REC proposes new financial restructure
The Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has walked away from a restructuring deal with bondholders after failing to gain approval from them for the measures. The company has, however, pushed ahead with plans to raise capital through two share issues and has been in successful in negotiating for a large bank loans maturity to be pushed back to 2014.
US: California installs over 1 GW of customer-generated solar
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has said that over one GW of customer-generated solar energy has been installed in the U.S. state to date. The milestone was said to have been reached in 2011.
India: Second phase of NSM likely to include domestic content requirement
According to Bridge to India, the second phase of Indias National Solar Mission (NSM) will include a Domestic Content Requirement (DCR). Meanwhile, it says that the depreciating rupee is creating difficulty for India solar project balance sheets.
GE puts CdTe plant on hold
GE Energy has made the decision to put construction on hold at its Colorado thin-film fab for “at least” 18 months. The fab was to have an annual production of capacity of 400 MW when fully ramped, employing CdTe semiconductor technology.
Sharp confirms relocation from Germany to UK
Sharp has confirmed it will move its European solar business from Germanys Hamburg to the U.K.s Wrexham. By the end of the fiscal year, the next phase of the companys restructuring should be complete. Furthermore, it is looking to enter new business areas.
Japan: Deutsche Bank forecasts falling PV installation costs, but says hurdles remain
On the back of the new feed-in tariffs in Japan, which came into effect Sunday, July 1, Germanys Deutsche Bank says that while it expects to see an increase in installed photovoltaic capacity, and thus falling costs, implementation hurdles still exist.
Sky Solar unveils 300 MW Chilean PV plans
China-based Sky Solar has announced it will invest US$900 million in developing over 300 MW worth of photovoltaic plants in Chile.
S.A.G. Solarstrom concludes 65 million loan agreement
Germanys S.A.G. Solarstrom has finalized a 65 million deal with the Deutsche Bank. The funds will be used towards the installation of photovoltaic projects in Germany and Italy.
Whole 1 GW Blythe project to convert to PV
It seems likely that the entire one GW Blythe Solar Power Project (BSPP) will use photovoltaic technology instead of solar thermal. The cost competitiveness of photovoltaics is said to be a key reason.
Grid storage costs to decrease
Lux Research has released a forecast that expects lithium-ion and molten-salt battery costs to fall to US$500/kWh by 2022. This is predicted to bring down the high capital cost of emerging grid storage technologies. However, it is still double the target of US$250/kWh.
