UK: DECC's RO solar decision meets with mixed response
U.K. lobby group the Solar Trade Association (STA) has partly welcomed a decision by the government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to row back on a proposal to tie the support given to utility-scale photovoltaic plants to the domestic FIT regime.
Gildemeister lands contracts worth 29 million
Germany-based renewables company Gildemeister has secured contracts worth 29.2 million (US$38.4 million) for solar energy storage projects in Romania, Italy and Germany.
Brazil receives nearly 1 GW of new PV applications
Brazils national electricity regulator ANEEL recently announced the receipt of 21 new requests for regulatory authorization to develop and operate new photovoltaic plants totaling almost 1 GW of planned generation capacity.
NRG-GenOn merger complete
Ahead of schedule, the NRG Energy, Inc. and GenOn Energy, Inc. merger has been completed. NRG Energy is now said to be the biggest energy generator in the U.S. with an energy portfolio of around 47 GW.
PV Crystalox unveils "radical" restructuring
PV Crystalox Solar plc has announced it will discontinue polysilicon production in Germany and “substantially” reduce ingot and wafer production in the U.K. and Germany, respectively.
Sunways announces further restructuring changes
In addition to cutting around half of its workforce, Sunways has announced it will focus its future activities on specialist applications. It will also reduce solar cell production.
SunPower reaches $19.7 million class action settlement
SunPower Corp. has agreed to settle a private securities class action suit, which was launched against itself and members of its management, for US$19.7 million.
India identifies 54 solar cities; releases JNNSM figures
It has been announced that 54 cities in India will be designated “Solar Cities”. In related news, grid connected photovoltaic projects worth 1.04 GW are said to have been commissioned under the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
Canadian Solar moves away from direct panel sales
The chief financial officer of Canadian Solar says the panel manufacturer expects to make half of its revenues next year from developing solar farms rather than selling panels.
Mixed news from Chinese panel manufacturers
In separate developments in China, Apollo Solar announced an improvement in manufacturing processes that will further reduce module prices, whilst shares issue by SolarGiga were less than 50% subscribed.
