British Solar Renewables appoints SSE’s Simon Roberts as director of Grid UK & Worldwide

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 19:28 (Solarpowerportal)

British Solar Renewables has appointed Simon Roberts of SSE as director of Grid UK & Worldwide for its independent connection provider, Renewable Energy Connections. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2014: Suntech in talks over new acquisitions

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 19:11 (PV-Tech)

Suntech is in talks with a number of companies over the possibility of acquiring a diverse range of companies from system integrators to finance and insurance providers. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2014: JA Solar to ramp PERC cell production by year end

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 18:15 (PV-Tech)

Having recently reporting full-year solar cell and module shipment guidance of between 2.7GW and 2.9GW, JA Solar is also increasing solar cell capacity from 2.5GW to 2.8GW to better match module capacity levels. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2014: Exhibitor numbers continue to decline

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 17:15 (PV-Tech)

Europe’s largest PV exhibition, Intersolar Europe continues to experience a decline in the number of exhibitors and range of companies across the supply chain with around 1,100 exhibitors, down from 1,330 in 2013 and just ahead of numbers back in 2008. Read more

Schools raise £100,000 for solar in eight months

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 16:36 (Solarpowerportal)

Solar Schools has announced that it has raised over £100,000 in eight months in order to install solar arrays on 19 schools across the UK. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2014: CfDs could create ‘Solar Big Six’

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 16:15 (PV-Tech)

Uncertainty surrounding the switch to the CfDs (Contracts for Difference) support scheme for large-scale solar in the UK will make it difficult for smaller companies and new market entrants to compete there, according to speakers at the Doing Solar Business in the UK conference in Munich. Read more

SunEdison to offer half a billion dollars in convertible bonds to fund solar PV projects

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 16:02 (Solarserver)

SunEdison Inc. (St. Peters, Missouri, U.S.) has announced that it plans to offer USD 500 million in unsecured convertible bonds due 2020 in a private placement. These bonds will be offered by the initial purchasers only to institutional buyers. The company plans to use USD 350-400 million of the proceeds to fund projects which it will either contribute to its yieldco subsidiary, or hold on its balance sheet. Read more

SunLink to supply racking for Moapa Solar Project

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 15:32 (Solarserver)

SunLink Corp. (San Rafael, California, U.S.) has been selected to supply a ground-mounted racking system for the 250 MW-AC Moapa Solar Project, which will be built on Native American land in the U.S. state of Nevada. Delivery is scheduled to begin during June 2014. Read more

Solar Trade Decision Represents Threat To Industry

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 15:12 (Renewable Energy World)

The news could not have been any worse. In a deeply troubling decision, the U.S. Department of Commerce today imposed new tariffs on solar modules from China that threaten to derail the rapid growth of the U.S. solar industry. Commerce will immediately impose countervailing duty tariffs ranging from 18.56 to 35.21 percent. Equally troubling, Commer Read more

Solar Crowdfunding Promises Growth but Requires Careful Management

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 15:11 (Renewable Energy World)

Crowdfunding solar power allows companies to diversify and expand their capital sources but requires careful risk management, according to a panel called "Crowdfunding for Renewable Energy Projects: How Big Could It Be?" at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Future of Energy Summit on April 8. Read more

More Tariffs for Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturers

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 15:09 (Renewable Energy World)

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would impose preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) on Chinese-manufactured solar modules in an effort to close the loophole that was created when it imposed initial tariffs on Chinese-manufactured solar cells back in 2012. Read more

World Cup stadium generates more solar power than 11 competing countries - report

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Eleven of the 32 countries competing in the forthcoming football World Cup cannot collectively generate as much solar energy as Brazil’s 2.5MW national stadium. Read more

Brazil expects wave of solar tenders with national energy auctions

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry (MEM) announced 22 May, in Brazil’s official journal, the country’s third national renewables-only tender auction, to be held 10 October. Read more

US-China solar trade ruling: The industry responds

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

The US government’s decision to impose anti-subsidy duties on Chinese PV manufacturers will make solar power more expensive for American consumers, the world’s biggest module supplier, Yingli Solar has said. Read more

Contracts for Difference could create ‘Solar Big Six’

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 12:15 (Solarpowerportal)

Uncertainty surrounding the switch to the CfDs (Contracts for Difference) support scheme for large scale solar will make it difficult for smaller companies and new market entrants to compete, according to speakers at the Doing Solar Business in the UK conference in Munich. Read more

US adds new trade tariffs in China anti-subsidy case

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 9:12 (PV-Tech)

The US Department of Commerce has announced preliminary anti-subsidy rates of up to 35% for Chinese solar manufacturers. Read more

Utility-scale solar PV, CSP meet 6.0% of California's electricity demand in May 2014

