U.S. installed solar PV costs continue to fall
The latest report by Berkeley Lab shows that installed PV costs in the United States fell 12-15% during 2013, despite a stabilization in PV module costs. However, America still has the highest installed costs among major markets for systems under 100 kW.
Suntech, Greenfield team up with youmex in UK
German green energy financier youmex will arrange construction loans, long-term financing and also sell PV solar power plants to investors, while Greenfield and Suntech will provide EPC services and PV panels, respectively.
ZNShine Solar to build 31 MW power plant in Japan
The Chinese group is expanding its EPC activities in Japan and East Asia. Its EPC subsidiary Power Max will build the plant in the city of Hamada.
EDF Renewable Energy to sell 57 MW of solar projects to Dominion
The sale of the two California projects, which consist of four sites, brings the total of projects EDF RE has sold to Dominion to 84 MW.
Asia-Pacific to account for 60% of global PV demand
A year-end surge from China is expected to strengthen the leading position of the Asia-Pacific region in the second half of the year, according to NPD Solarbuzz.
Solar Frontier supplies 21.3 MW project in Japan
Ube Group and Showa Shell Sekiyu have brought on stream one of Yamaguchi Prefecture’s largest PV plants using Solar Frontier’s high-performance CIS modules.
ISC Konstanz, MegaCell sign transfer deal for N-Type BiSoN cell technology
The agreement will help Franco Traverso’s recently launched Italian cell company to reach an annual capacity of 80 MW for bifacial BiSoN solar cells with 30% more energy yield. The German R&D institute’s partnership with Centrotherm will further enhance efficiency and reduce manufacturing cost of BiSoN technology.
Equipment book-to-bill falls back below parity
Hopes for a sustained equipment bounce-back have taken a hit, in the Q2 2014 SEMI Worldwide Equipment Market Statistics Report. The book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.73.
Ignite Power set to light up homes in Rwanda
“Distributed solar energy is enabling communities to leapfrog beyond the grid and bring power quicker and cheaper to African communities,” says Clean Access Initiative Chairman Yariv Cohen.
ABB going big on storage and renewables
Interview: Otto Preiss, the Group Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Power Conversion, spoke to pv magazine about the growing opportunities in the transition of the utility sector, the growing significance of distributed generation and smart grids as well as electric mobility and increased mass transportation coming with growing urbanization.
