JinkoSolar has simultaneously announced its unaudited first-quarter 2011 financial results and the appointment of Ron Kenedi as the president for its wholly owned JinkoSolar US subsidiary. As the company comes off a record setting first quarter with solar product shipments reaching 208.4MW and revenues totaling US$326.7 million, Kenedi is anticipated to keep the US division growing and profitable.
Much weaker than expected demand in Europe impacted PV inverter manufacturer, Satcon Technology’s first quarter financial results. Although Satcon posted record revenue of US$62 million for a first quarter accounting period, the revenue figure was below initial projections of US$65 million to US$70 million. Some shipments were postponed to later in the year by some of its customers due to an inventory build, executives noted in a conference call to discuss financial results. Net loss for the first quarter was US$2.1 million.
Citing a slowdown in module sales and prising pressure in the first quarter of 2011, Evergreen Solar has declared that its near term liquidity has been negatively impacted, which could lead the company to find new sources of cash sooner than expected. The struggling String Ribbon module producer said shipments were only 18MW in the first quarter, down significantly from 47MW in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Worldwide Energy & Manufacturing USA, which supplies PV solar modules under the Amerisolar brand, has had a momentous week of executive changes. The company announced that on April 25, its board of directors removed Jimmy Wang as the company’s CEO, chairman as well as from all other offices and positions that he held at Worldwide and with any of the company’s subsidiaries and affiliates. The board also discharged Mindy Wang, wife of Jimmy Wang, on April 25, from all offices and positions she held at the company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, which included secretary and treasurer of Worldwide. Although both Jimmy and Mindy Wang will no longer serve in their former executive positions, they will remain on the board of directors.
Lincoln Renewable Energy (LRE) has finalized the sale and project finance deal with Macquarie Energy worth US$41 million. The agreement sees Macquarie Energy enter a long-term purchase agreement for power and renewable energy credits from LRE’s New Jersey-based 10MW Oak Solar PV project. LRE will remain the long-term owner of the facility, while Macquarie Energy provides construction finance and term debt for Oak Solar.
Eric Daniels will be leading the Solar Energy North American division of Robert Bosch as the department’s first solar energy regional president. In his new role, Daniels will supervise the company’s solar business in North America while specifically focusing on business development opportunities. Daniels is a 14-year veteran of the solar industry who joins Bosch from BP Solar where he served as CTO for seven years.
Expanding its global team of solar technology experts, Amtech Systems has appointed semiconductor and solar industry veterans Dr. James Hwang and Dr. SooKap Hahn as chief technology officer and member of the board, respectively.
PVJapan 2011 has been rescheduled from its original July dates to December 5-7. Event sponsors SEMI and the Japanese Photovoltaic Energy Association decided to postpone the show because of the ongoing recovery efforts in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and at the request of Japanese government agencies to help conserve energy resources during the summer months.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed plans to offer up to US$150 million in credit guarantees to local and foreign commercial banks to encourage the development of solar power as a renewable energy in India. The credit will cover 50% of the payment default risk on bank loans made to solar project developers with an aim to secure long-term funding for solar energy development in the country.
After two months of uncertainty, the Italian Government finally looks set to unveil its much-anticipated new solar feed-in tariff bill. A draft decree of the Conto Energia IV bill is currently in circulation and includes legislation to reduce subsidies and introduce a 23GW cumulative cap until 2020, according to analysts at Germany’s Commerzbank.
