Steve Iyer will be joining the executive team of 8minutenergy Renewables as its new vice president of development. With 23 years of experience in developing large-scale power generation projects throughout North America, Europe and Asia, Iyer will focus on end-to-end project development for originated projects. Additionally, he will oversee that 8minutenergy’s developed projects undergo a seamless transition to the company’s partners. Iyer will also be tasked to assist with sourcing from Asia and risk identification and management.
Activ Solar has completed the first two phases of its record-breaking 80MW PV project in Ukraine. When all four stages are completed, the power station, located on 160 acres of land in Ohotnikovo, will be the fourth largest development in the world.
GE Energy is to consolidate its business partnership with eSolar by investing US$40 million in the concentrated solar thermal power technology developer. As part of the agreement, Paul Browning, GE Energy’s president and CEO of Thermal Products, will join eSolar’s board of directors.
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is putting out a call to all energy developers and financiers to submit their input on renewable financing terms, which will help the NREL in its effort to collect and share quantitative data in order to evaluate obstacles in the development of renewable energy projects.
IHS iSuppli Photovoltaic Service has released a new report projecting California to remain the top solar market in the US through 2015. Currently the state has the potential to add 7.5GW of installed PV power between 2010 and 2015 with installed PV capacity projected to reach 967MW in 2011 alone. IHS foresees California generating nearly 1.2GW of solar power in2012, which would be more than the PV capacity of the next six-highest states combined.
Three years after solar mounting manufacturer Quick Mount PV moved into its present Concord, California facility, the company revealed plans to move all company operations into a larger, 133,000 square foot home base in Walnut Creek, California. The relocation will take place during the middle of the first quarter in 2012, which, the company states, will allow it to meet the ever-increasing demands for its products.
Event organizers of 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (26th EU PVSEC), being held this year in Hamburg, Germany next month have said that the entire exhibition space has been fully booked with 950 exhibitors occupying 80,000 square metres of floor space.
Company name changes can often be as part of a rebranding exercise, sometimes due to poor performance or turmoil. This is certainly not the case with GT Solar, which is outperforming much of its competitor base in the PV equipment market sector. Having secured approximately US$1 billion in order backlog for its new foray into the LED sapphire wafer manufacturing market and hints by executives of further acquisitions, a new name, GT Advanced Technologies was seen as better reflection of what the company is now doing and where it intends to play in the future.
India’s National Solar Mission has taken a major step forward by approving 35 new systems. The projects will contribute 610MW towards the government’s goal of generating 20GW through solar by 2022.
Updated: The optimism from the first quarter was short-lived at JA Solar, which has warned investors that ASPs declined faster than expected in the second quarter, negatively impacting gross margins. Coupled to ‘high-cost inventory provisions,’ gross margins are expected to be in a negative low single digit range, according to a company statement.
