Gintech’s sales reach record spike in March

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based solar cell and module manufacturer Gintech Energy reported a significant jump in revenue for the month of March 2014. Read more

Grupotech connects 130MW of solar across the UK in 14 weeks

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 19:29 (Solarpowerportal)

Renewable energy project developer, Grupotech Renewables, has announced it has grid connected 200MW in the UK. Read more

Grupotec connects 130MW of solar across the UK in 14 weeks

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 19:29 (Solarpowerportal)

Renewable energy project developer, Grupotec Renewables, has announced it has grid connected 200MW in the UK. Read more

PPA signed for Malaysia's biggest solar PV project at 50 MW-AC

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 19:16 (Solarserver)

Utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Kuala Lumpur) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-owned development company 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB, Kuala Lumpur) for the output of a 50 MW-AC solar photovoltaic (PV) project to be built in the Malaysian state of Kedah. Read more

S.A.G. Solarstrom attracts interest received from potential investors

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 19:02 (PV-Tech)

Struggling solar EPC firm S.A.G. Solarstrom, which is operating under insolvency proceedings said that its restructuring advisor, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants had received expressions of interest from a number of parties in becoming strategic investors in the company. Read more

China Solar Energy forced to close and liquidate silicon thin-film facility

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 18:08 (PV-Tech)

Struggling lower-tier a-Si thin-film producer and BIPV developer, China Solar Energy Holdings has been forced to close its a-Si thin-film manufacturing plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China after the subsidiary was forced into bankruptcy. Read more

Yingli to sell more than 300MW of China solar plants to United PV

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 17:14 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green Energy will sell more than 300MW of solar power plants in China to United Photovoltaic Group (United PV), after the two companies signed a framework agreement. Read more

JA Solar bucks trend on guiding higher Q1 shipments

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 17:12 (PV-Tech)

In contradiction to its nearest rivals, JA Solar has revised upwards its first quarter 2014 shipments that the company said was based on “solid execution”, compared to recent downward shipment revisions by both Yingli Green and Trina Solar. Read more

Power Electronics connects 350MW in two weeks

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 16:51 (Solarpowerportal)

Inverter manufacturer Power Electronics connected 350MW of solar farms during two weeks. Read more

U.S. senators call on Obama Administration to settle solar trade war

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 15:34 (Solarserver)

Warning of damage to the U.S. solar industry, seven U.S. senators have sent a letter to the Obama Administration calling for a negotiated settlement instead of tariffs on imports of Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) products. The seven include Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mi) and Committee Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wa). Read more

Trina Warning Foreshadows China's Solar Gloom

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 15:14 (Renewable Energy World)

After watching their shares and prospects soar over the past year, solar stocks are suddenly hitting a cloudy patch as investors anxiously wait for most companies to return to the profit column following a two-year sector downturn. That wait may have just gotten a lot longer, following a warning from Trina Solar(NYSE: TSL) that it will fall far sho Read more

Yingli to build at least 300 MW of solar PV projects for United PV in China, shipments to fall in Q1 2014

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:51 (Solarserver)

United Photovoltaic Group Ltd. (Hong Kong) has entered into a framework agreement to acquire at least 300 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants from Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (Baoding, China) from 2014 through 2016. Yingli will develop and construct the plants, as well as operating them upon completion. Read more

Croatia doubles FiT connected solar capacity in two months

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:42 (PV-Tech)

Croatia has an installed solar capacity of 23.8MW as of the end of March according to the Mediterranean country’s energy market operator, HROTE. Read more

Wisconsin Snaps Up Community Solar in Record Time

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:33 (Renewable Energy World)

Clean Energy Collective (CEC), the nation’s leading community-owned solar developer, revealed today that two weeks after announcing the development of the Vernon Electric Community Solar Farm—Wisconsin’s first community-owned solar PV facility — the 305-kW array has been fully reserved. Reservations for the 1,001-panel array, developed in partnersh Read more

Hitachi to act as EPC for 43MW Japan PV plant

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 13:43 (PV-Tech)

The solar power division of Japanese consumer electronics and engineering firm Hitachi will act as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner on a 43MW ‘megasolar’ PV project in Gunma prefecture, Japan. Read more

ET Solar opens Australian office to serve Asia-Pacific region

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Chinese PV company ET Solar has opened an office in Australia, with a view to mainly serving the commercial and utility markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Read more

RGS Energy agrees US$22 million solar school deal in California

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 12:14 (PV-Tech)

A total of 6.7MW will be installed across 22 sites in the Stockton Unified School District (SUSD). Read more

