant solar cell and module manufacturer, Neo Solar Power (NSP), posted sales of NT$2,424 million (US$79.9 million) for January, 2014. Read more

Fraunhofer ISE: Consortium to work on gigawatt-scale European solar PV manufacturing

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 15:20 (Solarserver)

Fraunhofer ISE (Freiburg, Germany) has announced that it is part of a consortium of European research institutes and companies that is working on a concept for a “multi-gigawatt” solar photovoltaic (PV) factory. The organization notes that European PV makers are finding it very difficult to survive under current conditions, and says that the consortium is responding to this need and the leading role of European PV technology with a new approach. Read more

Asbeck slammed for ‘reckless’ US trade action

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 13:58 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld chairman Frank Asbeck, the chief agitator in a string of trade cases against the Chinese PV industry, has been accused of “reckless” behaviour that could put thousands of US solar jobs at risk. Read more

Another 20MW joins Chile’s Atacama solar construction pipeline

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 13:21 (PV-Tech)

Another solar power project in the subsidy-less country of Chile has received the stamp of approval from the environmental authorities. Read more

Spanish solar cuts force IKEA to hand PV plant back to the bank

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 13:07 (PV-Tech)

Dramatic retroactive cuts to Spain’s solar support regime have led to furniture giant IKEA cutting its losses on a 10MW PV plant and handing the keys back to the bank. Read more

BayWa to sell Zeversolar inverters in UK for first time

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 12:42 (Solarpowerportal)

Zeversolar PV inverters are to be available in the UK for the first time through distributor BayWa r.e Solar Systems. Read more

California sets another record for peak utility-scale solar generation at 3.278 GW; Ivanpah still not fully online

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 12:34 (Solarserver)

California has set another record for utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) production on February 5th, 2014, with PV and CSP peaking at 3.278 GW at 12 PM. This is 230 MW more than the previous record of 3.048 GW set on January 2nd, 2014, and the third record set over five months of fall and winter. Read more

US trade case could see American factories make ‘Chinese’ solar products

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 11:56 (PV-Tech)

The latest solar trade case brought in the US could see American companies produce “Chinese” solar products, if the petitioner Solarworld’s terms were met, according to a lawyer representing Chinese PV manufacturers. Read more

Fukushima’s ‘100% renewables’ pledge gets 50MW solar project boost

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 11:41 (PV-Tech)

Hybrid Service, a Japanese supplier of toners for printing and LED lighting, has acquired land rights and feed-in tariff (FiT) approval for a 50MW solar power plant in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture. Read more

India solar: CERC proposes USD 0.10–0.11 generic tariff for solar PV

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 9:09 (Solarserver)

India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has proposed a generic levelized generation tariff of INR 6.33–6.99 (USD 0.10–0.11) per kWh for solar photovoltaics (PV) with and without accelerated depreciation for India's fiscal year (FY) 2014–2015. FY 2014–2015 begins on April 1st, 2014. The tariff was calculated based on an estimated capital cost of INR 6.12 crore (USD 980,000) per MW, which RESolve Energy Consultants (Chennai, India) notes is a 25% fall from the capital cost calculated for FY 2013–2014. Read more

New Spanish solar PV policy to result in cuts in payment up to 45%

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 8:45 (Solarserver)

The Spanish government has revealed details of its new payment system for solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, which will result in retroactive cuts up to 45% in compensation for projects of different sizes. The owners of large PV plants will suffer the largest cuts. As this proposal follows a series of retroactive cuts to feed-in tariff levels, the reduction from initial compensation levels under the feed-in tariff is higher at 10–54%. Read more

German government proposes new rules for curtailment of solar PV without compensation

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 8:40 (Solarserver)

Germany's new coalition government plans to give grid operators the option to curtail up to 5% of production from solar photovoltaic (PV) plants without compensation, according to the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar, Berlin). This detail was not included in a paper on key points of the proposed renewable energy policy reform released by German cabinet in late January 2014. BSW-Solar has warned against “expropriation”, and noted that this proposal is contrary to the recommendations of the PV GRID project for fair compensation. Read more

Recurrent Energy puts 88 MW-AC of solar PV plants online in California, Arizona

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 8:34 (Solarserver)

Recurrent Energy Inc. (San Francisco, California, U.S.) has announced the commissioning of five solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in Southern California and one in Arizona, which total 88 MW-AC. The projects will provide electricity to three off-takers, including utility Southern California Edison (SCE, Rosemead, California, U.S.). Google (Mountain View, California, U.S.) and KKR & Co. LP (New York City) own the projects, as the second portfolio of projects developed by Recurrent that the companies have acquired. Read more

Biomass Outlook 2014: Is Biomass About To Go Bang?

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Traditional biomass accounts for some 9 percent of the world’s total energy requirements, still more than is provided by modern renewables collectively. Nonetheless, modern renewables, and modern biomass with it, is catching up fast. The share of traditional biomass fuels has remained fairly static over the last decade or two, while modern renewables have soared. Read more

Are Air Source Heat Pumps a Threat to Geothermal Heat Pump Suppliers?

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 14:04 (Renewable Energy World)

Last year, geothermal heat pump (GHP) manufacturers introduced new heat pumps with break-through efficiency based on variable-speed compressor technology. These manufacturers include Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (TSX:WFI, OTC:WFIFF) and ClimateMaster, a division of LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU). Read more

But What Does It Mean? The Need for Renewable Workforce Standards

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 21:18 (Renewable Energy World)

When you start a presentation or a report with terms that mean different things to different people, chances are you're not going to be successful in getting your point across.  While making sure we use clearly defined and understandable terms seems intuitive, it doesn't always happen.  The clean energy community has a ways to go to make sure we're Read more

MEP vote sets stage for protracted EU renewable energy goal debate

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 18:53 (PV-Tech)

MEPs have voted for stronger clean energy and climate goals for 2030 than those currently on the table in a move that signals the start of a likely protracted debate. Read more

Former FERC chair joins demand response trade association Advanced Energy Management Alliance (AEMA)

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 14:20 (PV-Tech)

A trade association has been formed to serve companies and customers in the demand response industry, appointing a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as strategic counsel. Read more

Energy Storage, Dynamic Line Ratings Yield More Efficient Grid

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 14:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Energy storage and dynamic line ratings are among the evolving technologies poised to have a positive effect of the Texas electrical grid, panelists at TransmissionHub’s TransForum Texas in San Antonio said on Jan. 30. Read more

106MWp of Recurrent Energy US projects invested in by Google come online

Thursday, 2.6.2014 - 12:49 (PV-Tech)

US solar developer Recurrent Energy has announced that six PV plants totalling 106MWp capacity, funded by investors including Google, have begun commercial operation in California and Arizona. Read more