bSolar, through its strategic partner and Japanese distributor TSBM, has won a contract to construct a 730kW ground-mounted solar project in Nasukarasuyama city, Tochigi, Japan. The project is expected to go online in December and will feature bSolar’s disruptive bifacial PV cells.
A report from BBC News has advised that German company Kronos Solar is considering developing a 25MW solar farm on Lower Wheatley Farm, north of Launceston in Cornwall. The project would be constructed across 120-acres and would be the largest solar farm in the county. The report points out that local authority notes that Kronos is one of various firms currently pondering over constructing a solar farm in the area between 20-30MW.
Clean Power Finance revealed that the Department of Energy (DOE), as part of its SunShot Initiative, awarded the company two grants that will help the company build software platforms that cut the “soft costs” of solar in order to make it more competitive with traditional grid power. The first US$500,000 grant will see Clean Power Finance build an online marketplace for O&M services on installed PV systems.
Canadian Solar PV modules have scored top ranks in the PTC (PVUSA Test Condition) ratings. More than 9,000 modules have been rated as part of the California Energy Commission’s Solar Electric Incentive program. Canadian Solar modules are among the best modules in the efficiency ratings, with the CS6P-P module line scoring an average 91% in PTC efficiency ratings.
Recurrent Energy will sell approximately 100MW of its 200MW Canadian portfolio to the Mitsubishi Corporation and Osaka Gas, the company has announced. The projects, located in Ontario, will be made available to the Ontario Power Authority and the acquisition is supposed to go through as soon as the projects are completed and commence commercial production. Mitsubishi and Osaka Gas will be equal investors, while Recurrent Energy will remain a minor stakeholder.
Leclanché and Talesun are showcasing a new energy storage product range at Intersolar Europe, the companies have announced. The two companies signed a cooperation agreement four months ago and are presenting the results of this collaboration. The newly developed HS-series offers a high-end storage solution featuring an HS 3200 battery, designed to increase PV system efficiency.
Scheuten Solar has been sold to Chinese investor Aikosolar and the company is celebrating its “comeback” at Intersolar Europe. Aikosolar, a solar cell manufacturer and also owner of Powerway Renewable Energy, has taken over Scheuten’s essential components. The combination of Scheuten Solar’s product portfolio, 10 years of experience and Aikosolar’s financial strength as well as Powerway Renewable Energy’s EPC experience propose a positive outlook for the future, company representatives stated. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
PV module manufacturer Unconquered Sun and Sustainable Energy Technologies have entered an agreement, the companies have announced. Under the agreement, Unconquered Sun will exclusively distribute and install Sustainable Energy’s ProFab PV systems as well as supervise marketing, sale and the installation of the ProFab systems in the Canadian regions of Windsor and Essex County.
Conergy is collaborating with Ensunt for the construction of a 50MW PV project in Pakistan, the company has announced. The PV plant for the DACC Power Generation Company (DPGCL) will be the largest solar power plant in Pakistan. The project is located in Bahawalpur and is co-owned by DPGCL and the Pakistani government. Conergy will plan, design and engineer the project as well as providing the components while Ensunt is responsible for the construction of the plant.
Heliatek’s solar films could be used in tinted windows to generate energy, the company has announced. The company is collaborating with different manufacturers of building materials to integrate its solar films into building materials. The transparent solar films might be used in between the sheets of double glazed windows, creating a tinted window look while generating energy.
LDK Solar and partner Solarif are introducing insurance for PV systems, the company has announced. LDK Solar Secure offers customers a full insurance package, including “all risk insurance”, a warranty and inherent defect insurance. The all risk insurance is for all components of the PV systems while the LDK Solar power and product warranty offers cover for the PV modules.
Power One is showcasing the second generation of Aurora microinverters at Intersolar Europe, the company has announced. The Aurora Micro-0.3-I, with an output of 300W and the Aurora Micro-0.25-I, with an output of 250W have undergone 12 months of designing and testing. The two models have undergone some improvements compared to the former models and are now able to offer broader DC input with a maximum of 65Vdc.
The German government struggles to reach common ground on the proposed solar cuts, according to Bloomberg. In an email statement it was said that the upper house failed to reach an agreement in a panel meeting. Talks will resume on June 27. The upper house representatives have voiced concerns that the legislation will hurt domestic producers like Solarworld even further.
Soitec has connected the largest Italian CPV plant to the grid, the company has announced. The company completed construction of a 1.17MW CPV plant in the municipality of Belpasso in Sicily. 74 Soitec CPV trackers have been installed, each equipped with 168 Concentric CPV modules and two 500kW inverters. The plant is owned and operated by Soitec and the energy will be sold to Enel.
Global solar demand growth has been modest at best, according to Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel, leading the company to believe that the industry won’t see signs of real recovery until the second half of 2013 or even 2014. The second half of 2012 will see demand in Europe decline further than the first half, with 2013 volume dropping even lower.
Hanwha SolarOne is cooperating with Italian Assoimprese after the association added PV modules to its portfolio. The association has chosen Hanwha as the preferred supplier for its approximately 600,000 members and installers who are network members can purchase Hanwha modules at special rates.
Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, or EnergySage, has been the recipient of one of 10 Department of Energy (DoE) SunShot Incubator investments worth US$500,000. The funding will be used to develop a web-based PV comparison-shopping platform that aims to deliver pricing transparency and encourage online networking among property owners and solar PV installers.
