Suntech invests US$25 million in US storage company

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 16:47 (PV-Tech)

Reborn Chinese manufacturer Suntech is to spend US$25 million to acquire a 30% equity interest in US energy storage company, Powin Energy. Read more

SMA hoping for rebound in demand after reporting heavy 1H losses

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 16:32 (PV-Tech)

German inverter manufacturer SMA Solar has cited weak demand in Europe for losses sustained in the first of 2014, but said it anticipates a rebound as international demand picks up. Read more

SMA South Africa plant opens for business

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 13:44 (PV-Tech)

German inverter manufacturer, SMA, has begun operations at a new Cape Town manufacturing facility set up to serve South Africa’s burgeoning PV market. Read more

Hanwha Q CELLS to increase PV production capacity to 1.5 GW by the end of 2014

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 13:08 (Solarserver)

Thalheim, Germany, headquartered Hanwha Q CELLS has completed the construction of an additional 204 MW production line for high performance solar photovoltaic (PV) cells in its Malaysian manufacturing facility. In addition, Europe´s largest photovoltaics (PV) provider on August 7th, 2014 announced a further increase in production capacity to more than 1.5 GW in total. The company said it has launched “Manufacturing Excellence Initiatives” at both its production sites in Malaysia and Germany, which are expected to result in an additional capacity increase of around 230 MW by the end of this year. Read more

Community Energy England concerned over possible community feed-in tariff U-turn

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 10:49 (Solarpowerportal)

Community Energy England (CCE) has called on the government to push forward with its initial plans to extend support for community energy schemes under the feed-in tariff from 5MW to 10MW. Read more

U.S. Solar Industry Waiting for SolarWorld to ‘Show Its Hand’

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 19:19 (Renewable Energy World)

As the old proverb goes, “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.”  But convincing some people of that isn't easy.  In hopes of ending the long-running and costly U.S.-China solar trade dispute, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has urged SolarWorld Americas LLC to step forward and offer a specific proposal that could serve as the ba Read more

China Installs Equivalent of Australia's Total Solar Capacity — In Six Months

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 17:03 (Renewable Energy World)

China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, accelerated solar power installations in the first half, adding enough capacity in the period to equal Australia’s entire supply of power from sunlight at the end of last year. Read more

The Battle Against Solar in the Sunshine State

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 15:44 (Renewable Energy World)

It’s been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. However, when it comes to American public electric utilities, the recent past seems to get cloudy fairly quickly and the same lame arguments from the utilities come around again and again. Most recently, a coalition of utilities in the Sunshine State argued at a Flor Read more

India railway sites to get 8.8MW of solar

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 14:44 (PV-Tech)

India’s railway minister, Shri Manoj Sinha, has revealed that 8.8MW of solar is to be installed at railway sites across the country. Read more

Chinese module prices in US up 9% on back of duties - GTM

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

Preliminary trade duties imposed by the US on Chinese and Taiwanese solar products have forced the price of Chinese modules in the US up by an average 9%, according to GTM Research. Read more

China has added 3.3GW solar in 2014, government confirms

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 13:15 (PV-Tech)

China has installed 3.3GW of solar power capacity in 2014 so far, according to official data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA). Read more

Jordan cancels 400MW solar and wind tender

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 12:52 (PV-Tech)

Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has cancelled a procurement round for four 100MW renewable energy projects. Read more

Kyocera solar PV panels provide power for pilot project at vocational college in Detmold, Germany

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 12:35 (Solarserver)

The modernization of a vocational college in Detmold, with a total investment of 7.8 million Euros, is currently one of the largest and most important pilot projects for refurbishing school buildings in Germany. Equipping the roofs with 2,658 Kyocera solar PV modules with an output of 380 kWp means that the college will save 148 tons of CO2 annually and generate more energy than it consumes, making the school an energy-plus building, Kyocera (Kyoto/Neuss) reports in a press release. Read more

Sungevity expands solar PV services simultaneously to New Mexico and Vermont

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 12:22 (Solarserver)

Sungevity Inc. (Oakland, Calif.), a provider of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) services, has expanded operations into New Mexico and Vermont, bringing the total to 11 U.S. markets and select locations across the globe. Local homeowners can now take advantage of Sungevity's instant online quoting technology that enables consumers to review design options, installation costs and estimated energy savings in three easy steps. Reducing one's energy bill and carbon footprint has never been easier, the company notes. Read more

