The dust is yet to settle on tariff determinations against Chinese manufacturers, but the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) has released a statement warning of a “conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States”. According to CASM, Chinese solar cell and panel exporters are reportedly planning to evade antidumping/countervailing orders. It asserts that this will not be effective, could be illegal and may expose US importers, in addition to Chinese exporters, to liability under US law, including significant financial penalties and criminal prosecution.
Solon Corporation has agreed to build a 1.15MW PV system for the Tanque Verde Unified School District (TVUSD) in Tucson, Arizona, the company has announced. The system will be installed across the four campuses of Tanque Verde High School and Elementary School, the Emily Gray Junior High School and the Agua Caliente Elementary School. Solon Corporation will design and construct the system and maintain its operation once completed; the energy generated will we sold to TVUSD under a 25-year PPA. The project is expected to commence operation in early 2013.
With European subsidies being cut left, right and centre, it appears Japan could fill the void and become the world’s second-largest market for solar power generation. The country will be welcoming the international solar community with open arms with the introduction of its latest feed-in tariff, which has the potential to generate US$30 billion by 2016 for the local economy. Industry Minister Yukio Edano approved the new rates this week, effective July 1.
SunPower has completed a 1.8MW PV installation at the main building of Bloomberg’s New Jersey campus, the company has announced. The system is owned by Integrys Energy Services and Bloomberg will be buying the generated electricity at below-retail rates. The system is equipped with SunPower PV panels as well as the SunPower T0 tracker system.
bSolar, through its strategic partner and Japanese distributor TSBM, has won a contract to construct a 730kW ground-mounted solar project in Nasukarasuyama city, Tochigi, Japan. The project is expected to go online in December and will feature bSolar’s disruptive bifacial PV cells.
A report from BBC News has advised that German company Kronos Solar is considering developing a 25MW solar farm on Lower Wheatley Farm, north of Launceston in Cornwall. The project would be constructed across 120-acres and would be the largest solar farm in the county. The report points out that the local authority notes that Kronos is one of various firms currently pondering over constructing a solar farm in the area between 20-30MW.
Conergy is collaborating with Ensunt for the construction of a 50MW PV project in Pakistan, the company has announced. The PV plant for the DACC Power Generation Company (DPGCL) will be the largest solar power plant in Pakistan. The project is located in Bahawalpur and is co-owned by DPGCL and the Pakistani government. Conergy will plan, design and engineer the project as well as providing the components while Ensunt is responsible for the construction of the plant.
Power One is showcasing the second generation of Aurora microinverters at Intersolar Europe, the company has announced. The Aurora Micro-0.3-I, with an output of 300W and the Aurora Micro-0.25-I, with an output of 250W have undergone 12 months of designing and testing. The two models have undergone some improvements compared to the former models and are now able to offer broader DC input with a maximum of 65Vdc.
The German government struggles to reach common ground on the proposed solar cuts, according to Bloomberg. In an email statement it was said that the upper house failed to reach an agreement in a panel meeting. Talks will resume on June 27. The upper house representatives have voiced concerns that the legislation will hurt domestic producers like Solarworld even further.
Soitec has connected the largest Italian CPV plant to the grid, the company has announced. The company completed construction of a 1.17MW CPV plant in the municipality of Belpasso in Sicily. 74 Soitec CPV trackers have been installed, each equipped with 168 Concentric CPV modules and two 500kW inverters. The plant is owned and operated by Soitec and the energy will be sold to Enel.
