Following the resignation of Greg Ye and Dafeng Shi from its board of directors, Daqo New Energy advised that it had selected Mingsong Liang and Shuming Zhao as the new independent directors for the company board. Liang is a co-managing partner of investment banking firm CLA Partners in China. He received his PhD degree in economics from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a JD degree from New York University. Liang additionally serves on the audit committee for Daqo’s board.
Venture capital to the tune of US$350 million in 33 deals was handed out to solar-based firms in the third quarter of 2011, according to the latest roundup by Cleantech Group. Also of note was a reported US$812 million raised four China-based solar cell/module manufacturers via IPOs.
Following on from the recent Solyndra debacle, the head of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Program, Jonathan Silver, has resigned his post. Although the two incidents might well be unrelated, media reports are hinting at the two being linked, following the DOE’s bestowal of a loan of US$535 million to the now-bankrupt Solyndra.
No surprises after announcing it was entering into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, Evergreen Solar has been officially delisted from Nasdaq. Evergreen Solar stock was suspended from the exchange on August 24, 2011 and has not traded on NASDAQ since that time.
Bringing more than 60 years combined experience in the solar, semiconductor and power electronics industries, ArrayPower, a Silicon Valley-based power electronics company, announced the appointment of three members to its core leadership team.
SkyPower has secured a CAD$67 million revolving credit facility from Deutsche Bank, to be used to support the ongoing development of SkyPower's portfolio of utility-scale solar projects in Ontario, Canada. The facility is a letter credit facility innovatively structured to leverage the benefits of Ontario's green energy program and feed-in tariff.
Bringing two decades of extensive experience in renewable energy, software and semiconductors to the company, solar industry veteran Cary Vandenberg has joined eIQ Energy’s executive team. As vice president of sales he will be responsible for strengthening its sales management, business development and international business in order to expand its product offerings and customer installations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has dealt a blow to Germany’s flagging downstream sector by questioning its credibility as a commercially viable energy source and calling for a further cut to its feed-in tariff.
The Meyer Burger takeover of Roth & Rau is on its way to becoming more of a reality as the management board team has undergone a reshuffle, and former Roth & Rau chairman Dr. Dietmar Roth has left his former role for a seat on the Meyer Burger board of directors.
Citing the ongoing challenging market conditions, notably in its residential and commercial segments, SunPower will revise its revenue and earnings outlook for 2011. However, SunPower has a strong utility-scale project pipeline, especially within the US. The new 2011 guidance will be announced in a month, during its third quarter financial results, issued on November 3.
