Centrotherm’s PV order intake inches higher

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 19:15 (PV-Tech)

PV equipment specialist, centrotherm reported first quarter 2014 revenue of €39.5 million of which around 50% was attributed to payments on its turnkey polysilicon plant being built for Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) in Qatar. Read more

Heraeus details involvement in recent ISFH record efficiency PERC solar cell

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

The Photovoltaics Business Unit of Heraeus Precious Metals has highlighted that the recent record PERC solar cell efficiency achieved by researchers at the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), employed a specially developed metallization paste from the company. Read more

Massachusetts to open SREC-II program

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 11:20 (Solarserver)

The U.S. state of Massachusetts will begin accepting applications for participation in its new solar renewable energy credit (SREC II) program on May 6th, 2014. SREC II replaces the original SREC program whose 400 MW of capacity was overshot in Spring 2013. SREC II includes some major changes, including an “SREC factor” which provides more SRECs to smaller projects and projects which meet other criteria, as well as reduced incentives over time. The program will support the installation of 1.6 GW of solar photovoltaics (PV) by 2020. Read more

First Solar reports strong Q1 2014 results

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 23:54 (Solarserver)

First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) has released results for the first quarter of 2014, reporting a 26% year-over-year increase in revenues to USD 950 million, a 15% operating margin, and a net income of USD 112 million. The company notes that its quarterly results were boosted by the beginning of revenue recognition on its 139 MW-AC Campo Verde PV project. Read more

Portsmouth City Council installs solar on two residential blocks

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 19:01 (Solarpowerportal)

Portsmouth City Council has turned to solar to help power two of its housing blocks. Read more

SolarWorld sales down in Q1 despite product shipment increase

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld’s restructuring savings and payments from Bosch for taking over its PV manufacturing operations have led to a significant reduction in losses but failed in the first quarter to prevent a small sales decline, despite significant product shipment increase. Read more

SunEdison connects 117MW of utility-scale solar in the UK

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 17:12 (Solarpowerportal)

SunEdison has announced that it completed construction of a solar farm portfolio worth 117MW in the UK. Read more

Scientists Discover Method to Reduce Solar Panel Glare

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 17:11 (Renewable Energy World)

Researchers have developed a multi-layer anti-reflection (AR) coating for glass surfaces, which reduces the sun’s reflection from photovoltaic panels while at the same time improving their efficiency. Read more

Why a Vermont Utility CEO Is Embracing Solar and Net Metering

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 17:04 (Renewable Energy World)

While many utilities are producing slick commercials that devalue distributed solar, Vermont’s Green Mountain Power is completely embracing big and small solar with a giant Vermont bear hug. Representing 75 percent of Vermont’s utility customers, GMP recently worked with legislators to nearly quadruple the state’s net metering cap to 15 percent of Read more

China Enters UK Solar Boom

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 16:29 (Renewable Energy World)

China’s plan to add up to 35 gigawatts of new solar power capacity by 2015 may be getting off to a slow start, but the nation looks quite happy to fund new plants in other countries to help its struggling solar panel makers. That’s my initial assessment, following reports that state-run giant Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) plans to build up Read more

SolarWorld reports slight loss in Q1 2014 results

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 15:29 (Solarserver)

The worst appears to be over for SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany), which has reported remarkably healthy preliminary first quarter 2014 results. Even with impacts from the acquisition of Bosch Solar AG (Arnstadt, Germany), the company achieved an operating margin of -8.2%. Read more

Utility-scale solar PV, CSP meet 5.8% of California demand in April 2014

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 15:25 (Solarserver)

California's utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants generated 938 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity during April 2014, while its concentrating solar power (CSP) plants produced another 88.0 GWh, according to an analysis by renewable energy consultant Bernard Chabot. This allowed utility-scale PV to meet 5.3% of demand, and CSP another 0.5% of demand. As was also the cast in March 2014, the output of the state's CSP plants was higher on a daily basis and more consistent than in previous months. Read more

First Solar providing EPC work to EDF Renewable Energy in California

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 15:12 (PV-Tech)

Major PVEP (Photovoltaics Energy Provider), First Solar is to provide turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor services to EDF Renewable Energy in California. Read more

JinkoSolar reiterates guidance

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 14:55 (PV-Tech)

JinkoSolar has reiterated that PV product shipments in the first quarter of 2014 remained seasonally down yet capacity expansions and its downstream PV project business would result in further shipment growth in 2014. Read more

EDF chooses First Solar to build 43 MW-AC of solar PV plants in California

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 14:50 (Solarserver)

First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) has been selected as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor by EDF Énergies Nouvelles SA's (Paris) U.S. subsidiary for two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in California totaling 43 MW-AC in capacity. Read more

Norfolk County Council weighs up 60MW solar farm at RAF Coltishall

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 13:48 (Solarpowerportal)

Norfolk County Council is considering proposals to construct a 60MW solar farm across 120 hectares of land at RAF Coltishall. Read more

SolarCity and Carrier team up to offer solar powered air conditioning

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 13:44 (PV-Tech)

US solar service provider, SolarCity has teamed up with air conditioning, heating and refrigeration provider, Carrier. Read more

Good Energy partners with 10:10 Solar Schools to help 20 schools crowd-fund solar

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 12:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Green energy provider Good Energy has announced a new partnership with 10:10 Solar Schools to help schools generate their own electricity. Read more

