Blaubeuren, Germany-based Centrotherm has filed for Chapter 11-type bankruptcy protection in Ulm’s district court to start insolvency proceedings. Centrotherm has a three-month window to restructure before creditors come knocking on its door. The company named insolvency lawyer Tobias Hoefer to the board in a bid to oversee the restructuring. Last month, Hans Autenrieth, member of the management board and co-CEO stepped down from his board position. Jan von Schuckmann replaced him and was appointed chief restructuring officer.
Research company Bloomberg New Energy Finance has published figures demonstrating China’s dominance in both solar and wind sectors, each securing hundreds of millions in dollars in financing. In the second quarter of 2012, China saw a surge in investment to US$18.3bn, up 92% from the previous quarter. The largest Chinese solar project financed was the Shanlu & Shengyu Bayannur Wuyuan PV plant, at US$316m.
Fiera Axium Infrastructure has purchased a Canadian portfolio of 47.1MW, the company has announced. The portfolio consists of four operational PV plants, developed by EDF EN Canada, located in Ontario. EDF En subsidiary enXco Service Canada will provide operation and maintenance of the projects after the acquisition. All four plants sell energy to the Ontario Power Authority under a 20-year PPA.
Bryan Crabb has joined the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) as its new executive director. Crabb comes to CALSEIA after serving as director of government affairs at both First Solar and OptiSolar. He is lauded as having vast experience in solar policy as well as legislative and regulatory experience.
Trina Solar has appointed Henry Chow as a member of its board of directors, effective immediately, the company has announced. Chow has worked in executive positions for IBM until 2009 and served most recently in a non-executive position for semiconductor company AMD in the US. Furthermore, he is a member of British private equity company the European Advisory Committee of Bridgepoint.
Japan has published its latest strategic energy plan, originally formulated in 2003 and reviewed every three years by conference bodies as well as various opinion polls. The latest revision includes a road map of energy-based economic growth and reformation of the energy infrastructure. The strategy is to ensure growth and encourage multi-faceted international trade by taking into account the social cost and price differences between nuclear, thermal and renewable energy generation.
The Bulgarian government has announced a 50% cut to solar feed-in tariffs, having only approved a new FiT in April. Effective July 1, chair of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), Angel Semerdzhiev, told Parliament on Friday that the renewable energy surcharge was solely responsible for an increase in electricity rates.
Solutia’s stockholders have voted in favour of its previously announced acquisition by Eastman Chemical Company. The original merger agreement was signed on January 26 and states that stockholders will receive US$22 in cash and 0.12 shares of Eastman common stock for each share of Solutia common stock.
Continuing market constraints and unattainable cost bases have conspired to force Schott Solar’s management to withdraw from c-Si PV manufacturing completely. Although the company’s thin-film and CSP activities are unaffected by this news, this exit from the c-Si sector will affect around 870 employees as well as its Mainz and Alzenau plants in Germany, Valasske Mezirici in the Czech Republic and Albuquerque in New Mexico.
The dark clouds of controversy looming over the German feed-in tariff have finally cleared with a compromise between the Bundestrat and Bundestag. Chancellor Merkel’s government has announced that it wants to maintain a solar “growth” corridor” of 2,500 – 3,000MW per year, with installations capped at 52GW. A class system for medium-sized roof-top installations will also be introduced. All funding will be back-dated to the original date of April 1, 2012.
