Yingli Green provides solar cells for French PV manufacturer

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:05 (PV-Tech)

Leading PV manufacturer, Yingli Green, is providing an unidentified France-based PV module manufacturer with its polycrystalline solar cells. Read more

Kyocera, US Light Energy partner on US$38 million New York PV projects

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 12:40 (PV-Tech)

Kyocera will invest in US$38 million worth of PV projects in New York State, after entering a tax equity partnership agreement with installer US Light Energy. Read more

Fraunhofer ISE team chosen as one of three finalists for laser innovation award

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

Fraunhofer ISE's (Freiburg, Germany) work on laser fired contact (LFC) technology for the production of highly efficient solar photovoltaic (PV) cells has earned it a placement as one of three finalists for the Innovation Award Laser Technology 2014. The award is conferred on researchers whose skills and work have led to “outstanding” innovation in the field of laser technology. Dr. Ralf Preu of Fraunhofer ISE leads the team which made the finals, which also includes Dr. Jan Nekarda and Martin Graf, both also from Fraunhofer ISE. Read more

Solar Frontier looking at New York State for first offshore production plant

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 20:14 (PV-Tech)

Major CIS thin-film producer, Solar Frontier is considering establishing a production plant in Buffalo, New York after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY CNSE). Read more

IHS: Solar Strategy stability could deliver 13GW of new PV by 2019

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 19:15 (Solarpowerportal)

The UK will install 13GW of new solar capacity over the next five years, according to industry analysts IHS. Read more

Finance secured for 8.7MW of Japan PV projects

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 14:54 (PV-Tech)

Real estate and renewable energy developer, Pacifica Capital, has secured finance for two solar power projects in Japan totalling 8.7MW. Read more

SunEdison completes 20MW Adobe Solar sale

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

US-based PV manufacturer and developer, SunEdison, has finalised the sale of a 20MW project – the Adobe Solar Facility – in Kearn County, California. Read more

Canadian Solar’s CS6P255P modules selected for second largest PV plant in Japan

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 14:04 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider Canadian Solar has been selected to supply 43MW of its CS6P255P modules to the second largest solar power plant project in Japan, according to the company. Read more

SunFields Europe reports UK growth in Q1 2014

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 14:00 (Solarpowerportal)

Renewable distributor SunFields Europe has reported that it supplied 800kW of equipment for various solar PV projects across Europe in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

Bosch unveils solar self-consumption optimisation system

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:49 (PV-Tech)

Bosch claims it has developed an energy management system for optimising electrical and thermal energy consumption from solar power systems, which the company will launch at this year’s Intersolar exhibition and conference. Read more

Solar Disruption? Yes. Utility Death Spiral? Not Necessarily

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:41 (Renewable Energy World)

Suddenly, we have seen a spate of “death spiral” talk about electric utilities. Grid parity — through lowered costs — is supposedly triggering this decline. Homes are expected to defect from the grid, or maintain a limited link with it for reliability, thanks to solar panels backed up by batteries and gas-generators. Read more

Solargiga Q1 shipments and sales jump

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:40 (PV-Tech)

Solar wafer-to-module processing service provider, Solargiga Energy Holdings, has reported preliminary unaudited first quarter 2014 sales and shipments that are significantly higher than the same period a year ago. Read more

Video: Solar Frontier identifies UK as ‘key market’

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:38 (Solarpowerportal)

Japanese solar manufacturer Solar Frontier has identified the UK as one of its key three European markets. Read more

Proposals for ‘UK’s largest’ solar farm turned down

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:22 (PV-Tech)

Proposals for what would have become the largest PV project in England have been refused planning permission despite being recommended for approval by planning officers. Read more

New Q1 US solar installs fall by one third

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:21 (PV-Tech)

US energy regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has revealed that 584MW of new large-scale solar energy capacity was installed in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

44MW Wiltshire solar farm refused planning permission

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 12:46 (Solarpowerportal)

A proposed 44MW solar in Wiltshire has been refused planning permission despite being recommended for approval by planning officers. Read more

Chaori Solar closes Shanghai plant as de-listing looms

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 12:08 (PV-Tech)

Bankrupt PV module manufacturer Shanghai Chaori Solar has stopped production at its Shanghai headquarters as customers cancel orders and it struggles to generate cash flow. Read more

FLS issues RFP for 100 MW-AC of solar PV projects in the Carolinas

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 9:06 (Solarserver)

FLS Energy (Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for roughly 100 MW-AC of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants which it plans to acquire over the next 12 months. The company seeks 2 MW-AC and larger projects in the service areas of utilities Duke Energy (Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.) or Dominion North Carolina Power (Richmond, Virginia, U.S.). FLS is only looking for pre-developed, shovel-ready projects. Read more

