Sungrow’s SG1000TS central inverter passes TÜV Rheinland certification

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Major PV inverter manufacturer, Sungrow Power Supply, has said its 1MW ‘SG1000TS’ central inverter has passed TÜV Rheinland certification for harsh environment testing. Read more

Sunways on brink as search for investment stalls

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:01 (PV-Tech)

German PV manufacturer Sunways appears to be heading towards liquidation after a company statement said finding new investment was now a less “probable” outcome. Read more

Solibro produces 20.5% efficiency CIGS solar PV cell

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 21:34 (Solarserver)

Hanergy Solar (Hong Kong) reports that subsidiary Solibro (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) has acheived 20.5% conversion efficiency with a 1 square centimeter solar photovoltaic (PV) cell based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) technology. This is within 0.5% of the new world record efficiency for CIGS at 20.9%, which was announced by Solar Frontier KK (Tokyo) less than a week prior. Read more

New UK PV manufacturing plant opens

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 17:28 (Solarpowerportal)

SunSolar Energy has officially opened its 75MW module manufacturing facility in Oldbury, Birmingham. Read more

A European First: UK Government Launches Solar Strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 17:18 (Renewable Energy World)

The UK government today announced its Solar Strategy, the first such strategic document dedicated to solar by any European Union government. Read more

Guess Who Is Buying Solar PV?

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 16:57 (Renewable Energy World)

About six months ago, I had the pleasure of taking part in the unveiling of preliminary insights about who is driving the purchasing of solar PV in the home.  At the time, researchers Raina Russo of Solar Chat and Glenna Wiseman of Identity3 had compiled some initial results from their survey of America women and mothers about solar power buying ha Read more

Solar Energy Cheaper than LNG in Asia Regions, Bernstein Says

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 16:56 (Renewable Energy World)

Solar power is cheaper in many parts of Asia than electricity from liquefied natural gas, meaning photovoltaics don’t need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels. Read more

Exclusive: Time for solar investors to turn attention to rooftops, says Barker

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 16:46 (Solarpowerportal)

Investors must focus their attention on rooftop projects, UK climate minister Greg Barker has told Solar Power Portal. Read more

String inverters becoming more popular for use in larger solar PV plants

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 14:56 (Solarserver)

More then 40% of potential buyers consider string inverters suitable for use in solar photovoltaic (PV) plants larger than 1 MW, according to results of a survey by IHS Technology (London). This is a sharp increase from the previous year's survey when only 17% said they would consider using string inverters in systems of this size. Read more

BYD ships modules for 8.5 MW solar PV plant in Rwanda

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 14:27 (Solarserver)

BYD Company Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) reports that it has shipped 8.5 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Scatec Solar AS (Oslo) for its plant in Rwanda. Scatec has begun installing these modules, and expects to complete the plant in the summer of 2014. The plant is located 60 kilometers from the Rwandan capital of Kigale on land belonging to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a settlement for orphans of the nation's genocide. Read more

Sungevity Receives $70 Million from Investors for Global Rooftop Solar Expansion

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 14:03 (Renewable Energy World)

Sungevity Inc., a closely held developer of rooftop systems, received $70 million from a group of investors including EON SE and General Electric Co. to expand in Europe and Australia. Read more

UK launches Europe’s first dedicated solar strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:50 (PV-Tech)

The UK has become the first European government to publish a dedicated solar PV strategy. Read more

SolarCity’s latest US$70 million share offering is ‘evolutionary step’

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:24 (PV-Tech)

US installer SolarCity has announced pricing details of its second securitisation, which investment banking firm Roth Capital has described as an “evolutionary step on the path to lower-cost financing”. Read more

Industry reaction: Solar Strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:06 (Solarpowerportal)

The solar industry reacts to the Solar Strategy published today. Read more

Industry reacts to Solar Strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:06 (Solarpowerportal)

The solar industry reacts to the Solar Strategy published today. Read more

Live: Industry reacts to Solar Strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:06 (Solarpowerportal)

The solar industry reacts to the Solar Strategy published today. Read more

Critics round on India’s domestic content policy as US talks fail

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 12:56 (PV-Tech)

The domestic content requirement (DCR) in India’s flagship solar programme is facing mounting pressure after talks to resolve US opposition to the policy broke down and it was separately branded a “failure”. Read more

UK launches Europe’s first dedicated solar strategy

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 12:15 (Solarpowerportal)

DECC has published the long-awaited Solar Strategy today, designed to enact a “further step change in deployment” for solar in the UK. Read more

Intersolar Europe Conference 2014: Focus on energy storage

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 12:03 (Solarserver)

Alongside Intersolar Europe, the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry, the Intersolar Europe Conference is taking place June 2–4, 2014 at the ICM − Internationale Congress Center München (Munich, Germany). Over 2,000 attendees and some 300 speakers from all corners of the globe are expected. The conference covers current conditions and developments in the solar industry, as well the latest technologies and trends. The focus is mainly on markets, and the new area of Renewable Heating. Energy storage will also occupy a special place in the program this year, because the electrical energy storage (ees) exhibition is being hosted by Intersolar Europe for the Read more

Five Bluefield Solar Income Fund PV plants commence operation

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 11:00 (Solarpowerportal)

Five solar power plants owned by investment company Bluefield Solar Income Fund have become operational in four separate counties. Read more

