More "Made in the USA" Solar Modules Coming Soon

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 19:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Suniva Inc., a manufacturer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules, announced that construction of its second U.S. solar manufacturing facility has begun. The new facility, located in Saginaw Township, Michigan, will provide up to 200 MW of additional capacity of its American-made modules, as a supplement to its existing manufacturing facility at its headquarters, in Norcross, Georgia. Read more

Hanergy completes Alta Devices acquisition and targets The Internet of Things

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 13:30 (PV-Tech)

China-headquartered thin-film PV manufacturer Hanergy announced today that it has completed the acquisition of US start-up Alta Devices, which has developed a dual junction solar cell with a verified conversion efficiency of 30.8%. Read more

New Micro-Parallel Inverters Aim to Reduce System Costs, Improve Performance

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 13:07 (Renewable Energy World)

Traditionally, there have been two main options for solar installation designers and engineers to convert DC to AC power: string inverters or micro inverters. Both present significantly different advantages and disadvantages for installers, with installation expenses varying up to 20 percent depending on the inverter selection. Either solution had drawbacks: what one would gain in convenience, it would sacrifice in performance and maintenance and vice versa. But a new class of inverter is entering the market that combines the installation simplicity of a string inverter with the intelligence and energy harvest advantages of a micro inverter. Read more

AET achieves UL 2703 listing for its utility-scale ground mount PV racking system, enters South American market

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 10:36 (Solarserver)

AET (Applied Energy Technologies, Maumee, Ohio), supplier of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) racking systems has received UL listing (to UL 2703, Issue 2) on its “Rayport”-G ECO ground mount system. AET is also announced that it has entered the South American solar photovoltaic (PV) market. Following a rigorous bidding and vetting process, its Rayport-G ECO was recently selected for a 5MW PV plant in South America. Read more

PV producer ReneSola announces profitable Q2, 2014 with improved gross margin of 14.7%

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 8:58 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd. (Jiashan, China) on August 12th, 2014 announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Total solar photovoltaic (PV) module shipments decreased by 4.3 percent to 498.7 megawatts (MW) compared to 521.1 MW in Q1, 2014. However, the company announced net revenues totaling USD 387.1 million, compared to USD 377.4 million in Q2, 2013. Q2, 2014 gross profit was USD 56.9 million with a gross margin of 14.7%, compared to a gross profit of USD 44.0 million with a gross margin of 10.6% in Q1, 2014 Read more

Jinko Solar signs 500MW Zhejiang project deal

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 16:47 (PV-Tech)

Jinko Solar’s project arm Jinko Power has agreed a 500MW project development plan with local authorities in Zhejiang Province, China. Read more

JinkoSolar subsidiary Jinko Power signs five-year 500 MW PV project development agreement with Economic Development Zone of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 16:25 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China) on Augsut 13th, 2014 announced that JinkoSolar Power Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Company, has signed a solar photovoltaic (PV) project development agreement with the Economic Development Zone of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, China, to develop a 500 MW PV project with an aggregate investment amount of RMB 5 billion (approx. USD 813 million). Read more

Yield cos driving up solar project prices, says Canadian Solar

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 14:15 (PV-Tech)

Canadian solar has beaten guidance in its Q2 2014 results with yield cos driving up demand, and prices, for projects. Read more

US will be world’s largest solar market by 2016, says Jigar Shah

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 13:47 (PV-Tech)

The US will be the largest solar market in the world in 2016, according to industry stalwart Jigar Shah. Read more

Brazil confirms details of PV local content rules

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 13:30 (PV-Tech)

Brazil’s national development bank, BNDES, has released details of the new local content requirements solar projects must fulfil to access finance. Read more

Conergy rebrands Wirsol Solar UK as part of UK push

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 13:15 (Solarpowerportal)

International PV system provider, the Conergy Group has announced that it will rebrand Wirsol Solar UK. Read more

Transparency Market Research: Global CSP market is expected to reach USD 8,674.7 million in 2020

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:49 (Solarserver)

According to a new report published by Transparency Market Research (Albany, New York) the global concentrating solar power (CSP) market was valued at USD 2,507.4 million in 2013 and is expected to reach 8,674.7 million in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 19.4 percent from 2014 to 2020. Read more

Solarsense completes 318kWp local authority-owned solar system

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:49 (Solarpowerportal)

Wiltshire County Council hopes to dramatically cut the energy consumption of the new Northacre Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) in Westbury thanks to a new solar array. Read more

Green Mountain Power begins solar-plus-battery micro-grid project in Vermont

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:44 (PV-Tech)

Work has begun on a micro-grid project in the US state of Vermont which is powered by a combination of solar and a battery backup and aims to reduce the impact of power outages and other supply disruptions on the local community. Read more

Citigroup: Solar’s economics ensure it’s here to stay

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:31 (PV-Tech)

The “pure economics” of solar in relation to increasingly costly fossil fuels will ensure a central future role for the technology in the world energy mix, according to Citigroup. Read more

Geenex and ET Solar develop a 20MW AC utility-scale PV plant in North Carolina

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:30 (Solarserver)

ET Solar Energy Corp. (Nanjing, China) on August 12th, 2014 announced that its U.S. subsidiary ET Capital (San Francisco) and solar energy project developer Geenex (Charlotte, NC), have closed financing and started construction on a 20MW AC - 30MW DC utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) project to be completed and connected to the grid this year in Halifax County North Carolina. Upon completion of the solar farm, Geenex and ET Capital plan to sell the facility to Duke Energy Renewables. Read more