SEIA urges Solarworld to swap litigation for negotiation

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 11:58 (PV-Tech)

Solarworld should trade litigation for negotiation and provide more details of what it wants from a trade settlement with Chinese manufacturers, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has said. Read more

Weak PV demand in Europe negatively affects earnings of SMA Solar Technology AG in H1, 2014; PV inverter sales declined by 26 percent

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 9:13 (Solarserver)

From January to June 2014, SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany) sold solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters with an output of 2.0 gigawatts (Q1–Q2 2013: 2.5 GW) and generated sales of EUR 341.2 million (Q1–Q2 2013: EUR 461.5 million) in a market dominated by high price pressure. The main reasons for the decline in sales by 26 percent were the slump in demand in Europe and the high price pressure, the company emphasizes. Read more

Concentrating solar power in South Africa: EIB supports “!Ka Xu” project in Northern Cape with USD 130 million

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 8:57 (Solarserver)

On August 6th, 2014 the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) announced that it has signed a R1.4 billion (approx. USD 130 million) finance contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the development of the 100 MW concentrating solar power plant “!Ka Xu” in the Northern Cape, South Africa. Read more

Solar Trade Dispute: SEIA urges SolarWorld to offer counter proposal

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 8:50 (Solarserver)

In hopes of ending the long-running and costly U.S.-China solar trade dispute on photovoltaic (PV) products imported from China, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on August 6th, 2014 hustled SolarWorld Americas LLC (Hillsboro, Oregon, U.S.) to offer a specific proposal which could serve as the basis for discussions in renewed attempts to reach a negotiated settlement. Read more

Solar power producer Etrion releases solid Q2, 2014 results, announces completion of Salvador PV project by the end of 2014

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 8:45 (Solarserver)

Etrion Corporation (Geneva, Switzerland), an independent solar power producer, on August 6th, 2014 released its condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30th, 2014. The company generated revenues of USD 17.8 million (2013: US$ 18.4 million) and USD 26.1 million (2013: US$ 26.7 million) during the three and six months ended June 30th, 2014, respectively. Recognized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was USD 14.2 million in Q1, 2014 (2013: US$ 14.3 million) and USD 18 million in H1, 2014 (USD 19.1 million). Read more

Sungevity introduces solar services into Vermont and New Mexico

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 6:15 (PV-Tech)

Residential solar services provider Sungevity has extended its operations into both New Mexico and Vermont, bringing the company’s total footprint to 12 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York and Washington, D.C. Read more

Hanwha SolarOne modules power 2MW PV plant in Turkey

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 5:15 (PV-Tech)

PV module manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne has successfully supplied 2MW of its modules to the recently completed Ozkoyuncu Solar Enerji power plant in the Turkish province of Kayseri, Cappadocia. Read more

Simulation Models Optimize Hydropower Potential

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 15:24 (Renewable Energy World)

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Ilmenau are developing information technology to make water power generation systems more efficient. The Advanced System Technology (AST) department is creating simulation and optimization models that consolidate external factors such as weather data, water levels and market prices with system infrastructure and generate optimized plans for operational facilities, such as the opening and closing of sluice gates, reservoir water level regulation and hydro turbine operation. Read more

Listen Up: Electricity from Nuclear Too Cheap to Meter — Or Not

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 15:24 (Renewable Energy World)

It's the environmentalist's third rail question: "Should we promote nuclear power as an expedient way to reduce CO2 emissions?" On the one hand, nuclear power generates electricity with almost negligible CO2 emissions — potentially a good way for our society to reverse the current global warming trends. On the other hand, nuclear power is...well...nuclear. Problems related to waste disposal, proliferation and high costs have not been solved, and we still have the occasional disaster. Read more

World Bank Group to give US$5 billion to help spur energy generation in six African countries

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 7:45 (PV-Tech)

The decision will help provide power to the 600 million people in Africa that have little to no access to electricity. Read more

World Bank pledges US$5 billion to spur energy generation in Africa

Thursday, 8.7.2014 - 7:45 (PV-Tech)

The World Bank has pledged US$5 billion in technical and financial assistance for energy projects in six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Read more