Oxford PV to commercialise perovskite tandem thin-film for c-Si cells

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 18:48 (PV-Tech)

UK-based thin-film start-up, Oxford Photovoltaics said it would commercialise a perovskite based tandem thin-film for conventional c-Si solar cells ahead of plans to commercialise its BIPV product offering set for 2017. Read more

Suntech Power Holdings rekindles power struggle over assets

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 13:49 (PV-Tech)

Bankrupt Suntech Power Holdings said in an SEC filing that its subsidiary, Power Solar System has been granted an injunction in Singapore’s High Court prohibiting the disposal of assets claimed to be worth US$197.5 million by Suntech Singapore. Read more

Preventing Bird Deaths at Solar Power Plants, Part 1

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 20:51 (Renewable Energy World)

In the aviation industry alone, there have been over 117,000 bird strikes in the 20 years from 1990 and 2010, according to the FAA. These pose a flight risk to pilots and passengers on planes. In the 1980s, attempting to prevent bird strikes at JFK Airport, the USDA killed 28,000 gulls. Read more

Order Focus: Trina Solar supplying 70MW of modules to project in Chile

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 20:29 (PV-Tech)

Major PV manufacturer Trina Solar is to supply modules to a 70MW PV project in Chile. Read more

Bluefield Solar Income Fund acquires 12 solar projects totalling 6.2MW

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 18:33 (Solarpowerportal)

Bluefield Solar Income Fund has acquired a portfolio of 12 operational solar assets. Read more

Solar for All: Making Solar PV Accessible to Low-Income Families in the US

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 18:01 (Renewable Energy World)

Here at RMI we love seeing electricity generated by the sun. And while it’s great to see large homes owned by the likes ofWoody Harrelson and Will Ferrell being solar-powered, rooftop solar should be accessible to people across the socio-economic spectrum of the U.S., not just the one percent. But putting solar on all of these different roofs is currently a serious challenge. Read more

A Constructive Critique of Sunrun’s New Animated Ad Campaigns

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 17:42 (Renewable Energy World)

Sunrun has been recently spending a lot of money on animated videos, brand ambassadors, and billboard ads — as they should. If you’re trying to beat the current residential solar installer leader (with the initials S.C.), you have to spend brand awareness marketing dollars, and you have to “stand out and educate,” as I always say. As much as I love Read more

aleo solar unveils new high-power PV module; Prenzlau production plant up and running again

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 14:56 (Solarserver)

aleo solar GmbH (Prenzlau/Berlin, Germany) has presented a new high-power solar photovoltaic (PV) module that according to the producer generates around ten percent higher solar power yields than those produced by conventional PV modules. Since being acquired by the Taiwanese solar company Sunrise Global Energy in the spring of 2014, aleo has reopened its production plant in Prenzlau under German-Taiwanese management and has now released its monocrystalline 300 watt high-power module. Read more

Concentrating solar power: Novatec Solar, BASF start operations of solar thermal demonstration plant with new molten salt technology

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 14:52 (Solarserver)

Novatec Solar GmbH (Karlsruhe, Germany) and BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany) have successfully commissioned a solar thermal demonstration plant based on a new type of molten salt technology, known as direct molten salt or DMS technology. The plant is located on the site of the solar-thermal power plant PE1 in southern Spain. The innovative feature of the new plant design is that the solar collector uses inorganic molten salt as heat transfer fluid, the partners announced. Read more

Consumer Credit Solutions sees record loan approvals in August driven by solar PV

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 13:37 (Solarpowerportal)

Consumer Credit Solutions (CCS) has announced that retailers received £10 million in loan approvals in just one week. Read more

Aleo solar joins 300 watt module club

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 13:00 (PV-Tech)

Germany-based PV manufacturer, aleo solar said it was producing a new high-performance monocrystalline module with a conversion efficiency of over 18.3% and output of 300W. Read more

US utility-scale solar to ‘collapse’ during 2017, says GTM Research

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 12:51 (PV-Tech)

There will be almost no new utility-scale solar in the US in 2017 following the cut to the investment tax credit (ITC), according to GTM Research. Read more

‘Save solar’ TV advert launched in Australia

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 12:18 (PV-Tech)

Industry body the Australian Solar Council has upped its campaign to ‘Save Solar’ and safeguard the country’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) through a new television advert. Read more

SPI Solar to acquire 27MW of Greek solar power projects

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 11:58 (PV-Tech)

SPI Solar has agreed to acquire Malta-based Sinsin Renewable Investment Limited (SRIL). Read more

US solar generation and output surge in first half of 2014

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 11:33 (PV-Tech)

New US utility-scale solar installations in the first half of 2014 defied a general downward trend across all generation types to surge by nearly 70% year on year, according to official figures. Read more

NextEnergy Solar Fund acquires 14.5MW Wiltshire solar farm

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 11:05 (Solarpowerportal)

