Power Plants

The director of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) solar cost cutting programme has hailed the “phenomenal jobs growth rate” that the US solar industry has enjoyed in recent times.

Major US utility Duke Energy has acquired a majority stake in US PV installer, REC Solar for an undisclosed sum.

The falling cost of solar energy could have as much impact on energy markets as the so-called “shale revolution”, according to a new report.

Capacity additions for residential, commercial and utility-scale solar all declined in 2014 in Germany, but the ongoing slowdown of German PV deployment has been felt most keenly in the small commercial segment of the market, according to research out today.

Insolvent PV equipment and wet processing specialist, RENA GmbH has been acquired by Swiss private equity firm, Capvis for an undisclosed sum.

ABB has provided central inverters to an unnamed 70MW project in South America.

Chinese tier one manufacturer Trina Solar will supply PV modules to ‘Marcovia Solar’, a 42.5MW solar farm in Honduras which is scheduled to go online during the second quarter of this year.

Solar microinverter manufacturer Enphase has stepped up its involvement in a collaborative effort with Hawaii’s main electric utility to stabilise the US state’s grid networks.

PV inverter manufacturer, Advanced Energy Industries (AE) reported its inverter sales in the fourth quarter of 2014 were down 9.8% sequentially and down 27.9% on the prior year period.

Monocrystalline wafer producer, Longi Silicon Materials and electronics giant and PV inverter producer, Huawei Technologies have signed a memorandum of cooperation to pursue smart technology options to boost PV power plant performance and reliability.