ISFH partnership pushes industrial PERC solar cell to record 21.2% efficiency

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 14:26 (PV-Tech)

The Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) and a suite of industry partners have produced an industrial PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) solar cell (156x156mm2) with 21.2% record conversion efficiency, verified by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab. Read more

IHS: Asian PV inverter makers gain market share in 2013

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 8:41 (Solarserver)

IHS Technology (London) has released a new report which finds that there were four Asian companies among the world's ten largest inverter makers in 2013, double the number in 2012. The four are Sungrow (Hefei, China), Omron (Kyoto, Japan), TMEIC (Tokyo) and Tabuchi Electric (Osaka, Japan). While SMA (Niestetal, Germany) and Power-One (Camarillo, California, U.S.) remain the world's two largest inverter makers, the market share of Western inverter makers is shrinking as the global PV market moves to Asia. IHS estimates that China and Japan represented 35% of global inverter revenue in 2013, up from 12% in 2011. Read more

Yingli begins construction of 25 MW of solar PV plants in Northern China

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 15:57 (Solarserver)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (Baoding, China) has begun construction of two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 25 MW in Hebei Province, a coastal province in Northern China. The projects are located in the cities of Baoding and Xingtai. Read more

Swiss Unveil New Solar Powered Plane for Global Flight

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 15:24 (Renewable Energy World)

The Swiss-made airplane built for the first round-the-world solar flight has wings longer than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet yet weighs only about as much as a large car. Read more

Suntech to distribute Wuxi Suntech solar PV in Europe, U.S. after Shunfeng acquisition

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 14:34 (Solarserver)

Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd. (Wuxi, China) has entered into agreements with former subsidiary Wuxi Suntech (Wuxi, China) for the distribution and after-sales support of its solar photovoltaic (PV) products in Europe and the United States. The after-sales service agreements will last for one year. Read more

Jun Yang Solar raising US$25.2 million for planned DG PV projects in China

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 13:09 (PV-Tech)

China-based PV project developer, Jun Yang Solar Power Investments, is raising approximately US$25.2 million through a convertible bond on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to support a partnership in building a number of distributed generation PV power plants in China. Read more

Aleo solar sales down over 60% for first quarter

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 12:51 (PV-Tech)

German-based PV module manufacturer, aleo solar expects first quarter 2014 revenue to be around €11.6 million, a 62.7% fall from the same quarter of 2013. Read more

Suntech will have to start in US solar industry ‘from scratch’

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 11:50 (PV-Tech)

Wuxi Suntech will have to re-establish itself in the new super-sized US solar sector, an industry analyst has said. Read more

How Much Are Your Solar Facebook Fans Worth? Around $403 Each

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 10:00 (Renewable Energy World)

According to a report conducted by non-solar marketing firm Syncapse, the average value of a Facebook Fan (“Like”) in 2013 was $174. Based on their methodology, the value is probably much higher for residential solar companies, but how much higher? Let's see if we can figure out an estimate. Syncapse didn’t reveal its exact methodology for valuing Read more

PV, solar thermal and energy storage: Intersolar China 2014 celebrates positive results

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 9:31 (Solarserver)

Intersolar China took place in Beijing from March 26–28, 2014. For the first time, the exhibition and conference for the solar industry was held together with CIPV Expo China and Clean Energy Expo China. Upwards of 7,000 visitors to the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC) received information on technology, solar industry products and services, energy storage, grid technology, biomass and wind energy from around 300 exhibitors. Read more

ET solar puts 7.8 MW PV plant online in Israel

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 8:39 (Solarserver)

The German subsidiary of ET Solar Energy Corp. (Nanjing, China) has commissioned a 7.8 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Israel's Negev Desert for EDF Energies Nouvelles (Paris). ET Solutions AG (Munich) built the plant 100 kilometers south of Tel Aviv with partners GSystems Ltd. (Caesaria, Israel) and Elmor (Israel). ET Solar provided electrical design and plant layout, quality control, construction supervision, and commissioning services. Read more

Hanwha Q Cells builds the first utility-scale solar PV plant on a Superfund site

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 8:24 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Q Cells (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) has completed a 10.86 MW-DC solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on a site declared by the U.S. government to have a high level of toxic contamination. The Maywood Solar Farm is located on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site that formerly hosted a coal-tar refining and wood treatment plant and a chemical factory in the U.S. state of Indiana. This is the first utility-scale PV plant on a Superfund site. Read more

Solar Impulse 2 unveiled

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 8:17 (Solarserver)

The Solar Impulse team has unveiled a new single-seat solar aircraft which pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg plan to fly around the world without any fuel in 2015. This will include flying the Solar Impulse 2 with only one pilot for five consecutive days and nights over oceans between continents, a new record. The aircraft has a wingspan of 72 meters, and a weight of only 2,300 kilograms, which they say produces an aerodynamic performance and energy efficiency greater than any design to date. Read more

China’s Idle Wind Power Curbs Tariff Cuts, Regulator Says

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 16:28 (Renewable Energy World)

Switching off wind turbines in China because their electricity can’t be absorbed by the grid is limiting how much planners can cut incentives given to renewable power producers. Read more

State Legislature Hearing: Why Isn't California Using More Geothermal?

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 19:33 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal potential was the subject of a joint committee hearing in California on April 3 led by State Senator Ben Hueso, D-40th Senate District, and Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-46th Assembly District. As the hearing began, Senator Hueso, who is Chair of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Energy Independents, and Assemblyman Pérez, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Renewable Energy Economy in rural California, each expressed their interest in understanding why the state is not using more of its untapped geothermal resources. Of particular interest for California lawmakers, industry, and consumers alike are the areas near the Salton Sea familiar Read more

Enel signs renewables MoU with State Grid Corporation of China

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 13:25 (PV-Tech)

Europe’s second largest utility Enel Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), to collaborate on renewable energy and smart grid projects. Read more

Poland to introduce renewable energy auctions

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 12:48 (PV-Tech)

Renewable energy projects in Poland will be awarded by an auction system, instead of through registration for feed-in tariffs and green certificates, if a draft law is approved at the highest level. Read more

Yingli Green lowers Q1 shipment guidance on delays of projects in Algeria

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 12:09 (PV-Tech)

Leading PV Manufacturer, Yingli Green has said that delays in obtaining construction approvals for PV projects planned in Algeria were behind the need to lower first quarter 2014 module shipment guidance. Read more

Yingli Green begins work on 25MW of China PV

Friday, 4.11.2014 - 11:40 (PV-Tech)

PV module manufacturer Yingli Green Energy has begun on two ground-mounted PV plants in Hebei Province, China. Read more