Tool Order: More Taiwan solar cell producers adopt Levitech’s ALD system

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 18:37 (PV-Tech)

Having secured its first ‘Levitrack’ ALD system order from a major Taiwanese solar cell producer in March, 2014, Netherlands-based Levitech BV has secured another Taiwan-based producer as a customer. Read more

PV production: GT Advanced Technologies announces novel metallization and interconnect technology

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:22 (Solarserver)

GT Advanced Technologies Inc., (Merrimack, N.H., US) on August 19th, 2014 announced that solar photovoltaic (PV) modules incorporating its new “Merlin” metallization and interconnect technology have successfully met the requirements of several important PV industry certification standards, including IEC 61215, IEC 61730-1 and -2, as well as UL1703. Read more

CPRE calls on government to boost rooftop solar by removing constraints

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 18:57 (Solarpowerportal)

In response to a rising number of solar farm developments, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has issued a Policy Guidance Note to its members outlining the group’s position on solar developments. Read more

UK’s offshore wind giants back solar RO cut

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 18:15 (Solarpowerportal)

EDF and E.ON, two of the largest offshore wind project developers in the UK have backed the department of energy and climate change’s (DECC) plans to cut support for large-scale solar under the renewable obligation (RO) scheme. Read more

Polling shows 87% of MPs support solar

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 18:00 (Solarpowerportal)

A poll of MPs has discovered that 87% support the deployment of solar in the UK, despite moves by the Coalition government to constrain large-scale solar deployment. Read more

JA Solar’s next manufacturing expansion in US or Southeast Asia

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 16:10 (PV-Tech)

China-based tier-1 integrated PV manufacturer, JA Solar expects the next phase of its manufacturing expansions to be in 2015 that are expected to include new facilities in either the US or Southeast Asia. Read more

NRG Just Purchased a Consumer Solar Gadget Company. Can You Make the Same Solar Marketing Play?

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 16:01 (Renewable Energy World)

By now you’ve probably heard the news that pro-solar energy giant NRG is purchasing Goal Zero, a relatively tiny solar consumer electronics company. But why? NRG is a huge residential and utility scale solar integrator, while Goal Zero sells enough solar PV to power maybe a single NRG utility project. Of course, the answer is that NRG isn’t buying Read more

JinkoSolar to supply 40 MW of solar PV modules for a project in the Valparaiso region in Chile

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 15:57 (Solarserver)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China)" on Augsut 20th, 2014 announced that it will supply 40 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to 8i S.A., a solar development company, for a PV project in Chile. 8i will be the owner, developer and EPC for this project. Read more

ReneSola to supply Virtus II solar PV modules totalling 5.4MW for a utility-scale project in India

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 15:51 (Solarserver)

ReneSola Ltd (Jiashan, China) on Augsut 20th, 2014 announced it will provide 5.4 megawatts (MW) in solar modules to Welspun Energy Pvt. Ltd., a New Delhi-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm, for a utility-scale project in India. Read more

JA Solar boosts module shipment guidance on stronger China market

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 15:46 (PV-Tech)

Major tier-1 integrated PV manufacturer JA Solar reported second quarter financial results within guidance but raised full-year shipment guidance on the back of stronger than expected demand in China. Read more

Komax Solar to set own course after management buyout

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 14:20 (PV-Tech)

PV module assembly equipment specialist, Komax Solar has finally been sold to its existing management team in a buyout that will make the company independent, sometime in the second half of 2014. Read more

SPI Solar sales rise after major cash injections

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 14:13 (PV-Tech)

PV project developer, SPI Solar reported sales in the second quarter of 2014 of US$6.3 million, compared with US$3.6 million in the previous quarter. Read more

Jinko Solar to supply 40MW Chile project

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 14:04 (PV-Tech)

Global manufacturer, Jinko Solar is to supply 40MW of its modules to a project in Chile. Read more

Uruguay set for 50MW module factory

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 13:37 (PV-Tech)

A new 50MW solar panel factory is to be set up in Uruguay. Read more

Solar Boom Drives First Global Panel Shortage Since 2006

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 13:11 (Renewable Energy World)

The solar industry is facing a looming shortage of photovoltaic panels, reversing a two-year slump triggered by a global glut. Read more

Kam Mofid steps aside at Real Goods Solar as company focuses on residential

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 12:46 (PV-Tech)

Kam Mofid has stepped aside as CEO of Real Goods Solar (RGS) with the company’s residential solar chief, Dennis Lacey, named as his successor. Read more

Remote Bolivian city to host ‘world’s largest’ solar-diesel hybrid power plant

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 12:39 (PV-Tech)

A city in Bolivia which is currently powered entirely by diesel generators will be the home of a 5MW solar-diesel hybrid power plant fitted with battery storage, which inverter supplier SMA claims is the largest of its kind in the world. Read more

SunPower introduces residential solar PV leasing program in Melbourne, Australia

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:33 (Solarserver)

