Power Plants

A key topic of debate during SNEC 2014 in Shanghai has been the concern over meeting Chinese government targets for distributed generation (DG), which are becoming seen as increasingly over ambitious.

Renewables EPC company, Abengoa has completed what is said to be the world’s largest PV plant using a single-axis tracker.

A 1MW PV power plant, currently the largest in East Africa, has been completed at the Changoi Team Farm in Kenya.

Capital One Bank has invested US$100million into a partnership with residential installer and leasing company SolarCity, marking the US bank’s first ever investment in renewable energy.

US firm First Solar is to build a 1.7MW PV-diesel hybrid system to power mining giant Rio Tinto’s Weipa bauxite mine in Queensland, Australia.

Trina Solar has reported increased profits and revenues in its Q1 results largely due to higher average selling prices (ASPs).

Sales of PV monitoring equipment surpassed global PV installations in 2013, according to analysis by GTM Research.

EDF Renewables has sold 50% of its remaining stake in the 143MW Catalina PV project in California to financial services firm TIAA-CREF.

Preparing to do business after the FiT scheme ends in 2020, whether or not the government maintain the country’s “no nuclear” energy policy, will be crucial to survival for solar in Japan, according to one expert.

A key conference session at SNEC 2014, the APVIA Solar Leaders Dialogue session, held a day ahead of the start of the main SNEC exhibition, was dominated by past, present and possible future trade wars against and within the PV industry.