Belectric completes five solar farms ahead of ROC drop

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 11:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Belectric UK has announced that it successfully connected 43.5MW of solar farms across the UK in 2014 in order to successfully claim the higher 1.6ROC subsidy. Read more

Trina Solar takes hit on Q1 shipments to Europe

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 10:15 (PV-Tech)

Major tier-1 PV manufacturer, Trina Solar has significantly reduced module shipment guidance for the first quarter of 2014, due to weakness in orders from the EU because of a pending price adjustment being ratified by EU and Chinese authorities as part of an anti-dumping agreement. Read more

IPVEA to study solar PV industry supply chain bottlenecks

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

Stating its goal of driving down costs in the industry, the International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) has launched the “IPVEA study on optimizing the worldwide solar PV supply chain” with the support of business facilitator Solar PV Consulting. IPVEA estimates that the global PV industry is currently losing USD 400–500 million annually due to lack of optimization in the supply chain, and estimates that this could reach more than USD 1 billion by 2018. Read more

EnergyTrend: Fall in solar PV costs expected in Q2 2014

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 9:13 (Solarserver)

TrendForce's (Taipei) EnergyTrend division expects lower prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) products in the second quarter of 2014, based on falling price quotes. The company notes that polysilicon contract prices fell to USD 21–22 per kilogram (kg) after reaching USD 23 per kg in March 2014. EnergyTrend found that falling contract prices also led to a reduction in polysilicon spot prices. Read more

Aleo Solar revenues fall 63% in Q1 2014

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 9:09 (Solarserver)

Aleo Solar AG (Prenzlau, Germany) has provided a preliminary estimate of first quarter 2014 revenues at EUR 11.6 million (USD 16 million). This represents a 63% fall from the first quarter of 2013. The company did not give an operating result, but will release full first quarter 2014 results on May 27th, 2014. Aleo Solar reported in February 2014 that it had found a buyer for its solar photovoltaic (PV) module production in Prenzlau, but has not provided further updates at this time. Read more

ESTIF appoints Pedro Dias as secretary general

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 9:05 (Solarserver)

The board of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) appointed Pedro Dias as the organization's new secretary general effective April 1st, 2014. This follows the departure of Xavier Noyon at the end of March 2013. The association has also reduced its staff from four to three permanent employees, which Solarthermalworld says is a result of the “persistant sales crisis” in the European solar thermal industry and a fall in the number of ESTIF members. Read more

When Renewables Meet the Oil and Gas Industry, Opposites Attract

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 18:11 (Renewable Energy World)

At first glance, pairing renewable energy with the oil and gas sector would seem an unlikely match. But behind the curtain, romance could be blooming. Read more

The Never Dull Life of a Wind Farm

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:04 (Renewable Energy World)

A wind farm’s story is a little bit like a romantic comedy. It’s all about the buildup. We tend to rivet our attention on the development phase – the controversies over siting, the struggle for permitting, the landing of contracts. Read more

Global Renewable Energy Should Triple to Save Climate, UN Panel Says

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:45 (Renewable Energy World)

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said. Read more

Post-Fukushima Japan Taps Coal Over Renewables

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 14:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing Japan’s coal industry to expand sales at home and abroad, undermining hopes among environmentalists that he’d use the Fukushima nuclear accident to switch the nation to renewables. Read more

Trees Go High-tech: Turning Cellulose into Energy Storage Devices

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 13:51 (Renewable Energy World)

Based on a fundamental chemical discovery by scientists at Oregon State University, it appears that trees may soon play a major role in making high-tech energy storage devices. Read more

IPCC report: John Kerry champions existing clean energy tech to combat climate change

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 13:20 (PV-Tech)

In response to the latest instalment from the fifth report of the Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), US Secretary of State John Kerry has said current low carbon energy technology must be used to prevent catastrophic climate change. Read more

Massachusetts Finalizes SREC-II Program: Here's What You Can Expect

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 11:35 (Renewable Energy World)

On April 11th, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced that they have now filed the final revisions for the SREC-II program with the Secretary of State’s office.  These final revisions will go into effect on April 25, 2014 once the rules have been promulgated. To qualify for SREC-I, all systems less than 100 kW must both s Read more

Capitas Finance: Schools should spend on education not energy bills

Monday, 4.14.2014 - 8:02 (Solarpowerportal)

Following on from the Solar Strategy’s promise to install 1GW of solar on government buildings, Solar Power Portal spoke to Jason Hunter from Capitas Finance to find out how schools can earn more money for education, and pay less on energy bills. Read more