Shunfeng Photovoltaic International delays circular again in advance of Wuxi Suntech acquisition

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd. (Changzhou, China) has pushed back the timetable for its acquisition of Wuxi Suntech (Wuxi, China) by delaying the publication of a circular to shareholders a second time. Once the circular is published, shareholders can decide on the acquisition. Shunfeng cited additional time needed to complete the circular, which has now been delayed from March 13th to March 21st, 2014. Read more

JA Solar breaks into the black on strong shipments, expands production capacities

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 18:33 (Solarserver)

JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has released results for the fourth quarter of 2013, reporting a 30% year-over-year increase in revenues to USD 357 million, a 2.7% operating margin and a net income of USD 23.0 million. JA Solar joins a number of other top-tier PV makers in reporting its first positive operating margin and profit in more than two years during the fourth quarter. Read more

UK trade group warns installers on EU solar duty evasion

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 18:14 (PV-Tech)

UK industry group the Solar Trade Association (STA) has issued a briefing note to its members, warning them of the dangers of purchasing modules that appear to have evaded the imposition of EU solar duties. Read more

First Solar looking ‘upbeat’ ahead of analyst day

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 17:40 (PV-Tech)

US thin-film developer First Solar will host its analyst day on Wednesday, at which Deutsche Bank expects the company to offer “upbeat” targets for the coming years up to 2016. Read more

JA Solar beats guidance on increased outsourcing demand; adding 1GW module capacity

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 17:10 (PV-Tech)

Major tier one PV manufacturer JA Solar reported better than guided shipments for the fourth quarter of 2013, while ending two years of quarterly losses on revenue of US$357.3 million. Read more

STA warns installers over EU solar duty evasion

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 16:02 (Solarpowerportal)

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has issued a briefing note to its members, warning them of the dangers of purchasing modules that appear to have evaded the imposition of solar duties. Read more

SolarCity Offers Up Its Solar Solutions at Electronics Retailer Best Buy

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 15:29 (Renewable Energy World)

Are solar panels becoming consumer electronics? While the majority of devices at Best Buy use up energy in your home — albeit more efficiently if you opt for Energy Star products — the store is starting to offer solar arrays so homeowners can power their new toys and tools with the sun. Through a partnership with SolarCity that’s now coming out of Read more

Expert Opinions on Factors Shaping the EU and US Solar O&M Market

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 14:40 (Renewable Energy World)

The global solar PV industry first took off in Europe and as such, the industry that came about in order to take care of those PV plants, otherwise known as Operations and Maintenance (O&M), got a head start in Europe. Read more

Could Minnesota’s “Value of Solar” Make Everyone a Winner?

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 14:33 (Renewable Energy World)

On Wednesday, Minnesota became the first state to allow utilities a new method of contracting with distributed solar producers, called the market-based “value of solar.” If adopted by utilities, it will fundamentally change the relationship between solar-producing customers and their electric utility. Following Minnesota’s Value of Solar Process? H Read more

Yingli delivers 10MW for Solarcentury project in UK

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 14:13 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Solar will provide Solarcentury with 10MW of modules for a project on the Isle of Sheppey in the UK. Read more

ReneSola provides solar equipment for 1,000 new-build homes

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 14:06 (Solarpowerportal)

Chinese solar manufacturer ReneSola has announced that it has supplied 2,000 of its modules for a series of new housing projects in the UK. Read more

Yingli provides Solarcentury with 10MW for Isle of Sheppey project

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 14:04 (Solarpowerportal)

Yingli Solar has provided Solarcentury with 10MW of modules for a project on the Isle of Sheppey. Read more

Listen Up: Let's Talk About Solar Reliability

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 13:50 (Renewable Energy World)

I love good stories — especially interesting anecdotes about the solar industry. One of the best sources for these stories is "Thoughts on Solar," a blog written regularly by Jim Jenal. Jim is the CEO of Run on Sun, a residential and commercial installer based in Pasadena, California. I had the pleasure of having Jim as my guest on the Energy Show, and most of what we talked about related to reliability of rooftop systems, and the reputation of the solar industry itself. Read more