Thin-film manufacturer Masdar PV has reached 10% efficiency with its micromorph technology thin-film modules, the company has announced. Masdar’s research and development department collaborated with the Helmholtz Zentrum in Berlin, focusing on the optimization of materials used for the production of the modules.
Trina Solar, Suntech and Hareon have been chosen by procurement company Parabel to supply a total of 40MW of modules to the Jännersdorf solar park, the company has announced. The PV plant is divided into three northern sites and a southern site. Trina will provide 25.6MW of modules for the southern construction site while the northern construction sites will be equipped with 9.6MW of Suntech modules and 5.3MW of Hareon PV modules. The park is further equipped with 1,900 Siemens inverters and Schletter mounting systems and is expected to be completed by June 30th this year.
Thin-film manufacturer DuPont Apollo has singed contracts to supply PV projects in Thailand with a total of 22.75MW of modules, the company has announced. The PV modules will equip two projects, one located in the Chaiyaphum province, owned by Smart Green Energy and a second one located in the Saraburi province, owned by Inifinite Green. DuPont Apollo is already involved in an 8.7MW ground mounted PV project in the Prachin Buri province, in collaboration with L Solar 1.
On June 11th, 2012, Solar Power Technologies (Austin, Texas, U.S.) announced that its Clarity monitoring system has been installed at Lincoln Renewable Energy's 12.5 megawatt (MW) Oak Solar plant in New Jersey. The Clarity monitoring system was installed along with Solar Power's associated Intelligent Array management tools at the Oak Solar project, located in Fairfield Township in Cumberland, New Jersey.
On June 11th, 2012, Canadian Solar Inc. (Ontario, Canada) announced that it has launched a partner program for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies and photovoltaic (PV) installers in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
bSolar Ltd. (Jerusalem, Israel) has announced the commercial availability of its high-efficiency bifacial crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, which are currently on display at the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich through June 15th, 2012. bSolar claims that the cells, which use both the front and rear sides to collect sunlight, provide 10-30% greater kWh per kW in standard applications and 50% in vertical installations. The company estimates that this provides an equivalent cell efficiency of 21%-24% in standard applications, translating to a total module power of 280-325 watts for a 60-cell module.
On June 13th, 2012 Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (AE, Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.) announced that it has expanded a strategic alliance with Shanghai Guangdian Electric Group (SGEG, Shanghai, China) to collaborate on the development of inverters. The partnership will combine SGEG's power electronics design and manufacturing methodology with AE's product testing experience and control software. SGEG will market the inverters produced through this partnership to Asian customers.
Manz AG (Reutlingen, Germany) has presented a new wet chemical silicon wafer processing system at the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich, July 13th-15th, 2012. Manz' new IPSG CEI 4800 (inline removal of phosphate silicate glass and chemical edge isolation) chemically removes the highly-doped layer from the back and edges of a silicon wafer and isolates the emitter from the back. As a second step, the tool removes a remaining layer of phosphor silicate glass on the top of the wafer.
On June 13th, 2012 SPI Solar (Roseville, California, U.S.) announced that it has acquired the rights from Solar Hub Utilities LLC to co-develop and build 68 solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in Hawaii totaling 29 MW-DC. SPI plans to begin construction of the first of these plants within the third quarter of 2012. Additionally, SPI will pursue 10 MW of PV projects currently in the Hawaiian Public Utility Commission's reserve queue. The company notes that almost all of the projects within the portfolio will be eligible for Tier 2 of Hawaii's feed-in tariff.
10 companies have been chosen for the three categories of the 2012 Intersolar Award, presented on June 13th, 2012 during the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich. This year's top winners were MBJ Services GmbH (Hamburg, Germany), Soltigua - Laterizi Gambettola SRL (Gambettola, Italy) and Isra Surface Vision GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany), in the categories of Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal Technologies and PV Production Technologies.
On June 13th, 2012 DuPont Apollo Ltd. (Hong Kong, China) announced that it has signed two contracts to supply a total of 22.75 MW of its amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for two PV plants in Thailand. The plants will be owned by Smart Green Energy Company Ltd. (Sathon, Thailand) and Infinite Green Comany Ltd. (Bangkok, Thailand), and located in Chaiyaphum Province and Saraburi Province. DuPont states that the plants will help the nation meet its goal of 25% electricity generation from renewables under its 10-Year Alternative Energy Development Plan.
On June 13th, 2012 SCHOTT Solar AG (Mainz, Germany) licensed its technique for manufacturing passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar photovoltaic (PV) cells to the SCHMID Group (Freudenstadt, Germany), which will allow SCHMID to offer production equipment for PERC cells. SCHOTT states that PERC technology allows manufacturers to achieve PV cell conversion efficiencies over 20%. The licensing agreement was signed at the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich.
On June 12th, 2012 Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC, Sandvika, Norway) announced the launch of a series of multicrystalline solar photovoltaic (PV) modules based on back side passivation technology at the Intersolar Europe trade show in Munich from June 13th to 15th, 2012. REC states that its Peak Energy Plus Series modules deliver an additional 5 watts compared to earlier products, with power outputs between 240 to 255 watts. The company states that the modules will perform better in red light conditions, as well as in low light and at high temperatures.