Photovoltaics (PV) News for July 2011

Photovoltaics (PV) News Archive

Uterne solar plant opens in Australia

SunPower has announced the completion of the 1 MW Uterne tracking solar power plant in Alice Springs.

First Solar claims record for CdTe solar efficiency

The 17.3% efficiency mark for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar photovoltaic (PV) cells has been confirmed by NREL.

'Smart’ PV inverter market to grow to 27 GW

Shipments of smart solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters are forecast to grow to 27 GW by 2015, according to IMS Research

Thermax signs CPV deal with Amonix

Thermax and Amonix have signed a deal to bring concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology to India.

DuPont buys silicon ink specialist Innovalight

DuPont has expanded its solar photovoltaic (PV) materials portfolio with the acquisition of Innovalight.

SunPower Q2 revenue in line with forecasts

SunPower’s preliminary second quarter results reflect changing market conditions and policies in Germany and Italy.

Bosch opens new solar PV centre

The new solar research and production centre in Germany will be powered by photovoltaic (PV) energy.

Centrosolar annual forecast downgraded

Centrosolar Group’s annual revenue forecast has been downgraded by approximately 20% following a reduction in market prices.

Solarplaza anticipates "PV oversupply this year"

Solarplaza has found that the top 10 solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers alone (in terms of 2011 announced module production capacity) could have met 2010 global module demand.

PV suppliers feel margin squeeze

IMS Research has found solar photovoltaic (PV) suppliers engaged in a price war and unable to reduce their costs as quickly as their prices.

12 MW Zerbst II solar plant sold to Berlin investment group

Developer Q-Cells will sell the park to MCG Management Capital Group, and the turnkey handover will take place imminently.

New solar energy partnership in Spain and Italy

Munich Re and KKR have bought a stake in solar photovolatic (PV) producer Grupo T-Solar.

AXA, neoen, acquire renewable assets from Verbund

The purchase represents the first renewable energy investment for AXA Private Equity’s latest infrastructure fund.

Q-Cells partners with German football champs

German football club Borussia Dortmund is joining Q-Cells to promote solar energy.

Risø DTU and Mekoprint mass produce polymer solar cells Risø DTU and Mekoprint mass produce polymer solar cells

10,000 polymer solar cell-powered torches were manufactured and given away.

Conergy completes 5 MW UK solar plant

The 5 MW solar power plant in Nottinghamshire was built in just 6 weeks.

JDSU buys UK solar manufacturer QuantaSol

Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) specialist QuantaSol has been bought for US$638,000.

Renewable energy produced 20% of 2010 global electricity

Renewable energy supplied 16% of global final energy consumption and almost 20% of electricity production in 2010, according to REN21.

Sharp wins solar PV module award

EuPD Research has branded Sharp Energy Solution Europe as a leading solar photovoltaic (PV) module producer.

eTap solar EV chargers at CEME in the UK

A solar powered electric vehicle (EV) charging point has been set up at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in Essex, UK.

SolarWorld floats €150m bond

The SolarWorld bond is likely to be listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange.

BIPV market could grow by US$9 billion in five years

The building integrated solar photovoltics (BIPV) market could reach US$11 billion by 2016, a report predicts.

Vario commissions 6.2 MW solar PV in Slovakia

Vario green energy has commissioned 6 solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on three sites in Slovakia, totalling 6.2 MWp.

1.4 MW solar farm opens in Cornwall, UK 1.4 MW solar farm opens in Cornwall, UK

Lightsource Renewable Energy has installed and commissioned a 1.4 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) farm at Wheal Jane, Cornwall, UK.

Solar PV inverter market drops below US$6bn in 2011

Following 2010’s massive increase, the global solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter market is predicted to decline below US$6 billion in 2011, a fall of more than 10% according to IMS Research.

Ecotricity opens 1 MW solar PV park in the UK

Ecotricity has completed its 1 MW Sun Park solar photovoltaic (PV) installation at Fen Farm, Lincolnshire, UK.

P21 wins order in Kuwait, its first following takeover by Heliocentris

German-based P21 GmbH has secured a €100 000 order for a monitoring and data acquisition system, as part of a scientific PV systems testing platform at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

Top 10 efficiency solar PV modules

A list of the top 10 monocrystalline solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in terms of efficiency has been compiled by SolarPlaza.

German solar funding changes as planned from 2012

Changes to the German solar feed-in tariff will go ahead as planned, according to the recent agreement over the German Renewable Energy Law (EEG).

Fukushima sees start-up of 230 kW solar installation Fukushima sees start-up of 230 kW solar installation

Kyocera Corporation has expanded its solar photovoltaic (PV) installation at its Tanaguara manufacturing plant in Fukushima, Japan, to 230 kW.

UK opposition party questions solar feed-in tariff cuts

UK’s main opposition party, Labour, is questioning the Government’s move to substantially cut solar feed-in tariffs for installations over 50 kW.

Centrosolar delivers solar modules to Kenya Centrosolar delivers solar modules to Kenya

Centrosolar has delivered solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for a solar plant for SOS Children’s Village in Mombasa, Kenya.

22 GW of solar opportunities in India

India’s first national solar policy is targeting 22 GW of installed solar capacity by 2022, 2 GW of which will be off-grid while the remaining 20 GW will be grid-connected.

Sanyo completes large HIT tracking solar plant

What could be the world's largest HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) tracking solar project, with an overall system size of 7.56 MW, has been completed in Torre Santa Susanna, Italy.

Price declines drive H2’2011 solar PV recovery

After declining for two consecutive quarters, solar photovoltaic (PV) module shipments are set to recover strongly in the second half of 2011, according to IMS Research.