India’s largest power producer completes 50MW solar power plant

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

India’s largest power producer, NTPC, has announced the completion of a 50MW solar power project. Read more

Martifer installs subsidy-free solar array for Italian IKEA store

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 12:06 (PV-Tech)

An IKEA store in Italy has installed a subsidy-free cost competitive solar install, according to a company that worked on the site. Read more

Utility-scale solar PV, CSP meets 5.8% of California demand in April 2014

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 11:37 (Solarserver)

California's utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants generated 938 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity during April 2014, while its concentrating solar power (CSP) plants produced another 88.0 GWh, according to an analysis by renewable energy consultant Bernard Chabot. This allowed utility-scale PV to meet 5.3% of demand, and CSP another 0.5% of demand. As was also the cast in March 2014, the output of the state's CSP plants was higher on a daily basis and more consistent than in previous months. Read more

Hanwha Q Cells supplies modules for 15 MW UK solar PV project

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 11:33 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Q Cells (Thalheim, Germany) has supplied more than 58,000 of its solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to Lark Energy (Market Deeping, UK) a 15 MW PV plant in Suffolk, England. The company supplied its Q.PRO-G3 series modules for the Ellough PV plant in March 2014, and the plant was completed before the March 31st deadline for reduced Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) levels. Read more

TruSolar forms Accreditation Body, integrates SAPC documents

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 11:15 (Solarserver)

The truSolar Working Group (Washington D.C.) has announced the formation of its certification body, as has also adopted the Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) standardized contracts. The group says that the truSolar Accreditation Body can play an important role in standardizing project risk analysis for commercial & industrial solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, as well as lowering due diligence and financing costs. The body will be an independent non-profit organization. Read more

Solving the Biofuels Debt Crisis Part I

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 15:52 (Renewable Energy World)

A reader this week sent along a copy of the latest Department of Energy funding announcement — the $25-35 million solicitation for “Environmentally-Prudent Unconventional Resource Development” (DE-FOA-0001076), noting: Read more

Winds Steady but Calm for Windpower 2014

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 22:20 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. wind industry has its work cut out for it. That was the message put forth today at the start of Windpower 2014, an annual event taking place in Las Vegas this week. Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) opened the show with a keynote speech that reviewed steps that the industry had taken over the past year in order to reach its goals. In 2013, the industry set goals of doubling the amount of installed wind power capacity by 2020 and increasing it to 20 percent of the U.S. energy mix by 2030. Wind power currently makes up about 4 percent of the U.S. energy mix. Read more

Wacker Polysilicon posts strong Q1 2014 results on improved sales volumes, prices

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 11:24 (Solarserver)

Wacker Chemie AG (Munich) has released results for the first quarter of 2014, reporting an 11% year-over-year increase in revenues to EUR 262 million (USD 360 million) in its Polysilicon division. The division also sharply increased its operating result to EUR 122 million (USD 170 million), however this was largely the result of EUR 114 million (USD 160 million) in advanced payments retained and damaged received. Wacker states that it was operating its polysilicon facilities at full utilization during the quarter, which it expects to continue throughout 2014. Read more

Saudi’s KAUST signs-up ZSW as thin-film research partner

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 13:36 (PV-Tech)

The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) will partner on thin-film PV research with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Read more

Geothermal Visual: Total US Nameplate Geothermal Capacity

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 21:34 (Renewable Energy World)

This geothermal visual gives the total nameplate capacity of geothermal energy in megawatts as counted in the U.S. from 1971 through 2013, and the timeline is marked where enacted policies coincided with periods of sector growth. Coordination between government, regulatory policy, and the geothermal industry was a key factor that helped the total r Read more

ABB rebrand imminent for Power One Renewable Energy Division

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 17:56 (Solarpowerportal)

Products offered by the renewable energy division of Power One will be sold under the branding of ABB, the Swiss power technology corporation, which acquired Power One in July last year. Read more

US DOE to Issue Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Renewable Transmission Project, Says Northeast Utilities

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 16:48 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has posted a target date of December on its website to issue its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Northern Pass transmission project, Leon Olivier, executive vice president and COO of Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU) said on May 2 during the company’s 1Q14 earnings call. Read more

Africa to Quadruple Renewables on ‘Huge Potential,’ Irena Says

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 16:10 (Renewable Energy World)

Africa’s renewable energy capacity is expected to quadruple to about 120 gigawatts by 2030 if investors dedicate “substantial flows” of funds to the region, the InternationalRenewable Energy Agency said. Read more

Can Alternative Energy Mutual Funds and ETFs Continue to Beat the Market?

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 14:52 (Renewable Energy World)

Alternative energy mutual funds (MF) have proven to be an excellent investment over the past year or more, but those gains have flattened out as of late. MFs are up 33 percent on average with even the lowest returning fund, Gabelli SRI Green AAA (SRIGX), up 15 percent for the year. Read more

Photon Energy connects ‘significant’ Australian rooftop PV plant

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 13:53 (PV-Tech)

A “significant” addition to the rooftop PV market in Australia has been made with the installation of a 284kWp plant on the roof of an office building in Sydney. Read more

ABB rebrand imminent for Power One Renewable Energy Division

Tuesday, 5.6.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Products offered by the renewable energy division of Power One will be sold under the branding of ABB, the Swiss power technology corporation, which acquired Power One in July last year. Read more