News for October 2012

News Archive

DONG Energy wins 600MW project in Northern Ireland with consortium bid

First Flight Wind consortium gets Crown Estate approval for offshore wind farm.

Kyocera supplies solar power systems to Tajikistan

Teaming up with Marubeni Corporation and Marubeni Protechs Corporation, the company supplied 160kW of solar power systems to medical facilities in Tajikistan.

UK ministers urged to act on Green Deal ‘farce’

The British government could lose business and consumer confidence for the second time in a year if they fail to heed warnings concerning the Green Deal.

Guest Blog: Can petrol generated from the air become carbon neutral?

In the last week, a British company (Air Fuel Synthesis) introduced us to a potential breakthrough piece of technology which can create petrol using just air and electricity.

Kroll Crane A/S takes a share of Clean Wind Energy Tower

The company will also supply cranes to help develop CWET's Downdraft Tower project

Oxford University PV breakthrough offers lowest cost solar energy

Oxford researchers have developed a photovoltaic (PV) technology that has the potential to deliver low cost, efficient solar cells that can be readily incorporated into glass building facades.

Blog: Renewable energy at home - the 6 key steps to getting it right you need to know

As energy demand rises and consumer electricity bills increase, more and more attention is turning to renewables.

Ingeteam develops inverter to manage energy storage at solar PV power plants

The Ingecon EMS Plants, a new inverter concept for batteries, has been designed for large-scale solar PV plants and successfully tested at Acciona in Tudela (Navarre - Spain).

First TÜV-certified smart solar PV module to cut balance-of-system costs now available

In recent months, the race has been on within the solar PV industry to determine which "smart module" - incorporating performance-enhancing capabilities of onboard power electronics - will be the first to achieve certification across Europe and the US.

Germany: Thuringia celebrates its largest solar park in Ronneburg Germany: Thuringia celebrates its largest solar park in Ronneburg

The solar power plant, developed by juwi Solar, has an installed capacity of almost 20MW and will produce enough electricity to supply 5600 households.

Japan Railway Group chooses Siliken as its solar PV supplier

Siliken will provide its solar modules to Kyushu Railway, one of the new companies within the Japan Railway Group.

50MW wave power project planned for Ecuador

SDE Energy has formed a joint venture with Green Energy International to develop the wave power plant along the coastline of the Republic of Ecuador.

Editor's Blog: Great Expectations Editor's Blog: Great Expectations

CLIFF EDGE or bright future? That’s the question on everyone’s mind right now, with fortunes at the mercy of election outcomes, as in the US, or long-term policy decisions facing yet further consultation, as in the UK.

Atlantis completes first Narec tidal power turbine test

Atlantis Resources Corporation has completed the first ever tidal turbine testing programme at the National Renewable Energy Centre’s 3MW capacity, onshore, turbine drive train testing facility.

Around 900 job losses as SunPower trims back Philippines solar cell manufacturing operations

As part of the restructuring plan, the company is temporarily shutting down half of its Fab 2 cell manufacturing plant and 20% of panel manufacturing in the Philippines to "significantly reduce inventory, lower operational costs and improve efficiency".

UK: £2mn funding pot for innovations in bioenergy production on wetlands

The UK Government is inviting entrepreneurs to bid for money aimed at boosting innovation in bioenergy.

Epuron acquires Australia's largest tracking solar power plant from SunPower

Australia’s Commonwealth Bank finances the purchase and becomes the country’s first financial institution to invest in large-scale solar.

Norstec: new industry network to push north sea offshore wind agenda

Over 40 organisations have joined forces to set out a long-term vision for the deployment of offshore wind in the northern seas and the economic opportunities this presents.

Honeywell launches new film to protect solar panels against excess heat

The company has announced the launch of a new black laminate film designed to help make black solar panels cooler and more efficient.

LM Wind Power to build new blade factory in Brazil

LM Wind Power has confirmed its plans to construct a new blade manufacturing facility in Brazil, expanding its presence in the Americas.

UK green light for energy from waste power station

The UK Government has granted consent for the construction of a 60MW energy from waste power generation station in Cheshire.

Solar switch on for London's Kings Cross railway station

One of the UK’s largest and most complex building-integrated solar PV systems has just gone live.

Editor's Blog: A startling fact for you...

For the decade 2002 to 2011 there were some 4130 natural disasters globally, resulting in more than a million deaths and an economic loss of at least $1.195 trillion.

Global renewable energy investments continue to grow

Emerging from the global economic recession, investments in renewable energy technologies continued their steady rise in 2011, with total new investments in renewable power and fuels (excluding large hydropower and solar hot water) reaching $257bn, up from $220bn in 2010.

Morocco sees first wind–hydrogen system installed in Africa

The first African initiative to generate hydrogen from water using renewable energy has been installed in Morocco. The completion of Africa’s first wind–hydrogen system is a collaboration between the Pure Energy® Centre in Scotland, Sahara Wind Inc, and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco.

German virtual power plant project using 25 BlueGen micro CHP systems from Ceramic Fuel Cells German virtual power plant project using 25 BlueGen micro CHP systems from Ceramic Fuel Cells

The first commercial fuel cell virtual power plant in Germany has been officially opened in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The network features 25 BlueGen solid oxide fuel cell micro combined heat and power (mCHP) systems supplied by Australian-based Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd.

Webinar on 'The Fuel Cell Industry in 2012': 16 October

Pike Research is organising a free webinar on The Fuel Cell Industry in 2012: Creating a More Viable and Profitable Fuel Cell Market, on Tuesday 16 October.

Sheringham Shoal wind farm inaugurated in UK

Statoil and Statkraft collaborated on the £1 billion wind farm in a 50:50 joint venture.

Kyocera to supply 30MW of solar modules for Japanese PV project

The company’s modules will be destined for a utility-scale solar plant in Hokkaido.

Georgia project to accelerate PV deployment in the State

Georgia Power Company has proposed a 210MW 3 year initiative to create one of the largest voluntarily-developed solar portfolios by an investor-owned utility in the U.S.

SDE Israel signs agreement for wave power plants along Indian coast

Alongside the Indian government, SDE will work with organisations such as the Indian Energy Development Agency, the Electricity Regulation Committee ( MERC ) and the Electric Company of India PTC amongst others.

RWE Innogy signs hydropower contract with Serbian Republic

210MW of hydropower will be developed in Republica Srpska in collaboration with the government and state-owned utility ERS.

SCHMID announces efficiency record of 20.74% for PERC cells manufacturing

The efficiency rating was confirmed independently by ISE CalLab.

DAS Environmental Expert addresses waste streams to optimise PV process

The company presented its new technologies for water gas abatement at this year’s EU PVSEC conference in Frankfurt.

New IEA-RETD project aims to improve image of renewables

Project RE Communicate will guide governments on how to use communications effectively to improve the general public’s perception towards renewable energy.

Fluor awarded 170MW design, build, operate and contract

Centinela Solar Energy LLC selected Fluor to work on its solar PV facility in California.

Acta ships fuel cell telecom backup power system with onboard hydrogen generation

Clean energy developer Acta SpA has shipped the first fully integrated fuel cell telecom backup power system featuring its onboard hydrogen generation technology for automatic fuel replenishment.