Solar Thermal
Intersolar Europe 2012: Winners of Intersolar Award 2012
14 June 2012POSTED IN Business News
The Intersolar Award 2012 has been presented to companies at Intersolar Europe 2012 in Munich, Germany. The international award pays tribute to companies, products and services in the categories of photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal technologies and PV production technologies.
Intersolar Europe 2012: Solar thermal award to TVP Solar
14 June 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Competing against over 3000 companies from China, Europe, North America and India, TVP Solar has been awarded the prestigious Intersolar Award for its MT-Power panel as most innovative product in 2012 within the solar thermal industry.
Energy storage: Could hydrogen be the answer?
04 June 2012POSTED IN Applications Features
The question of how we store energy produced from intermittent renewables such as solar has always been an issue in the utility market. Until now, that question has not been particularly urgent, as the number and size of solar installations was not large enough. But now, with a critical mass of solar and wind installations around the world, the question of storage has become critical.
Rumania: Vast potential for solar energy
29 May 2012POSTED IN Editors Blogs
With fading FiT-schemes in the leading European solar countries, some neighbouring nations are now gaining the attention of PV investors, and Rumania is one of them. The country, which joined the European Union in 2007 together with Bulgaria, appears to offer quite favourable conditions for foreign investors: Total GDP is four times higher than 10 years ago, and inflation has dramatically stabilized to 1.8% in April, coming from high double-digit numbers only a couple of years ago.
CSP Today Awards Announced
25 May 2012POSTED IN Business News
The CSP Today Awards are granted to companies that excel in the industry and truly deserve an award for their great efforts on getting CSP further down the competitive route. Finalists will be recognised on the 27th of June during the International CSP Today Awards Ceremony which will take place at Caesar's Palace, in Las Vegas, Nevada (US) at the 6th Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Conference and Exhibition.
eSolar, Sanmina-SCI Partner to Design CSP Components
23 May 2012POSTED IN Business News
eSolar and Sanmina-SCI today announced that they have partnered to leverage their respective expertise in solar thermal energy solutions, local content-optimized component design, and manufacturing to offer industry-leading cost and value for utility-scale power plants.
Two Bills in Maryland to Boost Solar Energy
22 May 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
Today, the Governor of Maryland (US), Martin O'Malley, signed into law the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard for Solar Energy and Solar Water Heating Systems bill (Senate Bill 791 and House Bill 1187), which accelerates the target date for achieving the state's renewable portfolio standard 2% solar carve-out by two years and ensures the industry maintains positive, year over year job growth.
SoCalGas Uses Cogenra Solar’s Cogeneration Technology
22 May 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has launched a multi-year demonstration of Cogenra Solar's advanced concentrated solar cogeneration system.
The solar thermal technology, installed at SoCalGas’ Energy Resource Center in Downey, California, uses mirrors and a tracking system to capture the sun’s energy and focus the sunlight onto an array of photovoltaic solar collectors to produce electricity and hot water at the same time. The solar-heated hot water is used in place of electricity or natural gas to power an air conditioning process to provide 10 tons of cooling, or enough air conditioning to cool two average-sized homes.
Intersolar Europe 2012: Intersolar Award Nominees Announced
21 May 2012POSTED IN Applications News
The fifth annual Intersolar Award winners, for pioneering products and services from photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies and PV production technologies categories, will be honoured 13 June in Munich, Germany.
For the first time, exhibitors from Intersolar China were invited to enter the competition alongside those from Intersolar Europe, Intersolar North America and Intersolar India. The best entries from each category have now been nominated, and the awards will be presented in a ceremony at Intersolar Europe’s Innovation Exchange in hall B3, booth B3.450 at 4:30 p.m. 13 June.
Apricus Solar Hot Water Systems Receive IAPMO Certification
16 May 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Apricus has received Uniform Solar Energy Code Certification (USEC) for 14 new residential solar hot water system packages from the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO).
WREF 2012: Solar hot water industry following in footsteps of PV
15 May 2012POSTED IN Editors Blogs
In a forum on “Commercial Market Innovations to Put US Solar (hot water) on the World Stage,” at the World Renewable Energy Forum in Denver, Colorado (US) this week, Jill Cliburn of Cliburn and Associates started with the question: What is the bridge between what we’ve learned with PV and what’s going on with solar water heating?
In the past, solar hot water and solar PV have had little in common. Taken literally, mixing water with electronics can be dangerous, so ironically there’s been very little conversation between the two camps over the years. But what the solar hot water industry is beginning to recognize is that some of the questions that the PV market faced a few years ago are now relevant to solar hot water heating.
eSolar and Sanmina-SCI Partner to Design CSP Components
14 May 2012POSTED IN Business News
Sanmina-SCI and eSolar today announced that they have partnered to leverage their respective expertise in solar thermal energy solutions for utility-scale power plants.
LightManufacturing Debuts Solar Thermal Manufacturing System
07 May 2012POSTED IN New Products
When most people hear the words "solar energy," they think of expensive power towers or under-performing photovoltaic (PV) panels. California (US)-based LightManufacturing LLC offers manufacturers a new way to use solar energy to mould plastic products sustainably and cheaply.
TÜV Rheinland PTL Named American Standards Developer by ANSI
02 May 2012POSTED IN Business News
TÜV Rheinland PTL, a North American solar and photovoltaic (PV) testing company, has been named a standards developing organisation (SDO) by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Executive Standards Council. ANSI oversees the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector.
3M and Gossamer Space Frames Inaugurate Large Aperture Parabolic Trough Installation
02 May 2012POSTED IN Applications News
3M’s Renewable Energy Division has teamed with Gossamer Space Frames to unveil a new parabolic trough solar collector technology designed to reduce equipment and installation costs for CSP systems used in power generation. The Large Aperture Trough 73 (LAT 73) features a concentration factor of over 100x and an aperture size of 7.3m, both world benchmarks for the industry, according to the companies.
SNEC 2012: BTU to Showcase Latest Thermal Processing Equipment
01 May 2012POSTED IN New Products
BTU International will highlight its next-generation thermal processing equipment at the SNEC (2012) 6th International Solar Industry and Photovoltaic Exhibition and Conference on 16-18 May 2012 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (hall E3/booth 670) in Shanghai, China.
SkyFuel Offers Insurance-Backed Warranty
19 April 2012POSTED IN Business News
Parabolic trough solar collector maker SkyFuel now offers insurance to support its warranty, SkyFuel announced. According to SkyFuel, it’s the first in the concentrating solar power (CSP) industry to do so.
Cogenra Powers Winery with The Sun
06 April 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Cogenra Solar, a provider of distributed solar cogeneration systems, today announced the a large rooftop solar cogeneration system at Kendall-Jackson's Kittyhawk winery in Windsor, California (US).
Guardian Delivering Mirrors for Ivanpah Solar Thermal Plant
04 April 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Guardian Industries today announced that the company's EcoGuard Solar Boost mirrors are being installed at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California's Mojave Desert. The project, a partnership between NRG Solar (a subsidiary of NRG Energy), Google and BrightSource Energy, will nearly double the amount of solar thermal energy produced in the US today.
Steca Elektronik: Solar Thermal Controller with More Features
04 April 2012POSTED IN New Products
Steca Elektronik announced its new solar thermal controller, the Steca TR A503 TTR, providing high power, two triac outputs, one relay output and numerous additional functions for detailed system monitoring.
