Akeena Solar has entered into an agreement to manufacture, distribute, market, and install its solar panels under the Westinghouse name. The company claims that the contract was formed in order to combine a "trusted brand name with the reliability, performance and safety that buyers want."
Solar EnerTech has announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010. The company's total module shipments increased 314% in the second fiscal quarter 2010 in comparison to the second quarter of 2009, while revenue increased 302% to US$17.8 million, up from US$4.4 million in the previous year.
Private equity firm, Mid Europa Partners, has signed an agreement to acquire a strategic stake in Energy 21, committing to inject new equity to support the company's growth strategy in Central and Eastern Europe. Energy 21 currently has an installed generation capacity of 26MW, with a further 75MW in development.
SHEC Energy and Cleanergy have signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of a high-efficiency solar Stirling engine. SHEC Energy's solar receiver technology will be combined with Cleanergy's Stirling engine technology to develop the advanced offering.
The Australian Federal Government announced its 2010/2011 budget on May 11, showing strong support for renewable energy. The Australian Greens leader, Bob Brown, announced a new AUS$652 million Renewable Energy Future Fund, which will be part of an expanded AUS$5.1 billion Clean Energy Initiative.
LDK Solar's second 5000MT train in its 15,000MT polysilicon plant has achieved mechanical completion and will begin ramping production. The first train is operating at capacity in full closed-loop mode and is on track to produce at the annualized capacity of 5000MT.
Samsung has announced that it will invest US$21bn in renewable energy and healthcare over the next decade, identifying solar cells as one of its future growth drivers. The new investment plans will help Samsung challenge rival companies such as Philips Electronics, General Electric, and Sanyo Electric.
SolarWorld benefits from the development of the international solar markets in the first quarter of 2010, reporting a rise in shipments and a consolidated revenue increase in comparison to the first quarter of 2009. The Group's shipments rose by 22% to 139MW versus the same period of the previous year, while the consolidated revenue increased by 28% from €49.3 million to €225.6 million.
Since the news of Moser Baer's booming solar sector, the company has announced plans to raise Rs300-400 crore over the next couple of months to fund expansion. Moser Baer will increase the crystalline silicon capacity of its photovoltaic business from 140MW to 240MW. The expansion will take place in two phases.
Solon has signed an agreement with Greek company, NRG-Orion, for the delivery of 1.5MWp of solar modules. The Solon modules will be used to construct a ground-mounted PV system at the headquarters of canned peach company, Kronos. Once complete, this will be Greece's largest single axis tracking solar power plant to date.
