SMA shipments fall, losses increase in Q1 2014

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 18:46 (Solarserver)

SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany) has reported another quarter of declining sales on lower shipments for large inverters. Shipments fell 18% to around 1 GW and revenues fell 17% year-over-year to EUR 176 million (USD 240 million) during the first quarter of 2014. Read more

The PV Shipment Shell Game

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 13:16 (Renewable Energy World)

Outsourcing has been a common practice in the photovoltaic industry since…always. Ignoring it in favor of reporting higher shipment numbers has been a common practice since…always. There is more outsourcing now than there was ten years ago because the industry is bigger. When the PV industry was at megawatt levels, outsourcing was at megawatt levels. Now that the industry is at gigawatt levels, outsourcing is at gigawatt levels. Today’s outsourcing is also more acceptable — in the past everyone did it quietly, today it is out in the open. Yet despite this openness and acceptability, double counting continues and the industry continues to be oversized. Read more

RENA and SoLayTec ship new turnkey InPERC technology order

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 13:08 (PV-Tech)

PV equipment suppliers, RENA and SoLayTec said they had shipped their 10th ‘InPassion’ system to a tier-1 fully integrated PV manufacturer based in China for monocrystalline solar cells. Read more

SolarEdge welcomes UK solar rooftop push

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 17:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Power optimiser manufacturer SolarEdge has further strengthened its UK team following a strong performance last year. Read more

Investors could prefer Contracts for Difference to Renewable Obligation

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 16:01 (Solarpowerportal)

The government’s plan to force solar developers to use Contracts for Difference (CfDs) instead of ROCs from April 2015 has caused uproar amongst the UK solar industry. Read more

Trade war: India finds evidence of solar import dumping

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 15:03 (PV-Tech)

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has found evidence of dumping of foreign modules imported from the US, China, Taiwan and Malaysia. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne returns to positive operating result as geography of sales shifts in Q1 2014

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 14:44 (Solarserver)

Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (Shanghai) has reported relatively flat year-over-year growth in revenues during the first quarter of 2014 at USD 183 million, with increased sales in Japan and the UK making up for slowness in China. The company has also achieved its first positive operating margin in three years at 1.9% during the quarter. Read more

Philippines’ first utility-scale solar power plant comes online

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 14:06 (PV-Tech)

The first phase of the Philippines’ first utility-scale solar power plant is now online. Read more

IHS: First Solar likely to lose position as world's largest solar PV EPC in 2014

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 13:30 (Solarserver)

TBEA SunOasis (Urumqi, China) is likely to replace First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) as the world's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) engineering, procurement and construction contractor in 2014, according to an analysis by IHS Technology (London). Read more

The Solar PV Shipment Shell Game

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 13:16 (Renewable Energy World)

Outsourcing has been a common practice in the photovoltaic industry since…always. Ignoring it in favor of reporting higher shipment numbers has been a common practice since…always. There is more outsourcing now than there was ten years ago because the industry is bigger. When the PV industry was at megawatt levels, outsourcing was at megawatt levels. Now that the industry is at gigawatt levels, outsourcing is at gigawatt levels. Today’s outsourcing is also more acceptable — in the past everyone did it quietly, today it is out in the open. Yet despite this openness and acceptability, double counting continues and the industry continues to be oversized. Read more

Canadian Solar and IKEA Australia ink 3.6MW deal

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 12:56 (PV-Tech)

Canadian Solar has signed a deal with IKEA Australia, to supply modules and install 3.6MW of PV across seven of the furniture retailer’s properties in the territories of Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne completes huge 31MW rooftop project in China

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 12:42 (PV-Tech)

PV manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne has completed the installation of a 31MW rooftop installation in China. Read more

SNEC 2014: BTU to launch ‘SWIFT’ inline diffusion technology on ‘Meridian’ platform

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Thermal processing equipment specialist, BTU International is introducing its new Stacked Wafer Inline Furnace Technology (SWIFT) on its ‘Meridian’ platform at SNEC, 2014. Read more

SMA Solar’s shipments and sales fall in first quarter

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

SMA Solar Technology continued to feel the impact of a highly competitive and regionally dynamic PV inverter market in the first quarter of 2014 with both shipments and sales declining, despite a record quarter of global installations of over 9GW. Read more

Singulus to unveil new machines, technology for PERC, CIGS solar PV at SNEC trade show

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 8:39 (Solarserver)

Singulus Technologies AG (Kahl am Main, Germany) has announced that it will unveil new machines and technologies for the production of crystalline silicon and thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules at the SNEC trade show in Shanghai, May 20–22nd, 2014. These include its new Singulus XP coating machine for passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) PV cells and its Tenuis R&D system for copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) buffer layer deposition. Singulus notes that it already offers technology to cover two-thirds of the required machines for CIGS PV production. Read more

Xinyi Solar to build 30 MW solar PV plant in Fujian Province, China

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 8:30 (Solarserver)

A local government agency in Fujian Province, China has given approval for Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. (Wuhu, China) to build a 30 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the province during 2014. A subsidiary of Xinyi had entered into a cooperation framework agreement with the government of Songxi County, Fujian Province towards the construction of a 100 MW PV plant. However, the Fujian Province Development and Reform Commission approved only 30 MW. Read more

Australia to launch China PV anti-dumping investigation

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Australia looks set to become the latest country to get embroiled in a trade dispute with China over so-called ‘dumping’ practises, following an announcement that the Australian Government Anti-Dumping Commission will carry out an investigation into the matter. Read more

Siemens Inks $2.1 Billion Deal for 600-MW Dutch Offshore Wind Project

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 15:46 (Renewable Energy World)

Siemens AG won a 1.5 billion-euro ($2.1 billion) contract for a Dutch offshore wind park that will also give Europe’s largest engineering company its biggest-ever energy service contract. Read more

Mr. Harris Goes to Washington: Hydropower's Exciting Progress

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 16:32 (Renewable Energy World)

It was said that when the State of Oklahoma asked its favorite son, Will Rogers, if they might sculpt his likeness for inclusion in the United States Capitol's statuary, the cowboy from Oolagah gave his consent only on the condition that his statue face the House chamber so he could "keep an eye on Congress." Indeed, Rogers' is the only of the 100 Read more

Reflections on Launching a Green Bank and Animating Markets in New York

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 11:57 (Renewable Energy World)

On April 14, the Clean Energy Finance Forum spoke with Richard Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance in New York and chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). This conversation offers a close-up look at the process of creating the NY Green Bank (NYGB) and the broader initiative to transform energy policy and markets to achieve economic and environmental benefits. Read more

Daqo triples revenues, returns to profitability, and expands polysilicon capacities

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

Daqo New Energy (Chongqing, China) nearly tripled its revenues on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter of 2014 to USD 42.1 million, as well as returning to profitability for the first time since 2011 with a 16% operating margin. Daqo has begun construction to double the production capacity at its polysilicon plant in Xinjiang Autonomous Region to 12,150 metric tons annually, and is considering expanding the capacity further to 25,000 metric tons. Read more

Renewable energy trade associations call on EU commission to improve energy security, support renewable energy

Thursday, 5.15.2014 - 8:47 (Solarserver)

Ten European renewable energy trade associations including three solar organizations have sent an open letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, calling for greater consideration of renewable energy in the EU's energy security strategy. The letter was sent in advance of an informal meeting of EU energy ministers on May 15th, 2014 to discuss European dependence on fossil fuels, driven by the crisis in Ukraine. Signatories include the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) and the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association (ESTELA). Read more