Sunways PV inverter business attracts interested buyers

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 14:54 (PV-Tech)

Insolvent Sunways, majority owned by bankrupt LDK Solar, has received interest from several prospective buyers of its PV inverter business, according to the company’s preliminary insolvency administrator. Read more

ROTH Capital adds analyst on increased investor interest in clean tech sector

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 14:36 (PV-Tech)

Investment bank, ROTH Capital Partners, has recruited Min Xu as a senior research analyst covering the clean technology sector, which expands its analyst team to three, headed by Philip Shen. Read more

SunEdison secures CA$115 million for Ontario PV projects

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 19:08 (PV-Tech)

Utility solar developer, SunEdison, has reached financial close for two solar power plants in Ontario, Canada. Read more

Three New Finance Models for Non-Profits to Go Solar

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 18:27 (Renewable Energy World)

  There have generally been two main financial challenges for non-profits interested in going solar. First is the lack of funds or credit availability for purchasing a solar system. The second issue is taxes—or rather their tax-exempt status. Because non-profits don’t pay income and property taxes, they’re often barred by legislation from taking ad Read more

German super-ministry may be ‘willing to compromise’ on PV self-consumption surcharge

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 16:28 (PV-Tech)

Germany’s energy minister Sigmar Gabriel has said he may be willing to compromise on the amount of a proposed surcharge on residential self-consumption of solar electricity. Read more

Google teams with SunPower on US$250 million solar home programme

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 16:28 (PV-Tech)

Internet giant Google and PV energy provider SunPower are to jointly finance a new US$250 million residential solar lease programme in the US. Read more

Financing Lessons Residential Solar Can Teach the Commercial and Industrial Sector

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 14:53 (Renewable Energy World)

As new and old solar investors seek investment opportunities in distributed generation (DG) solar, there are a number of parallels that can be drawn between the residential and commercial sectors. While residential solar developers have had significant success in obtaining financing for their solar projects, growth has been more sluggish in the com Read more

Elgin Energy wins Pembrokeshire solar farm appeal

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 13:37 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar developer, Elgin Energy EsCo, has secured planning permission for a 5MW solar farm in Pembrokeshire. Read more

India and Gulf states reach solar support deal

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 13:26 (PV-Tech)

Solar associations in the Gulf and India have struck a deal that will see the two regions offer mutual support to their PV industries through the sharing of expertise and resources. Read more

Solar company fined after installer breaks back from six-metre fall

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 13:13 (Solarpowerportal)

A solar worker broke his back after falling six metres through the roof light of a barn in Northamptonshire. Read more

Aleo solar 2013 report shows revenues fell by over 50%

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 13:00 (PV-Tech)

Aleo solar has reported negative operational earnings of almost 74% in its full-year report for 2013 while revenues have fallen by over 55%, as the company prepares to enter liquidation. Read more

The Solar Battlefield: How the US DOD Will Bring Solar Technology Mainstream

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 12:36 (Renewable Energy World)

When it comes to driving the development of renewable energy technology, no greater facilitating force exists than the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Acting on a mandate to achieve 25 percent reliability on renewable energy by the year 2025, the DOD has been busy in its aggressive pursuit of that goal — proving that more often than not, great things can result from unlikely alliances. Read more

RWE enters UK market with 37MW solar farm acquisition

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 11:57 (PV-Tech)

RWE Supply & Trading, the energy trading arm of the German utility, has acquired its first solar farm project in the UK, a 37MW development on a disused airfield in Oxfordshire, England. Read more

RWE acquires first UK solar farm project

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 11:49 (Solarpowerportal)

RWE Supply & Trading, the German utility’s trading arm, has acquired its first solar farm project in the UK, a 37MW development on a disused airfield in Oxfordshire, England. Read more

German PV producer AVANCIS sells solar business to Chinese building materials group CNBM

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 9:31 (Solarserver)