Washington State rejects net metering fee and solar leasing ‘monopoly’ legislation

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 13:49 (PV-Tech)

Legislation that campaigners said would have harmed solar net metering and “monopolised” solar system leasing has been rejected in Washington State. Read more

US and China close to formal trade settlement talks

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 13:02 (PV-Tech)

The US and China are close to opening formal negotiations based on the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) draft settlement of the ongoing solar trade dispute between the two countries, according to officials from both sides. Read more

Canadian Solar opens Ontario micro-grid test centre

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 12:13 (PV-Tech)

International PV manufacturer, Canadian Solar, has opened a micro-grid testing centre in Ontario. Read more

Queensland to lose solar feed-in tariff

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 12:10 (PV-Tech)

A government-mandated 8 cent feed-in tariff paid to PV owners in Queensland, Australia by the state’s two main power distribution companies is to be scrapped. Read more

SEIA joins CASE in fight against U.S. tariffs on Chinese, Taiwanese PV

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 9:22 (Solarserver)

Saying that tariffs “threaten to dramatically increase the cost of solar PV in the U.S.,” the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington D.C.) has announced that it has joined with the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) to oppose U.S. trade actions against Chinese and Taiwanese PV imports. SEIA had previously criticized the investigations and proposed negotiated settlements to this and the last trade case, which were repeatedly rebuffed by SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany), whose U.S. subsidiary petitioned to initiate the investigations. However, a webinar presented by SEIA and CASE on March 13th, 2014 is the first public stance in alliance of the two Read more

IHS: Solar PV industry to move to new technologies as capital spending returns

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

IHS Inc. (Englewood, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which finds that advanced technologies will become more common in solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing as equipment investments return during 2014. The company predicts that manufacturers will transition to newer technologies for mass production “in the near future”, naming diamond wire sawing and n-type substrates among these technologies. It also expects cadmium telluride to continue to dominate thin-film PV. Read more

Energy Services Giant DNV Scoops Up PV Evolution Labs

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 20:48 (Renewable Energy World)

How do you know if the equipment you have selected for your PV project will perform the way it says it will for the next 20 years? More importantly, how do you convince the financial institution that you are hoping will fund your project that you’ve made the right equipment choices? The answer is very simple. Make sure that the PV modules you’ve specified for the project have been independently evaluated and certified by a third-party, such as PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). Read more

Energy Services Giant DNV GL Scoops Up PV Evolution Labs

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 20:48 (Renewable Energy World)

How do you know if the equipment you have selected for your PV project will perform the way it says it will for the next 20 years? More importantly, how do you convince the financial institution that you are hoping will fund your project that you’ve made the right equipment choices? The answer is very simple. Make sure that the PV modules you’ve specified for the project have been independently evaluated and certified by a third-party, such as PV Evolution Labs (PVEL). Read more

African Renewable Energy Fund Secures $100 Million for Sub-Saharan Renewables Development

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 18:50 (Renewable Energy World)

The African Renewable Energy Fund (AREF) announced that it raised $100 million for the development of grid-connected renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more

EnergyTrend: US trade case delay could drive up PV prices

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

The delay to the US solar trade case could further increase PV prices, which are already on the up due to high demand, according to consultancy firm EnergyTrend. Read more

Renewable energy fund launched in Africa with USD 100 million initial investment

Monday, 3.17.2014 - 8:54 (Solarserver)

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company (Lomé, Togo) have initiated a new fund to support solar and other renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF, Nairobi, Kenya) has closed on an initial investment of USD 100 million. AREF will target independent power producers from 5 to 50 MW in size, with a commitment of USD 10–30 million per project. The fund will have the capacity to source further funding from co-investors for larger projects. Read more