NextEnergy Solar Fund has announced the acquisition of a 14.5MW solar farm in Wiltshire. Read more

Australian Clean Energy Council: Over 15,000 businesses go solar to save millions; RET cuts could put thousands of solar industry jobs at risk

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 9:54 (Solarserver)

More than 15,000 Australian businesses have now installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to reduce their energy bills, and there is the potential for tens of thousands more to follow suit if the Renewable Energy Target (RET) is left as legislated, the Australian Clean Energy Council (CEC) announced on September 10th, 2014. Clean Energy Council Acting Chief Executive Kane Thornton said an increasing number of Australian businesses were turning to solar power as a way of slashing their power bills. Read more

Jeremy Leggett, keynote speaker at Desert Solar in Saudi Arabia conference: “Solar will force global power companies to adjust their business model”

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 9:36 (Solarserver)

Jeremy Leggett, a prominent international solar thought leader, entrepreneur, business leader and author, will provide one of the keynote speeches at the second edition of the solar energy conference "Desert Solar in Saudi Arabia", 17–18 September in Riyadh. The conference will discuss opportunities for solar energy in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region. "Coal plants will become redundant and force the existing power companies in the western world to change their business model. Solar energy deployment is going to change the face of the energy industry by 2020,” Leggett quotes the conclusion of the world's largest private bank UBS in their solar report. Read more

Tata Power Solar to supply PV modules for a 10 MW project at Rajasthan, India

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 7:13 (Solarserver)

Tata Power Solar (TPS, Bangalore, India), on September 9th, 2014 announced that it has won a significant order under JNNSM phase 2 batch 1. The company will supply the entire module requirement for a 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project to be built by Palimarwar Solar Project Private Limited in Rajasthan which belongs to the L N BANGUR Group. The 45,000 PV modules needed for the project will be manufactured at Tata Power Solar’ manufacturing facility in Bangalore. Read more

SPI Solar announces to acquire 26.57 MW of PV projects in Greece

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 7:06 (Solarserver)

SPI Solar (Roseville, California, U.S.) on September 9th, 2014 announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sinsin Renewable Investment Limited (SRIL), a limited liability company registered in Malta. SRIL is involved in the development, acquisition, management and operation of energy solutions, and owns solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Greece with an annual nameplate capacity of 26.57 megawatts (MW). Read more

AGC, Onyx Solar to promote BIPV glass in North America

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 6:58 (Solarserver)

AGC Glass Company North America (Alpharetta, GA), one of the leading glass companies in North America, and Onyx Solar (Greenwood Village, Colorado), a designer and manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) building materials, have entered into a cooperation agreement to promote architectural, photovoltaic glass within North America. Read more

University of California signs off on two power purchase agreements

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 3:23 (PV-Tech)

The University of California (UC) has signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) with PV provider Frontier Renewables as part of the largest solar energy purchase by a US higher education institution. Read more

World's Poorest Regions Get a Boost in Renewable Energy Financing

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 18:11 (Renewable Energy World)

Out of an almost record lending total of $9.445 billion, over two-thirds of the World Bank Group’s energy financing for FY14 was concentrated in regions facing the largest energy deficits — Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It was also another very strong year for Bank Group renewable energy financing with a total of $3.6 billion in investments. Read more

Energy Storage: Progress and Promise

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 17:23 (Renewable Energy World)

The pending boom of the energy storage industry is right around the corner, and the U.S. is taking a front seat. According to recent IHS research, the U.S. is the largest market for grid-connected energy storage installations through 2017, and global sales of combined solar energy storage systems are expected to reach nearly $30 billion by then. Th Read more

Obama’s International Climate Strategy: More Grease for Renewables

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 14:58 (Renewable Energy World)

It was good news for renewable energy when President Barack Obama in June proposed carbon dioxide restrictions on existing power plants. It is even better news now that he may use the plan to leverage an international climate accord. Read more

Progressive Utilities Are Meeting the Energy Needs of Changing Cities with Innovative Solutions

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 13:32 (Renewable Energy World)

Push aside your stereotype about Con Edison as a slow moving public utility Goliath, and meet an energy company determined to change how it operates. Con Ed, which serves the metropolitan New York area, is taking an innovative, cost savings approach to delivering dependable power that offers a glimpse into the future of what I predict all major utility companies will be doing in the coming years. Read more

The Climate Group: Rooftop solar PV will soon be mandatory in Gurgaon, the satellite city to the national capital New Delhi

Wednesday, 9.10.2014 - 9:46 (Solarserver)

It will soon be mandatory for all new housing and commercial buildings in the Indian city of Gurgaon to install rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, a move which could set a benchmark for green policies across the country, international non-profit organization Climate Group announced. "This decision should set a benchmark for green policies in the National Capital Region. I hope to see a range of innovative financial incentives that could create a successful, large scale, demand-side roll-out for such an initiative,” comments Jarnail Singh, India Program Manager, Climate Group. Read more