Canadian Solar secures US$44 million loan for Ontario PV plant
Canadian Solar Inc. has secured a US$44 million non-recourse construction loan facility for its 10 MW utility-scale PV plant, located in Ontario.
US: SEIA forecasts 25-50% solar market growth in 2016
SEIA forecasts 25-50% market growth in all U.S. solar sectors by 2016. Analyzing the industry from 2004 to 2014, the association finds “huge” growth rates in the employment and investment sectors, in addition to solar deployment. It forecasts 40 GW of cumulative capacity by the end of 2016.
Stationary storage costs to remain high, despite predictions of $172/kWh Li-ion battery costs
Lux Research predicts that costs for “best-in-class” players’ lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs will fall to US$172/kWh by 2025. These prices will primarily benefit the electric vehicle (EV) industry, however, with the stationary storage market continuing to see significantly higher prices.
Panasonic aims for 1GW global PV module production
Panasonic Corporation is adding new capacity to two of its existing HIT PV module production lines in Japan under a US$79.3 million capital investment. It aims to increase global capacity to over one GW by 2016.
Photon Energy records slight Q1 improvement
Photon Energy N.V. has seen market conditions improve slightly in Q1 2015. Despite this, it still recorded a loss of 1.726 million. O&M activity is particularly strong.
Solar to play key role in Ghana's US$230 million renewable energy program
The Ghanaian Government is looking to strengthen its renewable energy industry. A total of US$230 million has been earmarked for the scale-up, which is expected to see solar PV play a significant role. Financing will come from a number of sources. The country’s investment climate has attracted criticism, however.
Jordan’s second PV tender leads to record low tariffs
Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has chosen the winners of its second tender round. Overall, four 50 MW PV plants have been selected at record low tariffs, serving to highlight increased efficiencies, falling equipment costs and grid parity advances in the PV industry.
SolarWorld narrows loss, increases sales in first quarter
The U.S. remains a prime market for the German company, which increased shipments in the country by 170% to 116 MW. The U.S. now accounts for 57% of SolarWorld’s module and kit shipments.
Deutsche Bank: yieldcos driving bullish solar outlook
Stock analyst Deutsche Bank has produced an investment note in which it has expressed a bullish outlook for solar. Deutsche notes that yieldcos in both established and emerging solar markets are proving to be a major driver of growth the solar sector.
Solar-Fabrik granted self-administration insolvency right
Rejected by a court in Freiburg at the beginning of the month, beleaguered German PV manufacturer has now been permitted chance at self-administration insolvency.