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 8:50 (Solarserver)

Renewable energy consultant Bernard Chabot has published his latest analysis of renewable energy in California, which shows that the state's utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants produced 1,070 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity during May 2014. Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants produced another 114 GWh. This means that utility-scale PV met 5.4% of the state's electricity demand during the month, with CSP meeting another 0.6%. When all renewable energy sources including wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass are included, utility-scale renewable energy met 28% of the state's electricity demand in May 2014. Read more

RBI Solar buys PV mounting systems maker Renusol from Centrosolar

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 8:35 (Solarserver)

Centrosolar Group AG (Munich) has sold all of the shares in subsidiary solar mounting specialist Renusol GmbH (Cologne, Germany) to RBI Solar Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.). After the debts of Renusol and cost of sale EUR 2.6 million (USD 3.5 million) will go to Centrosolar's insolvent estate. The companies notes that Renusol and RBI's product lines complement each other. After the sale Renusol will be able to offer ground-mounted solutions in Europe, and RBI will be able to offer Renusol's roof mounting systems outside Europe. Read more

Wuxi Suntech wins VDE Quality-Tested certification for solar PV modules

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 8:31 (Solarserver)

Wuxi Suntech (Wuxi, China) has announced that it has become the third brand globally to receive the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies e.V.'s (VDE, Frankfurt, Germany) Quality-Tested certification for its solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Wuxi Suntech notes that VDE Quality-Tested is a more rigorous certification than other industry standards such as IEC61215 and IEC61730-2, including larger numbers of test samples and longer testing periods. The test looks at a number of factors including degradation rates and safety standards. Read more

Intersolar Europe 2014: Africa ready to revamp solar’s image, former minister says

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 8:15 (PV-Tech)

Governments in Africa are in a good position to overturn mistakes made during early stage PV development and build out a strong renewable energy base, a former renewable energy minister has told PV Tech. Read more

Martifer Solar completes 11MW PV plant in Ginasservis, France

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 2:05 (PV-Tech)

Portuguese PV developer Martifer Solar, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, has completed an 11MW PV plant in Ginasservis, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur area of France. The facility was built for Eco Delta, a wind and PV farm developer. Read more

SEIA, Yingli: Tariffs will damage U.S. solar PV market

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 22:00 (Solarserver)

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA, Washington DC) has joined the world's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers in condemning the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) preliminary anti-subsidy ruling on imports of Chinese PV. Read more

Can Geothermal Energy Save California’s Salton Sea?

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 14:08 (Renewable Energy World)

Back in the 1950’s, the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, California was a tourist hotspot drawing in thousands of tourists, developers and businesses looking to take advantage of the paradise in the desert – and it was all an accident. Now, the sea and its surrounding communities are in dire straits, and their only savior may be an industry that is struggling in its own right: geothermal. Read more

SunPower chosen to develop 19MW PV project at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 23:15 (PV-Tech)

State utility NV Energy has chosen major PV energy provider SunPower Corp. to construct a 19MW PV project at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Read more

Queen’s speech: Plastic bag levy, not-so-zero carbon homes, shale boon and climate change agreement

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 14:30 (Solarpowerportal)

The last Queen’s speech of this parliament has confirmed a number of new environmental measures set to be introduced across the UK. Read more

World Energy Supply Requires $40 Trillion Investment by 2035, Says IEA

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 12:48 (Renewable Energy World)

Meeting the world’s energy supply needs by 2035 will require $40 trillion of investment, as demand grows and production and processing facilities have to be replaced, the International Energy Agency said. Read more

SunEdison and Huantai team up for 1.7GW in China

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 12:15 (PV-Tech)

Global PV energy provider, SunEdison, is to team up with Chinese wafer manufacturer, Huantai Group to develop PV projects in China’s booming market. Read more

IEA: Greater investments in solar PV, CSP needed over next two decades to meet climate goals

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 9:17 (Solarserver)

The International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris) has released a new report which finds that investments in renewable energy need to nearly double over the period to 2035 to keep the global climate within an increase of 2 degrees Celsius over 1990 levels. The USD 420 billion needed in annual renewable energy investments over a 21-year period would include USD 82 billion in annual investments in solar photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP). This is more than double the 2000–2013 average level of USD 37 billion annually, and would total USD 1.73 trillion over the 21-year period. Read more

SunPower and AE-AMD complete two PV plants in South Africa

Wednesday, 6.4.2014 - 2:15 (PV-Tech)

Major PV energy provider SunPower Corp and AE-AMD Renewable Energy, a joint venture between the Spanish AMDA energia and the South African Alt-E Technologies, have completed two ground-mounted PV projects in South Africa, totaling 33MW. Read more