Solar electricity News for July 2010

Solar electricity News Archive

Conergy gets loan extension

Solar manufacturer Conergy AG has reached an agreement with its financing banks to extend its loans to the end of 2011.

Sharp expands UK solar cell production to 500 MW

Sharp Corporation is doubling its annual production capacity for crystalline solar cell modules to 500 MW at Sharp Manufacturing Company of U.K. (SUKM).

SolarWorld net profit up 6% in Q2 2010

SolarWorld AG has reported a 6% increase in profit after tax to €29.6 million for the second quarter (Q2) of 2010.

Solar PV inverter market grew 17.4% in 2009

The solar photovoltaic (PV) market grew 17.4% to US$2.8 billion with shipments totalling 8.3 GW, according to IMS Research.

Industry reaction to DECC announcements

The renewable energy industry in the UK is positive overall, to the announcements from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Solar to eclipse geothermal in output

Solar power will generate 126 TWh of renewable power around the world by 2020, more than the 108 TWh to be generated by geothermal facilities, according to the latest International Energy Outlook 2010 from the US Department of Energy.

3TIER brings solar prospecting and assessment to India

3TIER says its complete suite of solar prospecting and assessment products is now available throughout India.

Scatec Solar builds 7.2 MWp solar PV roofs

Scatec Solar has signed a € 20 million agreement with the Solar Life Energy investment group to build a total of 7.2 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on 10 industrial warehouse roofs in the area of Milano, Italy.

Oerlikon Solar provides further thin-film capacity to Tianwei

Oerlikon Solar is to provide further solar thin-film capacity to Boading Tianwei Solar Films Ltd as the thin-film producer seeks to increase production of amorphous thin-film silicon solar modules from 46 MW to 76 MW using Micromorph technology.

Conergy Greece builds 9 solar parks totalling 716.13 kW Conergy Greece builds 9 solar parks totalling 716.13 kW

Conergy Greece has completed 9 solar parks on Crete, Greece, consisting of over 2500 Conergy PowerPlus Modules.

SunPower and Solar Ventures build 11.1 MW solar in Italy

SunPower Corp and Solar Ventures S.r.l. will design and build three solar power plants in the Piedmont region of Italy totalling 11.1 MW.

Applied Materials cuts SunFab and 400-500 jobs

Applied Materials is discontinuing sales of its SunFab lines for thin-film solar panel manufacturing to new customers in a restructuring of its Energy and Environmental Solutions segment.

Phoenix constructs 3.5 MW solar PV plant in Italy

Phoenix Solar is constructing a 3.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Borgo Piave, Lazio in Italy for Etrion Corporation in a €10 million deal.

Renewable energy surpasses fossil fuels second year in a row

Renewable energy topped fossil fuels and nuclear for the second year in a row in the USA and Europe in 2009, according to the Global Wind Energy Association (GWEC).

Toyota solar boat Toyota solar boat

Kyocera Corporation is supplying solar modules for Toyota Solar Panels, which are to be installed on recreational boats from Toyota Motor Corporation.

Joint project gets €1.2m from the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Semiconductor manufacturer Semikron, PCS Power Converter Solutions and the Technical University of Dresden will investigate how to obtain greater yields from renewable energy sources.

SolarWorld donates 100 kW of solar panels to Haiti SolarWorld donates 100 kW of solar panels to Haiti

SolarWorld has donated solar panels totalling 100 kW to support five health clinics for Partners in Health (PIH) in Haiti.

Conergy builds five solar installations at Italian beach resorts

Conergy will build five solar installations with a total power output of 3.6 MW for the Italian hotel group, BluSerena.

Greenlight Planet wins Solar for All contest

Greenlight Planet has won the ‘Solar for All Design Contest', which aims to find the best technical innovations to make solar photovoltaic (PV) technology affordable and accessible for the developing world.

Updated: Italy revises renewable energy feed-in tariff

The revisions to the Italian feed-in tariff are welcome, according to Italian clean energy products company Acta.

ib vogt builds solar PV factory in India

ib vogt will undertake the factory design, planning and construction management for an undisclosed Indian multinational company to build its first solar photovoltaic (PV) factory in Southern India.

PlanetSolar to sail around the world in 2011 PlanetSolar to sail around the world in 2011

The PlanetSolar composite catamaran will aim to circumnavigate the globe using solar power alone.

Sharp thin-film solar cells to Thailand

Sharp Corporation will set up, supply thin-film solar cell modules and surrounding systems for a 73 MW solar power plant in Thailand.

Solar PV inverter market to grow 70%

The global solar photovoltaic (PV) market is predicted to grow 70% in 2010 in all countries except Benelux, according to IMS Research.

UK microgeneration gets Government support

The UK Government will help communities become heat and power self-sufficient through the use of renewable microgeneration, amongst other things, says Climate Change Minister Greg Barker.

Solar thermal costs down 50% by 2050

Solar thermal electricity is about to reach marketability as there is a possibility of halving costs by 2025, according to a study.

Israeli solar PV JV set up

A solar photovoltaic (PV) joint venture (JV), GEM Solar, has been set up in Israel by the Italian turnkey supplier of large-scale solar plants, Enerqos Spa, Ginergia Ltd and Menorah Group

Solar Impulse solar plane flies through the night Solar Impulse solar plane flies through the night

The Solar Impulse HB-SIA is the first solar plane to have flown during the night.

UK overturns ban on councils selling green power to the grid

A ban on councils in the UK selling green electricity into the national grid is to be overturned, UK Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne announces.

Asia and Pacific countries should transition to solar

Many countries are well-suited to solar power, and incentives and low-cost financing mechanisms should be offered to make the energy transition possible, says the head of the region’s largest funding agency.

Q1 2010: 714 MW of PV installed in Germany

The Federal Network Agency announcement shows a ten-fold increase in comparison to the previous year, reports EuPD Research.

Suntech Power opens representative office in French region of Montbonnot (Isere)

The new office will features a solar product training centre for distributors and installers.

Share of renewables in new electricity generation capacity continues to rise

The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published today by the EU Joint Research Centre's Institute for Energy (IE), shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62% (17GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009.

German Feed-in Tariff (FiT) to reduce in two phases?

Following weeks of discussion between the German Parliament and the Federal States on the funding of Solar Photovoltaic (PV), the mediation committee seems to be heading towards an agreement.

Hyundai Heavy Industries to double solar power production capacity

Korea’s conglomerate said it plans to almost double its annual module and cell production capacity from the current levels of 320MW and 370MW to 600MW, respectively, by early 2011.

Indian firm wins prize for solar lighting

D Light Design of India was selected as the overall Gold Award winner in the 2010 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.

Renewables must generate 50% of global electricity: IEA

Renewable energies must generate almost half of the world’s power by 2050, up from the current level of 18%, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).