Feed-In Tariffs
Dramatic Change in the German FiT Discussion
11 May 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
The German Upper House (Bundesrat) today has stopped the drastic FiT cuts planned by the German government which have passed the parliament already in March.
German FiT, Asian Entrants Spell Trouble for Solar Leaders
04 May 2012POSTED IN Business News
Centrotherm and Wacker Chemie, leaders in the solar industry, both posted first quarter losses, reflecting the cuts in government incentives as well as the influx of lower-cost Asian products entering the market.
Canadian Solar Supplies Modules for Bulgarian PV
03 May 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Canadian Solar today announced its further strategic expansion into South-East Europe by supplying 3.3MW of solar modules for a PV project in Bulgaria. The solar power plant was built in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, on the grounds of the leading Bulgarian food and beverage company Philicon 97 and was connected to the grid in February.
CASM Analysis: China’s five-year solar plan
02 May 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
China’s government recently issued a new Five-Year Plan for solar that provides for even greater government control and support of its industry, according to an analysis commissioned by the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM).
Austria to Subsidize PV Installations in Private Households
25 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Austria supports new smaller sized PV installations with a total of 25.5 million Euros through its climate and energy fund. Between 23 April and 30 June, private households can apply for subsidies. Applications will be treated with the “first-come – first-served“ principle.
CanSIA Ontario 2012: Carmanah Awarded $1.3M Contract for Rooftop PV
24 April 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Carmanah Technologies Corporation is once again working with PowerStream Inc., a Canadian municipally owned electricity distribution company, to provide and install a 300-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system for a community centre in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The $1.3 million (CAD) project will begin installation in May and has a target completion date for July 2012.
Incentives and Financing of Solar in the US
15 April 2012POSTED IN Business Features
Constructing power plants is no small undertaking. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) put the average cost for a 650,000 kW APC coal-fired power plant at a little over $2 billion, and the cost for a 1,300,000 kW APC coal plant at almost 3.7 billion in 2010. Nuclear construction was estimated as low as $1,300/kW and as high as $3,500/kW for the most advanced, third-generation nuclear plants.
Canadian Solar and SkyPower Enter Into Purchase and Joint Venture Agreement
17 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Canadian Solar Inc. and SkyPower Limited have entered into a purchase and international joint venture agreement, which creates a team comprising of one of the world's largest solar companies and Canada's largest owner and developer of solar projects to build and deploy solar energy solutions in Ontario, and to jointly develop solar projects internationally in select emerging markets.
Report Says Government Incentives Drive PV Semiconductor Market
12 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Government incentives that encourage investment in renewable energies will continue to drive technological advances in the global semiconductor market, according to a new report by GBI Research.
Pike Research: Cost Reductions Will Drive Solar Growth
11 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Between 2006 and 2010, total global capacity of many renewable energy technologies, including solar photovoltaics (PV), wind power, concentrated solar power (CSP), solar water heating systems and biofuels, grew at rates ranging from around 15% to nearly 50% annually, according to a recent report by Pike Research. Solar PV, the dominant form of renewable distributed energy generation, increased the fastest of all renewable technologies during this period.
UK FiT Changes: How they affect you
11 April 2012POSTED IN Guest Blogs
This week, 30,000 homes won a significant victory when the UK government’s plan to suddenly reduce the feed-in tariff (FiT) for solar panels from 43p per kW/h to 21p per kW/h was officially quashed.
The government was denied the right to appeal by the Supreme Court, the UK’s highest court, who backed an earlier decision that found the government’s proposals to be “legally flawed” when it introduced the deadline 11 days before the end of a consultation period. The government has conceded that this officially draws a line under the issue.
Kyocera, IHI, Mizuho CB to Build 70MW Solar Power Plant in Japan
10 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Kyocera Corporation, IHI Corporation and Mizuho Corporate Bank (CB) today announced that they have reached an agreement to construct a 70-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in southern Japan and to explore a business model for utility-scale solar power generation.
Solar to Grow without Subsidies
05 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
After recent explosive growth capped by a 66% surge to 26.5GW in 2011, solar installations will grind to a near halt this year — adding a mere 0.4GW, totaling 26.9 GW of new installations, while industry revenues drop from $110 billion in 2011 to $92 billion in 2012 due to crashing prices. However, new installations rebound to 38.3GW in 2017 as the industry learns to navigate a global market fast losing its subsidies, according to a Lux Research report.
Q-Cells to File for Insolvency
02 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Q-Cells today announced it will file for insolvency proceedings on 3 April 2012 at the competent insolvency Court in Dessau (Germany).
Odersun: Another German solar insolvency
02 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
With massive cuts to solar feed-in tariffs in Germany, another solar company has filed for bankruptcy. Frankfurt-based Odersun is expected to be closing its doors and laying off 260 people at the end of May.
DECC Reminder of Changes to FiT
02 April 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
Cambridge Develops More Efficient Solar Cell
30 March 2012POSTED IN Applications News
New research by Cambridge University scientists has led to the development of a more efficient solar cell, the university today announced.
Currently, solar cells capture part of the sun’s light. Much of the energy of the absorbed light is lost as heat, meaning a maximum of 34% of the sunlight is converted to electrical power. However, Cambridge scientists have made a breakthrough that could allow 44% of solar energy to be converted.
More work needs to be done to realize the full benefits of the scientists’ findings.
German Bundestag Enacts PV Cuts
30 March 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
With the majority of the parliamentary parties, the German Bundestag has enacted yesterday the FiT cuts, which will be effective from 1 April.
Wirsol Opens Beijing Office, Plans PV Projects in China
29 March 2012POSTED IN Business News
German solar project developer Wirsol and Chinese module manufacturer Suntech will develop large solar power stations for the Qinghai province, the two companies announced today at the opening of Wirsol Solar Technology Beijing.
Germany Delays FiT Cuts for Some Ground-Mount Solar
28 March 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
The German government agreed to delay FiT cuts for some ground-based solar-power plants by six months until 30 September, 2012.
