NEXTracker to supply up to 1.85 GW of tracking systems to SunEdison

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 15:58 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has agreed to purchase up to 1.85 GW of tracking systems from NEXTracker Inc. (Fremont, California, U.S.) for its solar photovoltaic (PV) projects over the next three years. SunEdison currently has multiple PV plants which utilize NEXTracker, including a 73 MW PV project under construction in Chile. Read more

TrendForce expects Taiwanese cell manufacturer’s utilisation rates to fall in June

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 12:52 (PV-Tech)

Market research firm, TrendForce, and its EnergyTrend arm are expecting a significant fall in production utilisation rates in Taiwan by the end of June, ahead of the next US anti-dumping verdict which includes for the first time Taiwan-based solar cell manufacturers. Read more

Gintech sales reach US$56.8 million in May

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Taiwan-based solar cell and module manufacturer, Gintech Energy, reported sales in May, 2014 of NT$1,705 million (US$56.8 million), continuing its higher sales level which spiked in March. Read more

India's MNRE releases information on PV cell, module production capacities

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 8:29 (Solarserver)

India has at least 1.22 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and 2.35 GW of PV module manufacturing capacity, according to information released by the nation's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). MNRE has put out a request for manufacturers to update its lists of installed capacity and capacity under operation. According to the current list, Moser Baer (New Delhi) is the nation's largest PV maker, with 250 MW of cell and 230 MW of module capacity. Read more

China Solar Update: EU Trade Dispute Brewing Again, New Storage Venture Forms

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 18:07 (Renewable Energy World)

Let’s end the week with a couple of new energy developments, led by word that China and the European Union could be heading for a new showdown after the pair narrowly avoided a trade war last year over dumping accusations towards Chinese solar panels. The news looks quite disappointing and bodes poorly for the broader solar sector, where protection Read more

Solar “Freakin’” Roadways Reveals How the Solar Industry Has Failed to Inspire America

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 18:00 (Renewable Energy World)

Ladies and gentlemen, the solar industry has failed to communicate, and there’s no better example of how we’ve failed than the “Solar Freakin Roadways” crowd-funding project that’s raised nearly $2 million for a solar technology that will never become as utilized or as inexpensive as our good ol’ conventional solar PV panels. I say this not to disp Read more

OPIC to provide USD 230 million for First Solar's 141 MW-AC solar PV project in Northern Chile

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 16:02 (Solarserver)

The U.S. government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved USD 230 million in financing to First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) to support the construction and operation of a 141 MW-AC solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert. Read more

OPIC to provide USD 230 million for First Solar's 141 MW-AC solar PV plant in Northern Chile

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 15:33 (Solarserver)

The U.S. government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved USD 230 million in financing to First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) to support the construction and operation of a 141 MW-AC solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert. Read more

Video Interview: Global expansion, thin-film’s future and a return to Europe for Solar Frontier

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:41 (PV-Tech)

Solar Frontier’s Atushiko Hirano explains how the thin-film manufacturer’s new factory in Japan will serve as a blueprint for expansion into other parts of the world. Read more

Solar’s role in filling India’s power void being undersold, survey reveals

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:40 (PV-Tech)

Nearly 60% of commercial and residential consumers in India favour solar as a future power source, according to market analyst firm Mercom Capital. Read more

US government to give US$230 million to First Solar Chile project

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:39 (PV-Tech)

The US government’s development finance institution, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is to provide US$230 million for a solar power project in Chile. Read more

California bill could ease ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ of PV soft costs

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:11 (PV-Tech)

US residential solar company Sunrun has welcomed a piece of legislation in California that could help drive down soft costs, by streamlining the permitting and inspection process for new PV systems. Read more

Solar to be cheaper than French nuclear by end of decade, claims Greenpeace

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 12:43 (PV-Tech)

A report by environmental activist group, Greenpeace, on the upgrades required for nuclear power plants in France, reveals renewable energy will be more financially competitive by 2020. Read more

Ontario solar FiT safe as voters reject Conservatives

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 11:55 (PV-Tech)

Ontario has elected Liberal candidate Kathleen Wynne as its new premier, rejecting the Conservative’s Tim Hudak, who had pledged to scrap the province’s feed-in tariff (FiT). Read more

Shift to Solar Power Raises Incomes for Salt-mining Families in India

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 11:15 (Renewable Energy World)

Every year, whole families in the rural Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat await the end of the rainy season, when they make their trek to the salt-rich Thar desert. Tens of thousands of men, women and children migrate there for eight months a year during which they dig wells that fill with groundwater brackish enough to produce tons of salt. They pump the water into flat pans spread out in the hot sun, where it evaporates, leaving behind heaps of salt crystals. It's a livelihood of hard labor and low returns. Read more

Solar Frontier interested in ‘booming’ UK PV market

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 11:11 (Solarpowerportal)

