Sunnova raises USD 145 million to fund growth

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 15:46 (Solarserver)

Third-party solar photovoltaic (PV) provider Sunnova Energy Corp. (Houston, Texas, U.S.) has secured USD 145 million in funding in its latest round. This is a very large round for a solar start-up, and shows a high level of investor interest in the third-party solar model. Read more

Stion expanding production of CIGS thin-film modules

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

US-based CIGS thin-film manufacturer, Stion Corporation said it would be expanding capacity in the wake of recent preliminary tariffs on Chinese solar cells and modules shipped to the US. Read more

Kyocera explores 430MW Japan island PV project

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 13:12 (PV-Tech)

A 430MW PV plant featuring over 1,000,000 multi-crystalline silicon solar modules could be constructed in the south of Japan by a consortium of five companies that includes Japanese ceramics and module maker Kyocera. Read more

Soitec inaugurates 26 kW CPV plant in Namibia

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

Soitec SA (Bernin, France) has inaugurated a 26 kW concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plant which will provide electricity to a primary school in the African nation of Namibia. The plant at Usib Primary School comprises two Soitec Concentrix CPV systems, and results from a cooperation between the company and public utility NamPower (Windhoek, Namibia). Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy Isak Ktali attended the inauguration. Read more

Community Solar Complements Rooftop as Residential Market Booms

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 22:08 (Renewable Energy World)

The first three months of 2014 marked the first quarter in recent U.S. history that more residential solar electric systems were installed than commercial solar arrays. GTM researchers, who collected the Q1 data, believe the residential market will continue its upward trend and outpace the non-residential market on an annual basis as soon as 2016. Read more

Tool Order: GTAT confirms Qatar Solar Energy purchases next-gen ‘HiCz’ mono crystal pullers

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 17:09 (PV-Tech)

Qatar Solar Energy (GSE), which recently announced the opening of a 300MW integrated PV module manufacturing plant, will use GT Advanced Technologies’ next-generation ‘HiCz 200’ continuous feeding monocrystalline puller technology, the equipment supplier has confirmed. Read more

Solar installers stock-up for RHI but knowledge gaps remain, says Travis Perkins

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 16:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar installers in the UK have been equipping themselves to extend their offering to Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) technologies, according to SBS, part of the Travis Perkins Group. Read more

Solar Energy Increasingly Considered a Safe, Attractive Investment

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 16:10 (Renewable Energy World)

Pension fund managers are investing more in solar energy, undeterred by declining returns because the industry is considered a safe alternative to traditional securities such as government bonds. Read more

Kyocera and partners explore 430 MW solar PV project in Japan

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 15:21 (Solarserver)

Kyocera Corp. (Kyoto, Japan), three other PV companies and Mizuho Bank Ltd. (Tokyo) are exploring the possibility of building a 430 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant on an island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The five companies have reached a basic agreement to investigate the project, which if built would be the largest PV project in Asia to date. Read more

Listen Up: Home Solar Battery Storage Systems Are Coming

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 15:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Before net metering, the only way to store daytime-produced solar energy was to use a battery storage system. These systems — generally composed of a bank of lead-acid batteries, a charge controller, solar panels and an inverter — continue to be popular for off-grid use. However, net metering is more efficient (zero round-trip energy loss) and less expensive (no batteries or maintenance required), so the fastest growth over the last decade has been in grid-connected net metered systems. Read more

Gordon Lamb installs solar at two car dealerships in Chesterfield

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 13:57 (Solarpowerportal)

Two of Gordon Lamb’s car dealerships in Chesterfield have installed solar in an attempt to drive down their electricity costs. Read more

Chile PV project receives US$66 million development bank loan

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 13:37 (PV-Tech)

The Inter-Amerian Development Bank (IDB) has approved a loan of US$66.4 million for a solar power plant in Chile. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne supplies another 9.5MW for UK projects

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Chinese solar manufacturer, Hanwha SolarOne has shipped 9.5MW of its modules to Ikaros Solar for two UK solar farm projects. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne supplies Ikaros Solar with 9.5MW for UK projects

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 12:58 (Solarpowerportal)

Chinese solar manufacturer, Hanwha SolarOne has shipped 9.5MW of its modules to Ikaros Solar for two UK solar farm projects. Read more

Japanese solar shipments rising, along with involvement of foreign players

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 11:15 (PV-Tech)

Shipments of solar cells and modules have increased by over 100% in Japan on a year-on-year basis, including an increasing presence by foreign companies, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA). Read more

ET Solar to build 1 MW “self-consumption” rooftop PV plant in Germany

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

The German subsidiary of ET Solar Energy Corp. (Nanjing, China) has signed a contract to design and build a 1 MW rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plant for a furniture retailer in the German state of Hesse. The rooftop PV plant at Hans Segmüller Polstermöbelfabrik GmbH & Co. KG's store in Weiterstadt will operate under a self-consumption model and will supply an estimated 95% of the electricity demand at the site. Read more

