Singapore set to play with PVs big boys
The Asia Pacific PV Expo closed on a positive note today as the pre-monsoon rain drizzled outside the Marina Bay Sands convention center. The numbers were perhaps not as high as what many exhibitors had expected, but the companies present told pv magazine it was the quality of the visitors who stopped by their booths, and not the quantity that counted.
Faced with new Solyndra subpoena, White House stands firm and seeks impartial review
Refusing to be intimidated by scandal-starved Republicans, the Obama Administration pushed back on October 28 – not only declining to provide more documentation on the spectacular collapse of the California-based solar company, Solyndra LLC, but also mandating its own independent, 60-day review of Energy Department loans.
US survey finds solar tops publics energy list
According to a new U.S. survey, solar is the most popular energy resource. The majority of Americans, it found, believe it should receive federal subsidies. Meanwhile, many say they would be more likely to buy a product if it were made using solar.
Beacon Power files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; parallels drawn to Solyndra
Flywheel energy storage solutions company, Beacon Power has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which among other products, offers cloud mitigation for photovoltaic plants, received a Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee in April.
Ontarios PV industry requests "stability and transparency" from FIT review
Earlier this week, Ontarios Premier Dalton McGuinty ordered a review of the provinces feed-in tariff (FIT) program. Canadas Solar Industry Association (CanSIA) said that it wants clear rules as to what to expect from the program in the future.
PV Asia Pacific Expo addresses alternative solar technologies
Day two of the PV Asia Pacific Expo has focused on the issue of alternative solar technologies. Questions like why anyone would switch from crystalline technology to technologies like thin film were posed.
LDK breaks ground on new polysilicon manufacturing facility
LDK Solar today held a ground breaking ceremony for its new 30,000 metric ton (MT) polysilicon manufacturing facility in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia. The company believes “strong” polysilicon demand will be seen in 2014 “and beyond”.
UK: FIT timeframe, not rates problematic
In the wake of the leaked-and-then-announced U.K. photovoltaic feed-in tariff (FIT) cuts, one installer says that it is the timeframe not the level of cuts that presents a problem for the industry.
Australia's solar paradox
Australia is experiencing falling enquiries to solar installers at the same time as households and businesses face fast-increasing electricity prices.
Suntech considers reducing production capacity; CEO new APVIA chairman
Suntechs founder and CEO, Zhengrong Shi has said the company may reduce some of its production capacity in the first quarter of 2012. In other news, he has been appointed the first chief chairman of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA).
