After being on a temporary hiatus since April 8, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) Solar Incentive Program (SIP) is looking to make a comeback as early as this September. LADWP has introduced a proposal to reinstate the SIP program, which will feature double the funding levels for the next three years with incentive levels falling in line with the California Solar Initiative and market pricing in general.
SunBorne Energy is joining forces with the University of South Florida, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and IMDEA Energy to develop a 1MW solar power tower. Research and development for the cutting-edge project will draw upon the expertise of Dr Yogi Goswami, Dr Manuel Romero and Dr Aldo Stienfeld, with funding coming primarily from the Indian Government’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and SunBorne.
GT Solar advised that it had received orders from two new customers based in Asia for the company’s polysilicon production equipment. Together the two customers’, who remain anonymous, orders amounted to US$81.7 million and called for GT Solar’s hydrochlorination equipment for TCS production and other polysilicon production equipment. The orders will be included in the company’s backlog for its first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, which ended July 2.
Power-One and Solar Topps recently signed a supply deal, which will see Power-One provide 2MW of its solar PV inverters to Solar Topps. In addition to Schott’s American-made panels, Power-One’s Phoenix, Arizona manufactured inverters will allow Solar Topps to offer its customers a “made in America” solar power array.
The photovoltaics division of Heraeus Materials Technology has completed construction on its new Singapore facility, which will produce the company’s silver metallization paste for use in crystalline solar cells. The site will also house the unit’s R&D, sales and technical service operations, all of which began operation in June. The R&D lab was the facility’s most recent completion, having been finalized in July. It plans to have qualification samples ready for customers in the coming weeks. The site’s official opening ceremony will be held in November.
The final adaptation of Italy's deficit-reduction plan has imposed further reductions on renewable energy incentives. If confirmed, the new legislation could see incentives to renewable energy companies paid for by consumers on their electricity bills slashed by as much as 30%.
Having 8 facilities within the Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Co service areas, Kyocera has increased the size of the rooftop solar power system at its Tanagura manufacturing plant in Fukushima Prefecture, to meet energy reduction targets of 15%, due to the power consumption regulations dictated after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster.
KLNE has increased its manufacturing capacity in China by opening a new facility and research and development centre in Changzhou. The 100-acre site was officially unveiled on June 29 at a ceremony attended by the company’s sales director, Wison Qi, and marketing director, Paul Nicholson, as well as dignitaries from the Changzhou local government and staff representing the Wujin Economic Development Zone.
A 2006 long-term wafer supply deal between Suntech and MEMC has been ‘mutually terminated' at a cost to Suntech of approximately US$212 million. Suntech said that the decision to cancel the wafer supply deal was due to ‘rapid changes in the market for silicon wafers.’ Suntech also announced that it was stopping investment in CSG Solar's research and development operations, which focused on crystalline silicon thin-film technology. MEMC remains a wafer supplier to Suntech under other supply agreements.
Australia’s Sunshine Coast Regional Council has granted planning permission to Energy Parks Australia (EPA) for its new solar plant in Valdora, Queensland. With a capacity of 10MW, the development dwarfs Australia’s current largest system – Liddell’s 3MW concentrating solar power (CSP) facility – and will cost AU$40 million (US$43 million) to build.