Jaguar Land Rover unveils UK’s largest rooftop solar array

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 10:45 (Solarpowerportal)

Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre in Staffordshire is now home to what is thought to be the UK’s largest roof-mounted solar array. Read more

British Solar Renewables connects 113MW ahead of 1.6ROC deadline

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 10:26 (Solarpowerportal)

British Solar Renewables managed to connect 10 solar farms totalling 113MW of capacity before the renewable obligation rate dropped in April. Read more

TSMC Solar enters UK market as CIGS thin-film production expands

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 10:15 (PV-Tech)

CIGS thin-film producer, TSMC Solar has obtained MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) certification from TUV SUD BABT to sell its PV modules in the booming UK market. Read more

TSMC Solar gains MCS certification for its CIGS thin-film modules

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 9:48 (Solarpowerportal)

Taiwan-based PV module manufacturer, TSMC Solar is entering the UK market after gaining MCS accreditation from TUV SUD BABT. Read more

Shinsung to supply SunEdison with 660 MW of solar PV cells

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 8:43 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has signed an agreement to purchase 660 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells from Shinsung Solar Energy (Pangyo, Korea) over the next three years. These cells will be manufactured by Shinsung from SunEdison silicon wafers, and delivered through the end of 2016. This is the first major deal between the two companies. Read more

German solar PV installations fall to 110 MW in February 2014

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 8:38 (Solarserver)

Germany installed 110 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in February 2014, according to statistics released by the nation's Federal Network Agency. This brings the nation to 36.0 GW of installed PV. While winter is typically a slow time for the German PV market, February 2014 installations represent a 48% year-over-year decline in market volume and the third consecutive month of installations below 200 MW. Read more

ReneSola sells 60 MW of solar PV plants in Western China

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 8:23 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd. (Jiashan, China) has completed the sale of three solar photovoltaic (PV) plants totaling 60 MW in Western China to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co. Ltd. (Zhangjiagang, China). The three plants are located in China's Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The sale follows a memorandum of intent signed between the two companies in December 2013. Read more

DSM to Make Biofuel by July as US Considers Cutting Renewable Fuel Standard

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 16:12 (Renewable Energy World)

Royal DSM NV, the world’s largest vitamin manufacturer, expects to begin producing cellulosic ethanol in the U.S. by July as the government considers reducing the amount of renewable fuel that oil companies will be required to buy. Read more

US Wind Energy Output Breaks Records

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 23:04 (Renewable Energy World)

Wind energy is breaking records across the U.S., thanks to long-needed transmission upgrades that are relieving congestion on the power grid and allowing more clean energy to reach consumers. Read more

US Senate Committee Votes to Extend Tax Breaks for Wind Farms

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 17:43 (Renewable Energy World)

U.S. wind farms would keep their treasured tax breaks as part of an $85 billion package of temporary tax cuts passed by a key Senate committee Thursday. Read more

EU Concludes French Feed-in Tariffs for Wind Energy Permissible

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 14:09 (Renewable Energy World)

In a potentially far-reaching decision, the European Commission has decided that the French system of feed-in tariffs for wind energy on land is not excluded under prohibitions against “state aid,” and is therefore permitted under European Union (EU) regulations. Read more

Geothermal Energy Is a Superior Solution for Today’s Electrical Grids

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 14:08 (Renewable Energy World)

Geothermal resources provide about 3,440 MW of power to the United States electrical grid as of early 2014. Read more

The Democratizing Promise of Energy Storage

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 16:21 (Renewable Energy World)

While energy storage is a small fraction of total power generation capacity, promising examples suggest that distributed energy storage could change the electricity system during the next decade as fundamentally as distributed renewable energy has in the last decade. Right now, 95 percent of energy storage in the U.S. is water pumped uphill into in Read more

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund renews commitment to renewable energy investment

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 15:32 (PV-Tech)

Just a few weeks after news broke that Norway’s oil-generated sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), would focus 5% of its NOK5 trillion (US$800 billion) on the renewables sector, a new report was published to the Norwegian parliament on 4 April that expands on the new mandate. Read more

Energy Storage: Bank On It

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:47 (Renewable Energy World)

Storage is cool.  It's so ingrained in our daily lives that it's invisible.  From the pantry closet and fridge storing our food to fuel tanks in our homes and cars, storage gives us the advantage to have something when we need it.  It's there waiting to be used. So, doesn't it make a lot of sense to store excess power from photovoltaics and other d Read more

RGS Energy chosen to build first community-owned PV projects in Massachusetts

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 13:01 (PV-Tech)

Community solar developer Clean Energy Collective has appointed RGS Energy as the contractor for the construction of two community-owned PV projects in Massachusetts. Read more

Hanwha Q Cells and Systems Sunlight develop hybrid power system in Cyprus

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Global PV company Hanwha Q Cells and energy storage company Systems Sunlight have teamed up to construct a hybrid power system for a large telecommunications provider in Cyprus. Read more

Abengoa files to create YieldCo investment vehicle for assets in the Americas, Spain

Friday, 4.4.2014 - 8:50 (Solarserver)

Abengoa SA (Seville, Spain) has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create a YieldCo investment vehicle for the ownership of energy assets. Abengoa Yield plc. (Leeds, UK) will initially focus on the ownership and acquisition of both renewable and conventional power generation and transmission assets in North America, South America, and Spain. Read more