Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, or EnergySage, has been the recipient of one of 10 Department of Energy (DoE) SunShot Incubator investments worth US$500,000. The funding will be used to develop a web-based PV comparison-shopping platform that aims to deliver pricing transparency and encourage online networking among property owners and solar PV installers.
SolarCity and US Bancorp have announced a US$250 million fund to finance residential and commercial PV projects. The renewable energy tax equity fund is intended for homeowners as well as businesses, administrative, school and county buildings. The fund will be used to finance the solar panels and installations, while customers pay a discounted amount for the electricity. In the three years that SolarCity and US Bancorp have been collaborating, this is the sixth and largest fund, designed to make PV systems more accessible and affordable.
Taiyo Pacific Partners has upped its stake in Japan-based Ulvac to 18%, following its purchase of a 5% shares stake in September 2009. Taiyo is now Ulvac’s largest shareholder Pacific Partners and has, since its initial investment in 2009, acted as a “long-term friendly investor providing valuable advice and support”, according to Ulvac’s president Hidenori Suwa.
Flexible CIGS module manufacturer Global Solar Energy has initiated the steps to attract new investment, enlisting the services of FTI Capital Advisors to investigate new investor participation that could see the partial or complete takeover of the company.
As the largest merchant solar cell producer, JA Solar continues to be impacted by rapidly declining prices as overcapacity continues thought the supply chain. Emphasis has therefore shifted to module production and shipments, though a return to profitability remains a distant goal. First quarter shipments which included cells and modules that exceeded guidance at 366MW, while revenue reached US$254.4 million, down 17.7% from the prior quarter and 56%, year-on-year. Net loss for the quarter was US$39.8 million.
A day after reports claimed Hanergy and Q-Cells were in discussion over the sale of the German PV manufacturers' CIGS thin-film subsidiary, Solibro, both companies said in a statement that a deal had been signed. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Reports have emerged that Hanergy Solar Technology is considering the purchase of Solibro, the CIGS thin-film subsidiary of Q-Cells. Insolvency firm HWW Wienberg Wilhelm, which is administering the bankruptcy proceedings of Q-Cells had said in April that there had been both foreign and domestic interest in acquiring the bankrupt PV manufacturer.
Failure to secure further funding has forced flexible thin-film manufacturer, Konarka Technologies into bankruptcy. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy via a Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court means full liquidation and asset sale to pay creditors. Since its initial venture capital funding in 2001, the company had raised around US$190 million to develop and market its roll-to-roll OPV (organic photovoltaic) technology.
Having recently teamed with Suntech, state-owned firm Phono Solar has signed a new agreement with GCL-Poly to build PV power plants in China. GCL-Poly already has plans to move downstream, having partnered with Winsun New Energy and Shunfeng Photovoltaic for projects in both China and Europe.
Hamburg-based asset manager Luxcara has been the recipient of a 12MWp PV power plant in Aquitaine, south-western France, said to have been purchased by EDF EN for around €49 million. Luxcara’s Luxemburg-based Flaveo SA, SICAV-FIS fund has received the "Béguey" plant, which has a capacity of close to 12MWp and is equipped with inverters from SMA Solar and modules from First Solar.
