Topaz solar project acquisition complete
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company subsidiary, MidAmerican Renewables, LLC has completed its acquisition of First Solars 550 megawatt (MW) Topaz solar project.
Conergy completes 6 MW PV rooftop project in France
Conergy France and local partner Soligest, have completed work on three photovoltaic rooftop installations worth 6.1 megawatts (MW).
Mali set for off-grid solar boost
Under its latest plans to electrify rural areas of developing countries, NGO FRES Netherlands, along with its Mali-based subsidiary, Yeelen Kura, will install six off-grid photovoltaic plants in the country in 2012, thus adding to the two systems it helped erect there in 2011.
US industry stakeholders set Solar PEIS deadline
A group of 20 U.S. solar industry stakeholders have submitted a letter to Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, in which they lay out their recommendations for creating a “smart from the start” public land solar energy program. They also state that it “must” be complete by the end of fiscal year 2012.
Spain suspends FITs
In a surprise move, the Spanish Council of ministers has implemented a temporary suspension of the renewable energy feed-in-tariffs (FIT) for new installations in Spain.
Italian government deals second, retroactive, PV blow
Following the official announcement this week that Italys energy regulator, GSE, will not open a register for large-scale photovoltaic plants in the second half of 2012, the government has now said it wants to apply a retroactive measure to Article 65 of Law Decree n. 1/2012 (“Decreto Monti”) which, if passed into law, will affect photovoltaic installations on agricultural land.
Spain: MEP Asset Management acquires 5 Solon PV parks
Germany-based MEP Asset Management GmbH has taken over five of Solon SEs photovoltaic parks, located in Spain.
Transparent electronics market good news for solar
A report looking into the commercial viability of transparent electronics provides a very positive assessment of its opportunities within the solar industry, including predictions of in excess of 1,000 percent growth in some areas. It additionally identifies the key players to watch.
Germany: Decision about solar subsidies delayed
According to reports from parties involved in the negotiations, no conclusive result was reached at a meeting of Germanys ruling coalitions energy task force yesterday. Still, it seems likely that there will be rapid changes to the solar subsidies.
MPPT and energy storage key PV inverter features
While a new survey on photovoltaic inverters has revealed that price is the over-riding factor in customer purchasing requirements, it was also found that many are willing to pay more for efficiency gains. Meanwhile, monitoring and diagnostics, multiple power point trackers (MPPT), and energy storage were identified as key inverter features.
