Oxford professor recognised by Materials Research Society for solar cell work

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 15:00 (Solarpowerportal)

Professor Henry Snaith has been awarded the Outstanding Young Investigator Award for his work with perovskite-based solar cells by the Materials Research Society. Read more

NY-Sun program expanded to 2023, incentives changed to “MW Block” structure

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 7:39 (Solarserver)

Andrew Cuomo, governor of the U.S. state of New York, has approved an expansion of the NY-Sun program through 2023, to support deployment of 3 GW of solar photovoltaics (PV). This is ten times the capacity of the original two-year pilot program. Read more

SunPower shows strong financial performance, operational successes in Q1 2014

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 1:25 (Solarserver)

SunPower Corp. (San Jose, California, U.S.) has released first quarter 2014 results, reporting an 9% year-over-year increase in revenues to USD 635 million, an 11% operating margin and a net income of USD 65.0 million. The company also reports operational successes, including producing a pre-production solar photovoltaic (PV) cell with an efficiency greater than 25% using its new “Fab 4” technology. Read more

Solar Fred PR Lesson: Deconstructing Xcel Energy’s “Doing Solar Right” Commercial

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 21:19 (Renewable Energy World)

Public relations really is an art, and I have to hand it to Xcel Energy for creating a very nice looking commercial that — on the surface — seems to be a big luv hug to solar power! Yay!  And it is — for utility scale solar. At the same time, the video subtly poo-poos little home solar, implying that it’s an “unfair and unequal” way to go solar. If Read more

Rooftops, Empty Lots Offer Japan Space for Solar Panels

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 16:02 (Renewable Energy World)

Developers of solar projects in Japan are looking to rooftops, empty lots and industrial parks in response to constraints limiting connections to the grid and difficulties finding suitable land. Read more

Listen Up: A Roofer's Perspective on Solar

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 15:28 (Renewable Energy World)

The most cost-effective place to install solar — thermal systems, pool systems or PV — is on a home's rooftop. Whether it's on an existing home or new construction, it's critical to make sure that the equipment is installed securely (so it won't blow away in high winds), and that the roof mounts will not cause any leaks. Unfortunately, these two goals are not easy to achieve over the 25+ year lifespan of common rooftop materials — including composition shingles, tiles, wood shakes, metal and rolled-out roofing. Read more

LDK subsidiary wins 765MW wafer deal

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 14:55 (PV-Tech)

Embattled wafer manufacturer LDK Solar’s China-based subsidiary has secured a 765MW supply deal with a Taiwanese PV firm. Read more

US DOE's $15 Million Push to Expand Affordable, Community Solar

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 13:57 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants to increase access to affordable solar energy for communities across the nation — and it’s using $15 million to do so. The Obama administration announced on April 17 a funding opportunity through Solar Market Pathways, which aims to increase solar deployment by “making it simpler and easier for residents an Read more

GE invests in India’s largest solar power project

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 13:36 (PV-Tech)

The financial arm of industrial conglomerate GE has made its debut investment in India’s solar sector with a stake in the country’s largest PV project. Read more

New York approves new incentive plan for PV

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

New York’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a new state-wide incentive plan for increased deployment of solar power. Read more

Corbin Industries invests £500,000 in new computer controlled manufacturing to meet UK solar demand

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 13:00 (Solarpowerportal)

Dorset-based steel framing specialists, Corbin Industries, has invested £500,000 in new state-of-the-art Amada CNC computer controlled steel cutting, punching and folding machinery. Read more

PV demand in Africa and Middle East set to triple by 2018 - Solarbuzz

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 12:23 (PV-Tech)

PV demand in the Middle East and Africa is set to grow by 50% this year and more than triple by 2018 as countries such as Saudi Arabia begin serious levels of solar deployment. Read more

Google, SunPower Form Solar Lease Program as Rooftop Demand Drives Profit

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 12:07 (Renewable Energy World)

SunPower Corp. (SPWR), the second-largest U.S. solar manufacturer, and Google Inc. (GOOG) are creating a $250 million program to finance residential solar systems. Read more

Trina signs 36MW Chile module supply deal

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 11:47 (PV-Tech)

Module manufacturer, Trina Solar, has signed an agreement to supply its modules to an unspecified 36MW project in Chile. Read more

SunEdison closes on financing for 33 MW of solar PV plants

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 9:08 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has closed on roughly USD 100 million in financing for two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 33 MW which it plans to build in the Canadian Province of Ontario. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (New York City) will provide construction financing for the projects. SunEdison will manage construction of the two plants, which it expects to complete by the end of 2014, as well as managing operations and maintenance upon completion through its Renewable Operations Center. Read more

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stresses transmission, pushes solar PV and wind along with conventional energy

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 8:57 (Solarserver)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang mentioned the importance of advancing wind and solar alongside the development of conventional energy sources in his address to the first meeting of a new session of China's National Energy Commission, according to state news agency Xinhua. Li stressed the need to advance electricity transmission and distribution projects in tandem with renewable energy development, including mention of a high-voltage transmission channel from the East of the nation to the West in order to optimize distribution of resources. Read more

Oklahoma Governor clarifies changes to rate structures for solar PV system owners

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 8:51 (Solarserver)

The Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma has issued an executive order that states that regulators in the state must consider other options before imposing fixed charges on the owners of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems under new legislation. Governor Mary Fallin (R) signed SB 1456 concurrently to signing the executive order, which also calls on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to conduct a transparent evaluation of distributed generation, with input from both utilities and representatives of the PV and wind industries. Read more

NextEra dedicates 250 MW Genesis CSP plant

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 7:40 (Solarserver)

NextEra Energy Resources LLC (Juno Beach, Florida, U.S.) has held a dedication ceremony for its Genesis Solar Energy Center, a 250 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant near Blythe in Southern California's Riverside County. Read more

SunPower’s PV project pipeline tops 7.5GW as demand exceeds supply

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 14:07 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider SunPower has said that demand for its PV modules exceeded supply and that its PV project pipeline has topped 7.5GW, boosted by around 300MW of secured projects through its majority shareholder, the oil giant Total. Read more

How to Use Cheap Sensors and Mobile Phones to Make People Care about Energy Waste

Friday, 4.25.2014 - 15:34 (Renewable Energy World)

Visibility of energy use is not enough to get people to change their actions, we still need to find a way to make people care and compel them to act. At last week’s Cleanweb Hackathon in Boston, teams focused on combining hardware, software, and mobile devices to figure out how to make people care about regular energy issues. There were two pitches Read more