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.
Wacker sees 2011 financial declines on back of weak solar market
Wacker Chemie has posted full year 2011 financial losses, primarily due to the weak performance of both the solar and semiconductor industries, and higher raw material costs. It managed to remain well in the black, however.
PV number games from Germanys Ministry of Economics
Photovoltaics subsidies are a highly contentious subject within the German Federal Government. Federal Minister of Economics Philipp Rösler has drawn up his own paper, which might have led to a compromise with the Ministry of the Environment. Yet at Wednesday’s meeting it was rejected.
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.
France: FIT reductions continue
In France, the photovoltaic feed-in tariffs (FITs) continue to drop. As the countrys regulator, CRE (Commission de Regulation de lEnergie) announced, the tariffs for new installations connected in the first quarter 2012 will decrease by four to ten percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.
Solar-Energy expands PV module plant in Poland
Polish manufacturer, Solar-Energy, which opened a new photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in Poland late last year, has announced it will double capacity in 2012.
2011: 27.7 GW of PV installed; full potential of many markets unfulfilled
According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), in 2011, photovoltaic installations grew 11 GW over 2010. While emerging markets played a vital role in this growth, they have yet to fulfill their “enormous” potential.
Conergy suffers EBITDA blow
Rounding off a tough year, Conergy has reported a weaker than expected EBITDA. Price pressure, restructuring costs and project financing delays all impacted on the companys performance. A continuing difficult market environment is predicted for 2012.
