More PV to grid: Fronius wins Smart Grids Pioneer award, receives sustainability certification

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 15:03 (Solarserver)

PV inverter maker Fronius International GmbH (Wels, Austria) has been awarded the title of “Smart Grids Pioneer 2014” for its research project “morePV2grid”. Fronius has also recently completed the audit of the environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001. Read more

PV and silicon production technology provider centrotherm photovoltaics achieves revenue goal, improves liquidity

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 10:28 (Solarserver)

Together with its subsidiaries, centrotherm photovoltaics AG (Blaubeuren, Germany) achieved revenues of EUR 78.1 million in the first half of 2014, thereby raising consolidated revenue by EUR 28.2 million compared with EUR 49.9 million in the prior-year period from June 1 to November 30, 2013. Almost half the revenue results from progress made with the project for the construction of a polysilicon factory in Qatar, the company announced. Read more

Disruptive Innovation Alert: Regulated Utilities Vie for a Piece of the DG Solar Pie

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 15:44 (Renewable Energy World)

After gaining a reputation for being one of solar’s most outspoken naysayers, Arizona Public Service (APS) shocked the industry by announcing its intent to get into the residential solar market. This is not the first time a regulated utility has attempted to catch up to a disruptive innovation by owning solar in its own territories, and it likely w Read more

SolarWorld to increase production, set to miss revenue goals

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 15:42 (PV-Tech)

SolarWorld plans to power up unused production capacity later this year but still expects to miss its annual revenue target. Read more

Brazil to Encourage Local Solar Equipment With Cheaper Loans

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 15:35 (Renewable Energy World)

Brazil will offer cheaper funding to solar projects that use locally made equipment and parts in a bid to spur a national manufacturing industry as the country prepares to ban solar-cell imports by the end of the decade. Read more

LDK gets court nod to continue restructuring

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 12:54 (PV-Tech)

The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has given LDK Solar permission to continue its restructuring plans, details of which were released last month. Read more

CBD Energy cements Thai solar plans with acquisition of EEG stake

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 12:48 (PV-Tech)

Australian based renewable energy developer, CBD Energy, has bought a 30% stake of the Environmental Engineering Group (EEG) Thailand. Read more

Analysts split on Jigar Shah’s 2016 US solar prediction

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 12:12 (PV-Tech)

Analysts are split on Jigar Shah’s prediction that the US will install more solar power capacity than anyone else in 2016. Read more

Tata Power completes 3MW solar power plant in record 45 days

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 12:09 (PV-Tech)

Manufacturer and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, Tata Power has completed a 3MW solar power plant in just 45 days. Read more

Canadian Solar significantly increases PV module shipments, revenue in Q2, 2014

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 11:02 (Solarserver)

Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontari, Canada) on August 13th, 2014 announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. The company shipped 646 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, compared to 500 MW in the first quarter of 2014, and to second quarter guidance in the range of 600 MW to 630 MW. Read more

SolarWorld increase shipments of wafers, cells and PV modules by 53 percent to 357 MW

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 10:35 (Solarserver)

SolarWorld AG (Bonn, Germany) on August 14th released its report on the first half of 2014 today. In the first six months of the year, SolarWorld AG significantly increased shipments, compared with the same period of the previous year. Overall, group-wide shipments of solar wafers, cells, PV modules and kits rose by 53 percent to 357 megawatts (H1 2013: 233 MW). Read more

Spire Corporation increases revenues in Q2, 2014 as global demand for solar PV production equipment grows

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 9:13 (Solarserver)

Spire Corporation (Bedford, Mass., U.S.), a global solar photovoltaics (PV) company providing capital equipment and turn-key manufacturing lines to produce PV modules and providing optoelectronics thin film services, on August 13th, 2014 announced revenues for the second-quarter ended June 30, 2014 of USD 3.8 million, an 8% increase from USD 3.6 million for the same quarter of 2013 primarily due to an increase in solar module equipment sales. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the second-quarter of 2014 was USD 1.4 million, or USD 0.16 per share, compared with a net loss attributable to common stockholders of USD 1.8 million, or USD 0.19 per share, for the second-quarter Read more

Conergy prepares for next phase of UK solar PV, rebrands Wirsol Solar UK

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 9:07 (Solarserver)

The Conergy Group (Hamburg, Germany) on August 13th, 2014 announced further steps in the integration of Wirsol Solar UK, which the company acquired in January this year to create one of the UK's five biggest companies in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of large solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. From August 13th, 2014 the developer Wirsol Solar UK, which built the 1.15MWp solar PV rooftop at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Coventry and acquired the rights to 166 MWp in projects from Lumicity in July, will be known as Conergy West Sussex Ltd. Read more

Enphase Energy renews partnership with Vivint Solar

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 5:11 (PV-Tech)

Microinverter firm Enphase Energy has agreed to renew its strategic inverter partnership with an affiliate of residential PV system provider Vivint Solar. Read more

US solar tariffs prompt module quality warning

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 3:00 (PV-Tech)

US duties on Chinese and Taiwanese PV imports will make the quality of cells and modules harder to ascertain, a procurement expert has warned. Read more

Community Energy England: Community ownership requirement is not a burden

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 17:15 (Solarpowerportal)

The government’s proposed requirement for renewable developers to offer ownership of plants to communities should not be seen as a burden, according to Community Energy England. Read more

Building Renewable Energy in the Developing World, Brick by BRICS

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 15:28 (Renewable Energy World)

A group of five powerful nations has just created a new financial institution that may very well have a major influence on the growth of renewable energy in the developing world. At their sixth annual summit in July at the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, the so-called BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) officially established, as they had promised during last year’s summit, a new financial institution, the New Development Bank (NDB), to be based in Shanghai. The NDB’s purpose is to provide loans, guarantees and technical assistance to developing countries. In that respect, it is not at all different from the World Bank and similar institutions. Read more

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos killed in plane crash

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 6:21 (PV-Tech)

Brazilian presidential candidate and renewable energy advocate Eduardo Campos died Wednesday when a small plane carrying Campos and six others crashed in the city of Santos, about 35 minutes south of São Paulo. Read more

Yingli Green Energy Singapore donates 3kW PV system to school in Laos

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 4:16 (PV-Tech)

Yingli Green Energy Singapore, a subsidiary of PV module manufacturer Yingli Green Energy Holding Company, has donated a 3kW off-grid PV system to a school in Laos that had no prior connection to any source of electricity. Read more

Ford, DTE Energy to build Michigan’s largest PV Array, second largest solar carport in the Midwest

Thursday, 8.14.2014 - 9:01 (Solarserver)

Ford Motor Company is teaming with DTE Energy (Dearborn, Mich., U.S.) to build Michigan’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) array at Ford World Headquarters. The project, funded by DTE Energy, will provide employees with 360 covered parking spaces and 30 charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles such as the company’s Ford Fusion Energi and C-MAX Hybrid Energi. Under a recently finalized agreement, DTE Energy will construct, operate and maintain the solar carport for 20 years. Construction is slated to begin in September and be completed in early 2015. Read more