Duke Energy commits to 278 MW of solar PV in North Carolina
Following on its February 2014 RFP, Duke plans to acquire and construct three PV plants totaling 128 MW, including the largest PV project east of the Mississippi River, and sign PPAs with another five totaling 150 MW. This will increase the existing PV capacity in North Carolina by over 50%.
Greek isles to be connected to grid
French, Swedish, Italian and Greek companies this week signed contracts to install underground and subsea cabling to connect the Cyclades to the mainland grid. The connections will boost solar project development in the isalnds.
Oxford PV rolls out hybrid perovskite technology
Organic PV pioneer Oxford PV has developed a new application for its thin film perovskite technology that the company claims can boost the conversion efficiency of existing silicon solar cells by 20%. In absolute conversion efficiency terms, this increase equates to a substantial 3 to 5%.
Juncker presents European Commission team, merges energy, environment portfolios
A new Energy Union project team to be headed by European Commission Vice President-designate and former Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek will “steer and coordinate” new bundled portfolios, including Climate Action and Energy as well as Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
ABB unveils strategy to become battery leader
Swiss power and automation giant ABB intends to establish itself as the “leading entity” in the battery storage sector. It set out this vision in its Capital Markets Day event in London on Tuesday.
China reveals details of distributed generation policy
The government’s National Energy Administration has pledged to help local authorities drive rooftop installation across the nation. The details were revealed in an investment note issued by Deutsche Bank.
Slower growth in the U.S. solar market during Q2 due to timing of utility-scale projects
GTM Research and SEIA’s Q2 Solar Market Insight reports the third consecutive quarter over 1 GW, with ongoing growth in the residential segment and a strong quarter for commercial PV.
Texan PV developer to add 145 MW PV in 2014
OCI Solar Power announced today that it will add 145 MW of PV capacity in Texas this year. The developer has tapped local manufacturers for components.
Australian rooftop PV facing immediate 30% cut
The recommendations of the review into Australias Renewable Energy Target (RET) released yesterday looks set to deal a 30% blow to the countrys rooftop solar industry by its own estimations. The Australian Solar Council says that 8,000 solar jobs could be loss and many small businesses close.
pv magazine weekly news round-up: Aug 22-29
A quick look back at the biggest solar news stories that have grabbed our attention over these past seven days.