Japanese solar manufacturer Solar Frontier has said that it is working on entering the UK market in the “short future”. Read more

Stion to increase production capacity of CIGS solar PV modules

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 8:45 (Solarserver)

Citing the announcement of preliminary tariffs against imported Chinese solar photovoltaics (PV), Stion (San Jose, California, U.S.) says that it will increase the production of thin-film PV modules at its facility in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Stion makes rigid thin-film PV modules based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) technology. The company does not currently plan to install any new equipment at the factory in Hattiesburg, but rather to hire for more shifts, move to seven days per week, and add more capacity to existing lines. Read more

SolarWorld begins production of 280 watt, 60 cell Sunmodule

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 8:34 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld AG's (Bonn, Germany) U.S. subsidiary has begun commercial production of a 280 watt, 60 cell monocrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) module at its factory in the U.S. state of Oregon. SolarWorld Industries Americas notes that this is around 10% more efficient than industry-standard 250 watt, 60 cell PV modules. The company expects its “Sunmodule” to represent the majority of production at its factory in Hillsboro, Oregon beginning in the second half of 2014. Read more

Japanese solar PV market booms to 2.77 GW in one quarter

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 8:24 (Solarserver)

Japan's solar photovoltaic (PV) market grew 60% year-over-year in volume to 2.77 GW in the final quarter of the nation's fiscal year 2013, according to shipment figures published by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Assocation (JPEA). The share of imported PV has been relatively steady for the last three quarters and was at 56% during the fourth quarter, which ended on March 31st, 2014. Thin-film market volume fell to its lowest level in three quarters, at 186 MW or 6.7% of all shipments. Read more

Mosaic begins offering loan products to residential solar PV installers

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 8:13 (Solarserver)

Mosaic (Oakland, California, U.S.) has begun offering a new line of home loan products for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installers in California, as the first crowdsourcing company to offer such a product. These loans vary in term and interest rate, which the company says allows options to maximize either cash flow or lifetime savings. Accompanying these products, the company has built an online portal to manage customer experience, and is offering a 20-year service guarantee. Read more

Kuwait issues proposal request for 60MW CSP plant

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 7:36 (PV-Tech)

A group, comprising of Kuwait’s Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) and the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW), have sent out expression of interest (EOI) requests for the Al Abdaliyah Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Project. Read more

Kuwait’s Partnerships Technical Bureau issues EOI request for 60MW CSP plant

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 7:15 (PV-Tech)

A group, comprising of Kuwait’s Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) and the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW), have sent out expression of interest (EOI) requests for the Al Abdaliyah Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Project. Read more

Mosaic launches new portfolio of products and services for residential PV installers

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 6:15 (PV-Tech)

Solar crowdsourcing service Mosaic has kicked off a new line of PV products and services, all of which are meant to benefit residential installers. Read more

Jamaica’s largest PV plant revealed

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 6:05 (PV-Tech)

SOFOS Jamaica Ltd., a premium partner of PV system installer IBC Solar AG, has revealed the largest PV plant in Jamaica to date. Read more

Tata Gujarat rooftop projects compete with the grid

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 5:15 (PV-Tech)

Tata Power Solar has completed 62 rooftop projects in Gujarat totalling more than 3MW including 750kW that is grid competitive. Read more

New Financing Vehicle for Mekong Solar and Wind Energy

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:45 (Renewable Energy World)

Armstrong Asset Management has forged a new partnership agreement with The Blue Circle for wind and solar project financing in the Mekong Region of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. With Armstrong agreeing to commit up to US $40 million in equity to fund the construction of wind and solar projects, it will also take a minority equity stake in The Blue Circle - a vertically integrated renewable energy developer operating in the region. Read more

Fuel Cell Storage for the Home

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:43 (Renewable Energy World)

Fuel cells convert natural gas directly into electrical energy. They are many times more efficient than are combustion engines, such as the car engine. These require an intermediate step. First, they convert chemical energy into thermal energy (heat) and mechanical energy (force). With this force, they drive a generator, which only then generates the electric power. In the process, a large portion of the originally available energy is lost. Read more

Energy Infrastructure Development in East Africa: Big Potential Meets Big Roadblocks

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 13:20 (Renewable Energy World)

Power infrastructure in the East African countries of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda is inherently connected to their economic growth. As urbanisation and industrialisation fuel the need for electricity in cities, the demand for electricity in East Africa is expected to grow at approximately 5.3 percent per year until 2020. To meet these requirements, generation capacity would have to increase by 37.7 percent in Uganda, 96.4 percent in Kenya, 75.3 percent in Tanzania and 115 percent in Rwanda. The government, in conjunction with development partners, must build a more favourable business environment to facilitate growth. Read more

Asda produces major climate change risk report

Friday, 6.13.2014 - 11:52 (Solarpowerportal)

UK supermarket chain Asda has conducted a major report on climate change as it seeks to mitigate its potential impact on its business. Read more