UK firm to develop 600 MW Zimbabwean plants
The Thompson Cole Consortium will reportedly develop eight farms in rural locations across Zimbabwe. The chairman of local developer Twalumba Holdings says he is eager to work with the relevant departments of Robert Mugabe’s incoming government.
Investment group plans £200 million UK solar investment
The Foresight Solar Fund would finance eight U.K. ground mount plants with the profits from a planned London IPO. A partner for the fund says solar offers a more attractive investment in the UK than wind.
Chinas PV dominance driven by production scale, not lower labor costs, study finds
Joint US study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggests Chinese PV advantage could be replicated globally with further innovation.
Micro generation projects driving Portugal’s new solar PV installations
Portugal added 16.8 MW of solar PV in May and June, but latest figures show that micro generation is still the country’s dominant sector.
SolFocus no more
Greentech Media’s (GTM) Eric Wesoff has reported that CPV developer SolFocus has wound up operations. As Wesoff writes: “The company’s website, phone line, and twitter feed are dead.”
Greek PV warns against job losses
Yesterday the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO) sent an open letter to the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warning him one third of the solar sector jobs have been lost in 2013 and asking him to take measures to “restart the Greek solar PV market.”
First Solar and China Sunergy urge Indian government to drop dumping investigation
U.S. and Chinese manufacturers claim that Indias government is acting beyond the scope of its powers in a dumping probe they describe as “flawed.”
SolarWorld to bring 500 kW of carport solar power to four Californian parks
SolarWorld Americas has begun work on constructing solar carports totaling more than 500 kW of power across four public parks in California, US.
PV inverter shipments fall in 2Q13
The latest report from IHS shows worldwide market shipments for solar PV inverters declining 5% year-on-year in the second quarter. The demand fall in key European markets has contributed to the decrease, a first since the third quarter of 2011.
Trade actions more hyperbole than hardship
The predicted catastrophic effects of trade wars on stock prices never materialized on Wall Street. Analaysts offer a cautiously positive outlook on the industry.