Yingli to supply solar PV cells to “made in France” modules for projects under national solicitation

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 8:53 (Solarserver)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (Baoding, China) has entered into an agreement to supply multicrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) cells to an un-named French PV module manufacturer, which will produce modules which comply with French government solicitation requirements. Yingli says that the co-branded PV modules will be used in 17 PV projects which represent 185 MW out of the 380 MW of capacity awarded in recent French national solicitations. The projects are expected to be completed in the next 24 months. Read more

Italian solar PV meets 8.0% of demand in March 2014

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

Italian solar photovoltaic (PV) plants produced 2.10 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in March 2014, according to figures by grid operator Terna (Rome). This was a 37% increase from a year prior and enough to meet 8.0% of the nation's electricity demand during the month. Italy has the highest portion of power demand met with PV of any mid-sized to large nation on earth. In 2013 the nation met around 7.0% of its demand with PV throughout the year, but it is likely that this will increase in 2014 despite a slowdown in the nation's PV market following the close of its feed-in tariff. Read more

MIT, Harvard researchers develop material to provide thermal energy storage

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 8:44 (Solarserver)

A team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.) and Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.) have developed a material that can store the energy from sunlight in a chemical form, to be later released as heat. This research is based on azobenzene, which is a photoswitch, meaning that it can change molecular configurations when exposed to light but then remain stable for long periods of time. These photoswitches are triggered to return to their original configuration by applying a small dose of heat, light or electricity, and give off heat when they return. Read more

Oklahoma to create new class of rates for customers with solar PV

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 7:00 (Solarserver)

Both houses of the legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma have approved a bill that will allow state regulators to create a new class of rates for customers who install solar photovoltaic (PV) or other distributed generation. While SB 1456 itself does not impose a charge on distributed generation, it is broadly interpreted as an attempt to impose charges on customers who generate their own electricity, and would be a significant change to the state's net metering policy. The bill passed the Oklahoma House 83-5 with no debate after passing the senate 41-0, and now goes to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R) for approval. Read more

Ethanol from Energy Beets: A Viable Option?

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 15:14 (Renewable Energy World)

Corn remains the undisputed ethanol king. But a growing number of U.S. sugar beet farmers, in part, exasperated by the heavily-regulated sugar industry, are now hoping to give corn a run for its bioenergy money. Read more

Google Signs Up to Buy 407 Megawatts of Buffett’s Wind Power

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 20:02 (Renewable Energy World)

Google Inc. agreed to buy 407 megawatts of wind power from Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., the technology company’s largest deal to date for renewable energy. Read more

Global Geothermal Market Saw Huge 2013 Growth, Says GEA

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 21:47 (Renewable Energy World)

The global geothermal industry had a boom year in 2013, bringing the most capacity online since 1997. The market saw 530 megawatts (MW) commissioned, which brought total global capacity to just over 12,000 MW, holding a steady 4 to 5 percent growth rate, according to the Geothermal Energy Association’s (GEA) 2014 Annual U.S. & Global Geothermal Power Production Report. These projects are located in the U.S., Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany Kenya, Australia and Turkey. Read more

GTM: Market for power electronics to aid renewables integration will grow by 134% annually

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 18:48 (PV-Tech)

Strain placed on local electricity distribution infrastructure in the US could be most effectively eased through the use of secondary power electronics, a new report from analyst firm GTM Research has concluded. Read more

SunEdison shuffles regional presidency position

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 18:12 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider, SunEdison, has named Jose Perez president of SunEdison Europe, Africa and Latin America, while the former regional president, Pancho Perez, moves into a new role as COO of SunEdison Capital. Read more

The Climate Group, SEIA Launch Plan to Help Reduce Pollution

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 15:54 (Renewable Energy World)

In 1970, the first Earth Day was held to demonstrate broad global support for environmental protection.  At the time, the world’s population stood at 3.63 billion. Today, that number has more than doubled.  Well, guess what? Greenhouse gas emissions have doubled since then, too. Simply put, the world is in real danger, locked in on a collision cour Read more

The Opportunity to Overturn Three Costly Values in Our Energy System

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 14:03 (Renewable Energy World)

Earlier this year I worked as an election judge for the city of Minneapolis.  It was the city’s second experience with ranked choice voting, a system where instead of voting for a single candidate, you get to pick your top three choices.  If your first choice candidate is mathematically eliminated from winning, your vote is reallocated to your seco Read more

German Utilities Fight Renewable Energy Shift

Tuesday, 4.22.2014 - 13:59 (Renewable Energy World)

Germany’s biggest utilities face dwindling market shares as the shift torenewable energy spurs regional power generation and storage technology, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said. Read more