Germany: Siemens and SWK create smart grid in Wachtendonk
Siemens Infrastructure & Cities and the municipal utility SWK STADTWERKE KREFELD AG (SWK) are working together to transform the existing power grid in a municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia. The project “Wachtendonk is doing its part – Researching the grid” is seen as a testbed to boost smart grid solutions, something essential for Germany’s new energy policy.
Interview: GE Power Conversion on PV inverters, competition and storage
Last September, GE Energy invested US$3.2 billion in acquiring Converteam. In an interview with pv magazine, Stefan Franko, business leader for renewables at GEs Power Conversion business, talks about photovoltaic inverter technology, global markets and what the GE acquisition has brought to the Converteam table.
China: Pushing for PV consolidation
Chinas central government is said to be pushing for photovoltaic consolidation in its domestic industry. This, photovoltaic storage solutions, and balancing cost and quality control were some of the key themes at Solarpraxis first PV Module and PV Power Plant Workshop China 2012.
Asia Pacific energy storage market worth $12 billion in 10 years
A Pike Research report released today predicts that the Asia Pacific energy storage market will be worth $12 billion by 2022, with a capacity of 25 GW.
£20 million incentive for UK energy storage solutions
The U.K. government has made £20 million available to encourage innovation in energy storage systems.
BYD: Plenty of expertise in solar and storage
Earlier this week, pv magazine visited BYD Company Limited in the outskirts of Shanghai to discuss the companys solar and storage plans with Tom Zhao, general manager of BYD Solar Division.
Solar storage needs stable and sustainable market development
Solar storage solutions are integral to the further development of the photovoltaics industry. However, cowboys “looking to make a quick buck” need not apply, as stable and sustainable market development is required, according to feedback from EuPD Researchs first “Storage & Solar Briefing”.
Aster Capital leads financing round for SolarFuel
Venture capital firm Aster Capital, sponsored by Alstom, Solvay Rhodia and Schneider Electric, has announced a 4 million investment in SolarFuel GmbH. This is part of a 7.5 million financing round that Aster Capital is leading. The investment round includes Ventrex Automotive GmbH from Austria.
PG&E launches Green Button Connect
As a part of its plan to facilitate better demand-side management of electricity usage, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has launched its Green Button Connect system. The software aims at providing electricity usage data to customers and to solar installers, to allow for more integrated photovoltaic and demand-side electricity solutions.
Smart work by Kyocera in Los Alamos
Japan’s Kyocera Corporation has opened the first international smart grid demonstration project on U.S. soil at Los Alamos in New Mexico.