INRG Solar to build over 100 MW of UK PV during FY 2014–2015

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 8:46 (Solarserver)

INRG Solar (Eastleigh, UK) says that it expects to build more than 100 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in the UK during fiscal year 2014–2015, which runs through March 31st, 2015. The company reports recent completion of a 5 MW PV plant in North Dorset, England as progress towards this goal. The company also notes that the sites which it has identified have the capacity for 200 MW of PV with grid connections. Read more

NREL, value, CSP, renewable energy mandate, report, concentrating solar power, California, renewable portfolio standard, RPS

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 8:40 (Solarserver)

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL, Golden, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which estimates the additional value of concentrating solar power (CSP) projects with storage at USD 0.05–0.06 per kWh under California's renewable portfolio standard (RPS). NREL says that CSP and storage's ability to supply reliable generation in the hours after sundown provides an added value of USD 0.05 under a 33% RPS and USD 0.06 under a 40% RPS. Read more

Solar advocates and utilities discuss net metering future for Massachusetts

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 3:29 (PV-Tech)

The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) took part in a public briefing regarding the outlook of solar power in Massachusetts at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston on Wednesday. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER), Massachusetts utility companies and other solar market groups also participated in the meeting. Read more

The Alliance for Solar Choice, local utilities, participate in Massachusetts solar policy briefing

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 3:15 (PV-Tech)

The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) took part in a public briefing regarding the outlook of solar power in Massachusetts at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston on Wednesday. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER), Massachusetts utility companies and other solar market groups also participated in the meeting. Read more

The Arctic is disappearing, Congo is being plundered and DECC receive complaints over CfDs: GENR

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 18:50 (Solarpowerportal)

In Thursday’s Green Energy News Review: National Geographic find the Arctic ice caps to be nearly completely melted, Virunga National Park in Congo is attacked by big oil, and in the UK, DECC comes under fire for its new subsidy regime Read more

The Arctic is disappearing, Congo is being plundered and DECC receive complaints over CfDs: GENR

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 18:50 (PV-Tech)

In Thursday’s Green Energy News Review, National Geographic find the Arctic ice caps to be nearly completely melted, Virunga National Park in Congo is attacked by big oil, and in the UK, DECC comes under fire for its new subsidy regime Read more

The Arctic is disappearing, Congo is being plundered and DECC receives complaints over CfDs: GENR

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 18:50 (Solarpowerportal)

In Thursday’s Green Energy News Review: National Geographic find the Arctic ice caps to be nearly completely melted, Virunga National Park in Congo is attacked by big oil, and in the UK, DECC comes under fire for its new subsidy regime Read more

Code Breakers: Turning Carbon Emissions into a Revenue Stream

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 14:45 (Renewable Energy World)

On the heels of the EPA’s new carbon rules proposed by President Obama on June 2, I wanted to take a closer look at a potential disruptive technological breakthrough: taking CO2 waste streams and turning them into saleable, value-added feedstocks. Certainly, the deployment of renewables, energy efficiency, smart grid, and energy storage technologies offer some of the most cost-effective options for dramatically reducing emissions. But if you believe that fossil fuel power plants (along with other large-source emitters like steel and cement producers) will remain a part of our industrial ecosystem for some time to come, then capturing and utilizing C02 from these emitters Read more

NREL identifies extra value of CSP under renewable energy mandate

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 13:35 (Solarserver)

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL, Golden, Colorado, U.S.) has released a new report which estimates the additional value of concentrating solar power (CSP) projects with storage at USD 0.05–0.06 per kWh under California's renewable portfolio standard (RPS). NREL says that CSP and storage's ability to supply reliable generation in the hours after sundown provides an added value of USD 0.05 under a 33% RPS and USD 0.06 under a 40% RPS. Read more

IRENA: 12x as much solar must be deployed to avoid catastrophic climate change

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 8:35 (Solarserver)

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA, Abu Dhabi) finds that in order to limit global temperature increases to two degrees Celsius by 2100, the share of renewable energy must double to meet 36% of the world's final energy consumption by 2030. The organization's “REmap 2030” report calls for a 12-fold increase in the output of solar technologies, including solar photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar thermal. IRENA notes that under existing policies the share of renewables will only increase from the existing 18% to 21% by 2030. Read more

Sunnova secures US$145 million to fund growth

Thursday, 6.12.2014 - 2:01 (PV-Tech)

US-based rooftop PV provider Sunnova Energy Corporation has raised US$145 million in financing in order to expand the growth of the company and increase consumer reach. Read more