UK
How Solvent Mixtures Affect Organic Solar Cell Structure
12 October 2012POSTED IN Research
Physicists from the North Carolina State University (NC State) in the US, in collaboration with teams of scientists from the United Kingdom, Australia and China, studied whether controlling the mixing between acceptor and donor layers (or domains) in polymer-based solar cells could increase their efficiency.
Novus Media Today Announces "Novus Light Technologies Today"
09 October 2012POSTED IN Business News
Solar Novus Today's parent company, Novus Media Today, announced the launch of Novus Light Technologies Today, an online business-to-business publication that is focused on light-based technologies and features original reporting from industry experts located around the globe.
Upsolar Expands UK Team
04 October 2012POSTED IN Business News
Upsolar today announced the addition of two members to its UK-based team. The company has appointed Bob Mills to the role of national sales manager and Stuart Tandy as key account manager.
Solar Power UK: Nedap showcases PowerRouter with energy management
02 October 2012POSTED IN New Products
Nedap today announced it will introduce its PowerRouter with energy management tools at two upcoming UK exhibitions: Solar Power UK in Birmingham (booth A73), 2-4 October; and Nextgen’s Microgen in Stoneleigh Park (booth B3, J14), 10-11 October.
Enphase Microinverter Available in UK
01 October 2012POSTED IN Business News
Enphase Energy today announced the Enphase Microinverter System is immediately available through authorized distributors throughout the UK.
Sharp May Close US, Europe Solar Business
27 September 2012POSTED IN Business News
Sharp has proposed closing its solar panel business in Europe and the US as part of its cost-cutting plan submitted to lenders, according to news reports.
UK Renewable Energy Capacity to Equal Thermal by 2025
19 September 2012POSTED IN Business News
Growing government support, combined with significant untapped potential, could see the UK’s renewable energy installed capacity almost match that of the traditionally dominant thermal sector by 2025, according to research by alternative energy analysts at GlobalData.
The company’s latest report predicts that the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy plants will reach 79,000MW by 2025, just 2,000MW less than the predicted thermal installed capacity for the same year.
Lightsource, Solarcentury Complete 5MW Solar Plant
14 September 2012POSTED IN Applications News
Utility-scale solar plant developer Lightsource Renewable Energy and PV installer Solarcentury today announced they have completed a 5MW utility-scale solar plant close to the village of Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, UK.
The solar plant will provide enough renewable electricity during daylight hours to power more than 70% of AmeyCespa’s Mechanical Biological Treatment plant in Waterbeach, providing a sustainable, local energy solution.
China to 'Continue Renewable Energy Domination', Report Says
05 September 2012POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
Having quadrupled its solar capacity target to 50GW by 2020 and begun an accelerated domestic installations program to tackle the oversupply of solar panels, China looks set to continue its domination of the global renewable energy market, according to Ernst & Young's latest quarterly global Renewable energy Country Attractiveness Indices report released today.
Microinverters, Power Optimizers Outpace PV Inverters in 2011
05 September 2012POSTED IN Business News
Microinverters and power optimizers continued to be the fastest growing segment of the photovoltaic inverter market, growing by 180% in 2011, according to a new report from IMS Research.
IMS Research forecasts shipments of these disruptive technologies to grow by more than 70% in 2012, reaching nearly 900MW.
Eight19 Spins Out Indigo Pay-As-You-Go Solar
21 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
Eight19 today announced the launch of Azuri Technologies to develop its Indigo pay-as-you-go solar technology for off-grid markets.
Eight19 will concentrate on development of its printed plastic solar technology and Azuri will focus on expanding the Indigo product family and market reach.
Case Study: Community-owned solar in the UK
18 July 2012POSTED IN Case Studies and Solar Solutions
The directors at Westmill Solar Co-operative in the United Kingdom are well on the way to raising an impressive total of £4 million from individuals and organisations keen to invest in a 5 MW solar park - the first community-owned solar park of its size in the country and one of the largest community-owned solar farms in the world.
Suntech Reaches 1GW of Solar in Americas
07 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
Suntech Power Holdings today announced it has delivered more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar panels to customers throughout North and South America.
The company passed this milestone in July 2012.
UK Rooftop Solar Installation Produces 1GWh
01 August 2012POSTED IN Business News
One year after more than 7000 solar panels were installed on the roof of Promens Packaging's plant in Beccles, Suffolk, UK, the system has now generated more than 1,000,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh), or 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh), of green electricity. Lightsource Renewable Energy installed the system and operates it, leasing the roof space from Promens and installing the photovoltaic (PV) panels free-of-charge. In return, Promens benefits from substantial savings on its energy costs because it can run a significant part of its operations on the much cheaper "green" electricity it buys from Lightsource.
Heraeus Calls DuPont Statements ‘Misleading’
27 July 2012POSTED IN Business News
Precious metal and technology group Heraeus today issued the following statement in response to a recent DuPont press release:
DuPont’s statement regarding “solar intellectual property theft” is misleading in its characterization of Heraeus as it makes a correlation between IP “theft” and unrelated patent litigation between the two companies.
Global PV Inverter Market Grows in 2012
25 July 2012POSTED IN Business News
The global photovoltaic (PV) inverter market is predicted to grow by 23% in 2012 and hit almost 32 gigawatts (GW) according to the 5th edition of IMS Research's (recently acquired by IHS Inc.) annual report on this industry. However, the report, "Photovoltaic Inverters – World – 2012," provided a much more sobering outlook for industry revenues, which are forecast to grow by just 3% in 2012, to hit $7 billion for the first time.
Will GraphExeter Revolutionise Wearable Electronics?
18 July 2012POSTED IN Research
A team from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, may have invented the most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity. Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise wearable electronic devices, such as electronic clothing, and pave the way to much more efficient photovoltaics.
Chinese PV Market Set to Boom as Gov’t. Raises 2015 Install Target to 21GW
16 July 2012POSTED IN Business News
Photovoltaic (PV) installations in China are set to reach over 4 gigawatts (GW) in the second half of the year, according to a new report from IMS Research. The latest version of China’s Five-Year-Plan for the PV industry reveals that China’s regulatory and planning body, NDRC, has increased its installation target from 15 gigawatts (GW) to 21GW by 2015. This positive guideline will further stimulate the rapid growth of China’s PV market from 2012 to 2015, according to IMS Research’s new quarterly report “China PV Market - Supply & Demand Quarterly” for the second quarter of 2012.
Solar Simulator Announced by Lot-Oriel
03 July 2012POSTED IN New Products
Lot-Oriel Group Europe today announced its solar simulator system, which it says is a low-cost alternative suited for small area measurements such as PV test or undergraduate/masters student experiments.
The light source has a small footprint and delivers class ABA specification. The optical system produces a uniform, collimated output beam with a 40mm diameter.
Crystalline PV Module Profits Fall to Single Digits
26 June 2012POSTED IN Business News
Average gross profits of crystalline photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers fell to just $0.09 (USD) per watt (/W) in the first quarter of 2012, putting huge pressure on suppliers according to the "PV Modules, Cells, Wafers & Polysilicon - Supply & Demand Quarterly" report for the second quarter of 2012," from IMS Research, which was recently acquired by IHS Inc. As a result of continued price pressure and highly competitive market conditions throughout the PV industry, gross profits are forecast to continue to fall further to only $0.07/W by the end of 2012.
