Applications & Installations

Spain-based Isofotón has revealed further details about its new photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Napoleon, Ohio. The company has also told pv magazine at the Solar Power International that it intends to set up module manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia, Brazil and China.

Solar is going “through the roof” in the United States, according to a report released by the Washington, DC-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the San Francisco-based Vote Solar Initiative on September 12. In fact, the top 20 commercial solar users in America have installed more than 1.2 million photovoltaic panels, combined, covering more than 544 acres of rooftops.

At the end of Q2 2012, China continued to dominate the worldwide renewable energy market, with Germany and the U.S. nose-to-nose in second place, and India and the U.K. just behind, according to Ernst & Young’s latest quarterly Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices (CAI) report. Activities centered strongly around the smart grid.

The U.S. solar sector has just finished its second-best quarter in history, having installed 742 MW of photovoltaic power – and its best quarter on record for utility deployments – according to a report released today by Boston-based GTM Research and the Washington, DC-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Photovoltaic installations were up 45% over Q1 2012, and up 116% over Q2 2011.

Following 2 years of almost no solar activity, predictions are that between 100 and 120 MW of photovoltaics will be installed in 2012 in the Czech Republic. Rooftop systems are said to be leading this growth.

On the back of its recently established subsidiary, Sparx Green Energy & Technology Co. Ltd (SGET), Japan-based Spark Group Co. Ltd has announced it will install an 8 MW photovoltaic plant in Ashikitamachi Town, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Cumulative Indian solar capacity now stands at around 1,040 MW, of which 830 MW were installed this year. Despite the crossing of this significant milestone, there are still many challenges facing the Indian solar industry, including missed deadlines and high inflation.

Germany-based Manz AG has announced its CIGS thin film photovoltaic panels have reached an efficiency of 14.6% in production conditions. The company adds that it will able to supply power costing as little as €0.04/kWh in the future.

Spain-based Isofotón will announce the opening of its new photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Napoleon, Ohio during next week’s Solar Power International event. Production at the facility is scheduled to commence in November.

Having almost completed work on its first pilot photovoltaic plant, Energy Smart tells pv magazine that it has already begun planning a further two projects in Estonia.