AVANCIS GmbH (Torgau, Germany), manufacturer of CIS solar photovoltaic modules, on April 22nd, 2014 announced that it is carving-out its business activity to sell it to the Chinese building materials and glass manufacturer CNBM (China National Building Materials Group Corporation, Beijing, China). The new owner plans to restart PV production in Torgau under the same company name "AVANCIS GmbH". The transaction will close following the registration of the new company at the commercial court and the granting of the necessary approvals, AVANCIS reports in a press release. Read more

UK installs 1.1 GW of solar PV in Q1 2014, dominated by utility-scale projects

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 9:22 (Solarserver)

Driven by a boom in utility-scale PV, the UK installed 1.085 GW of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the first three months of 2014, according to NPD Solarbuzz Inc. (Santa Clara, California, U.S.). This brings the nation to 4.46 GW of cumulative installed PV. The company expects this booming market to continue, citing policy stability and the success of the Renewables Obligation Credit (ROC) program. Read more

Deployment of distributed solar PV to grow secondary power electronics market 134% annually

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 9:16 (Solarserver)

GTM Research Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) has issued a new report predicting that the market for secondary power electronics equipment for solar photovoltaic (PV) integration will grow by 134% annually over the next three years to reach USD 320 million in 2017. This will be driven by the expansion of PV and its effects on the distribution grid. GTM's “Advanced Grid Power Electronics for High Penetration PV Integration 2014” notes that secondary power electronics also allow grid operators to improve distribution grid efficiency through conservation voltage reduction, enhanced control over power quality and improved situational awareness. Read more

Canadian Solar to supply 43 MW of solar PV modules to utility-scale project in Japan

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada) has announced that it will supply 43 MW of its solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for a utility-scale PV plant in Japan. The company plans to deliver roughly 168,000 of its 60-cell, 255-watt CS6P255P PV modules for the project from May 2014 through February 2015. “We are proud to announce this large module supply agreement to provide our high efficiency modules to the second largest solar power plant in Japan, which is another significant milestone for Canadian Solar in this important market,” commented Canadian Solar Chairman, President and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu. Read more

Kyocera to invest in 9.4 MW of solar PV projects in New York State

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 8:45 (Solarserver)

Kyocera Corp.'s (Kyoto, Japan) U.S. subsidiary has announced plans to invest in a tax equity partnership to develop USD 38 million worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the U.S. state of New York. This investment will leverage the 30% federal energy investment tax credit. Developer U.S. Light Energy (USLE, Latham, New York, U.S.) will use Kyocera PV modules to build 9.4 MW of PV projects, which it expects to complete in June 2014. USLE and Kyocera are providing the electricity from these PV plants to businesses and schools through power purchase agreements (PPAs), with no up-front cost. Read more

SunEdison puts online 20 MW-AC solar PV plant in California, which is acquired by Southern Company and Ted Turner

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 8:38 (Solarserver)

SunEdison (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has commissioned a 20 MW-AC solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Kern County, California, and has sold this plant to Southern Company (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) and Turner Renewable Energy (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.). SunEdison built the Adobe Solar Facility, and will operate and maintain it as well, including asset management through the company's Renewable Operations Center. This is the second PV plant which Southern Company and Turner Renewable Energy have bought in California. Read more

For the Greater Green: Algae-Based Advanced Biofuels Bring a Clean, Affordable Solution

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 11:54 (Renewable Energy World)

As the implications of the global energy crisis continue to intensify, cost-effective and truly sustainable solutions are crucial. The energy industry experienced a giant leap with the production of first-generation biofuels, but rising costs and questionable energy yields have led to an innovative second wave of advanced biofuels that require less land and offer greater outputs at cost-competitive prices. Read more

China Wind Turbine Makers Face Consolidation as Glut Lingers

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 14:09 (Renewable Energy World)

Consolidation may cut the number of wind turbine makers in China, the world’s largest wind market, by two thirds in the next five years as oversupply pressures grow, according to an industry association. Read more

New York to Install Battery Storage for Subway and Bus System Operator

Wednesday, 4.23.2014 - 16:15 (Renewable Energy World)

American Vanadium Corp., owner of the only known U.S. deposit of the metal, agreed to install an energy storage system designed to reduce power costs for the agency that operates New York’s subways and buses. Read more