SunPower Corp. (San Jose, California, U.S.) has launched “SunPower Choice“, a new pilot leasing program to help residential customers in Melbourne, Australia, finance a solar photovoltaic (PV) system for no money down. As part of the program, SunPower will install its high efficiency solar panels for qualified Melbourne homeowners, providing reliable, clean electricity at a predetermined and cost-competitive monthly rate for 25 years, the company announces. Read more

Intersolar Summit Middle East: Market participants discuss the solar PV potentials in MENA

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:29 (Solarserver)

Due to high demand, the Intersolar Summit Middle East will for the first time be a two-day event. Topics for discussion will include regional market forces, requirements and opportunities for large-scale PV plants, financing models and opportunities and risks for PV production, as well as competitive business models and applications in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Read more

Eco Energy World connects 70MW of solar PV to the UK grid

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:22 (Solarserver)

Eco Energy World (London, UK) has enjoyed a summer surge in energy production after connecting five solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a combined output of 70MW to the grid in quick succession. The solar PV plants situated in Essex, Devon and Wiltshire, all began operating in the past few weeks, the company announced. The solar PV plants range in size from 9MW to 15MW and will generate enough solar power to supply approximately 22,000 homes each year. Read more

Solectria Renewables to power 45MW Entropy Solar PV projects in North Carolina

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:22 (Solarserver)

Solectria Renewables LLC (Lawrence, MA) a leading U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter manufacturer, on August 19th, 2014 announced that it will supply 69 SGI 500XTM's to Entropy Solar Integrators for seven projects in North Carolina. These PV projects are part of a portfolio being built by Entropy Solar Integrators (Charlotte, NC) and financed through affiliates of Entropy Investment Management. Read more

UK Prime Minister Cameron: Growth in solar has created an opportunity for the sector and wider economy

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 8:49 (Solarserver)

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that solar “has the potential to play a valuable part of the UK’s renewable energy mix” in response to a letter from a coalition of over 150 businesses from the U.K. solar industry and beyond who came together in July 2014 to warn Cameron of the threat to Britain’s thriving solar industry. Cameron also stated how he hoped the ongoing discussions between DECC ministers and officials and the Solar Trade Association (STA, Milton Keynes, UK) would continue “as we work together on laying the foundations for the successful future of the solar PV sector in the UK”. He added that rapid deployment has “created a significant Read more

SPI Solar announces Q2, 2014 results: Increased sales, reduced loss

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 8:47 (Solarserver)

SPI Solar (Roseville, Calif., US), a vertically-integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) project developer, on August 19th, 2014 announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30th, 2014. Total net sales for the second quarter of 2014 were USD 6.3 million, compared with USD 4.2 million for the second quarter of 2013. For the first quarter of 2014, SPI Solar reported total net sales of USD 3.6 million. Read more

Third US Offshore Wind Lease Auction Goes to Italy-based US Wind

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 18:07 (Renewable Energy World)

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its third auction of offshore wind leases yesterday, this time for prime U.S. federal waters off the coast of Maryland. Italian renewable energy company US Wind Inc. won the 80,000-acre parcel with an $8.7 million bid, well above previous auctions. Read more

UK Supermarket To Be Powered Exclusively by Waste-To-Energy Plant

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 16:55 (Renewable Energy World)

U.K. retailer Sainsbury’s announced that it will power one of its supermarkets with 100 percent renewable electricity produced from an anaerobic digester, making it the largest retailer to be off-grid using an anaerobic digester. Read more

Australia Chills Hopes for $20 Billion Clean Energy Industry

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 16:21 (Renewable Energy World)

Australia is frightening developers away from renewable energy even before the government decides whether to overhaul targets for the industry’s growth. Read more

Lubricating Energy Policy

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 15:09 (Renewable Energy World)

The new report from the Taxpayers for Common Sense shows that oil companies paid just 11.7 percent of their U.S. income in federal taxes over the last five years, and the “smaller” companies included in the study that reported positive earnings only paid 3.7 percent. To achieve such a low tax rate, oil companies were able to take advantage of special tax breaks and loopholes that allowed them to defer more than $17 billion in taxes they would have otherwise owed. Read more

REFUsol India adopts Advanced Energy as official name following acquisition in 2013

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 10:26 (Solarserver)

Solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter maker REFUsol, which Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (Fort Collins, Colo., U.S.) acquired in April 2013, will now operate as Advanced Energy in India. Read more

Renewable energy provides 100% of all new U.S. generating capacity in July 2014

Wednesday, 8.20.2014 - 8:52 (Solarserver)

According to the latest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects, all new U.S. electrical generating capacity put into service in July came from renewable energy sources: 379 megawatts (MW) of wind, 21 MW of solar, and 5 MW of hydropower, the SUN DAY Campaign announced. "This is not the first time in recent years that all new electrical generating capacity for a given month has come from renewable energy sources," noted Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. "And it is likely to become an ever more frequent occurrence in the months and years ahead." Read more