Canadian Solar appoints Andrew Wong as Independent Director

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 12:26 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontario) on August 13th, 2014 announced that it has increased the size of its board of directors from four to five directors and appointed Andrew (Luen Cheung) Wong as an independent director of the Company. Wong, age 56, is currently Senior Advisor to the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Henderson Land Development Company Limited. He is also a director of Ace Life Insurance Company Ltd., China CITIC Bank Corporation, Intime Retail (Group) Co. Ltd. and Shenzhen Yantian Port (Group) Co. Ltd. Read more

Hanwha Q CELLS completes 13.3 MW solar PV plant in Portugal

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 10:42 (Solarserver)

Hanwha Q CELLS (Thalheim, Germany) on August 12th 2014 today that it has completed its first solar photovoltaic (PV) park in Portugal as engineering, procurement and construction provider (EPC). The PV installation in the municipality of Montijo (South-East of Lisbon) features around 51,000 of Q CELLS Q.PRO-G3 modules. The power plant has been fully connected to the grid in May 2014. The 13.3 MWp plant is expected to provide solar power to some 5,475 local households with an average consumption of 4,000 kWh per year, the company notes. Read more

Trina Solar expands downstream PV business in the UK with 49.9MW utility-scale project

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 10:28 (Solarserver)

Trina Solar Limited (Changzhou, China) on August 12th, 2014 announced the acquisition of a 49.9 MW utility-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the UK from Good Energy Group PLC (Chippenham, Wiltshire, U.K.). The solar PV plant received planning consent in January 2014 and will utilize Trina Solar's PV modules. Construction will start in the third quarter of 2014 and the site is expected to be connected to the national grid before the end of the first quarter of 2015. Read more

PV in Ontario: Solar Income Fund Inc. announces Reliant First Nation Limited Partnership feed-in tariff 3 contract offers totalling 38.7 MW

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 10:22 (Solarserver)

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) announced the offer of 403 Commercial Rooftop Solar PV Feed-in Tariff (FIT) contracts on Wednesday, July 30th, 2014 as part of its FIT version 3 renewable energy contract announcement, Solar Income Fund Inc. (Toronto, Canada) reports. Reliant First Nation Limited Partnership (RFNLP), led by Solar Income Fund Inc. and Adelaide Solar Energy Inc., received FIT 3 contract offers on 176 commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop projects totaling 38.7 MW of power. This represents successful contract offers on 89% of the applications submitted by RFNLP Read more

Can Your Solar Company Pass the Bumper Sticker Brand Equity Test?

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 10:00 (Renewable Energy World)

These days, applying a bumper sticker to your car is mostly reserved for two things: Bragging about your kid being an honor student and for presidential election years. While I’d never say that bumper stickers alone are a must-have solar marketing tool, what I will say is that when a customer voluntarily pastes your bumper sticker onto their vehicl Read more

U.S. manufacturer Suniva begins construction on second solar PV facility; finalizes first round of hiring

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 8:55 (Solarserver)

Suniva Inc. (Norcross, Georgia, U.S.), manufacturer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and solar PV modules, on August 12th, 2014 announced that construction of its second U.S. solar manufacturing facility has begun this week. The new facility, located in Saginaw Township, Michigan, will provide up to 200MW of additional capacity of its American-made modules, as a supplement to its existing manufacturing facility at its headquarters, in Norcross, Georgia. Read more

Canadian Solar supplies 44 MW of PV modules for 7 projects in North Carolina

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 8:51 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI, Guelph, Ontario, Canada) on August 12th, 2014 announced that the Company executed a 44 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) module sales agreement with affiliates of Entropy Investment Management, LLC and Entropy Solar Integrators, LLC. Entropy will construct seven solar farms in North Carolina in 2014 by using high efficient Canadian Solar CS6X-P PV modules. Over the next twenty years, the projects are anticipated to generate more than 1.1 Mio. kWh of solar power. Read more

Microinverter maker Enphase Energy and residential solar PV provider Vivint Solar sign three-year strategic agreement

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 8:46 (Solarserver)

Enphase Energy (Petaluma, Calif., U.S.) on August 12th, 2014 announced the renewal of its strategic solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter agreement with an affiliate of Vivint Solar, Inc. (Provo, Utah, U.S.), a provider of residential PV systems in the United States. The new multi-year agreement expands the existing relationship between the two companies. Read more

Suniva starts construction on 200MW PV facility in Michigan

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 5:45 (PV-Tech)

PV cell and module manufacturer Suniva has commenced construction on its second US solar manufacturing plant. Read more

Global Renewable Energy Status Uncovered

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 15:27 (Renewable Energy World)

More than a fifth of the world's electrical power production now comes from renewable sources and in 2013 renewables accounted for more than 56 percent of all net additions to global power capacity. These remarkable conclusions come from this year’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) from REN21. This highly-regarded annual analysis — the 2014 edition was released this summer — concludes that renewable electricity capacity jumped by more than 8 percent overall in 2013, to produce some 22 percent of all global power production. Total global installed renewable electricity capacity reached a staggering 1,560 GW in 2013. Read more

Zhenfa Energy Group to acquire majority stake in STR Holdings

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 6:35 (PV-Tech)

PV module encapsulant material supplier STR Holdings has agreed to sell 51% of its stake to Chinese PV developer Zhenfa Energy Group. Read more

GTM Report: Record year predicted for US solar carport market

Wednesday, 8.13.2014 - 14:40 (PV-Tech)

According to a new report from GTM Research, the US is expected to add 180MW of solar carports in 2014, setting the stage for another record year for the growing market. Read more