German EPC company Solea has developed and completed construction of a 7.7MW ground-mounted PV project in record time.
On February 23, the German federal environmental ministry released a proposal for its new renewable energy laws, including cuts in FiTs by 30%, effective March 8, 2012.
Market research company, Five Star Equities, has released figures showing last week’s determination from the US Department of Commerce putting up barriers against Chinese manufacturers, had a negligible effect on solar stocks.
NexPower Technology, Taiwan-based thin film manufacturer, is supplying thin film modules to one of the largest PV projects in the New Jersey area, a ground mounted installation generating 10MW of energy. Construction is expected to begin soon.
A 684kW PV system for Fort Hood’s Liberty Village military housing has been activated, the US Army base’s leadership announced.
Axium Solar installed the 3,000 Schott Solar ground-mounted PV panels on a four-acre site. Universal Services Fort Hood (USFH), owner of the project, provided funding of US$3 million and will operate and maintain the installation.
The University of Seville, the Social Council and the Focus-Abengoa Foundation have awarded the 9th “Javier Benjumea Puigcerver” research prize to Eduardo Fernández Camacho for his applied research on the increase in performance of solar-thermal plants through predictive control. The prize was awarded to the university professor on the basis that his submitted work was of “extraordinary scientific value” to the globally important issue of energy supply.
The partnership between Silfab SpA and ISC Konstanz has announced the achievement of a 21% energy conversion efficiency for large area monocrystalline silicon solar cells. The news is a result of the companies’ research partnership on ‘Zebra’ interdigitated back-contact (IBC) cells as unveiled by the joint venture last summer. It is believed that efficiency could eventually top 24% for the solar cells.
The Supreme Court has rejected the UK government’s appeal over cuts to the domestic feed-in tariff scheme. In the latest of three court cases, judges upheld the decision of a Judicial Review that ruled the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) proposed revisions to the FiT were “legally flawed”.
The Federal Network Agency recently confirmed earlier reports that in 2011, a 7.5GW capacity of solar was installed in Germany, amounting to nearly 238,000 units installed in total. Bavaria led the way with 1.75GW installed followed by Brandenburg with 1GW. The agency acknowledged that the regional shift was due to the expansion of open space systems.
UK-based Romag and Chinese LDK Solar have formed a research and development alliance to share their knowledge and expertise in the progress of solar technologies. This collaboration is the first of its kind for a UK PV module manufacturer.
German company Wattner has acquired the 5.6MW solar power plant Rätzlingen I in Lower Saxony and invested approximately €10.5 million to incorporate it into its Wattner SunAsset 3 fund.
