Non-governmental organization (NGO), the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), is accusing US thin-film manufacturers of using a loop hole in the Indian government’s renewable energy scheme to “ruin the Indian domestic PV industry”. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) initiative mandates a domestic content requirement, however, only for crystalline PV and not for thin-film.
SunEdison, a US developer of PV projects, has submitted plans to develop two PV plants in Antofagasta in northern Chile adding a total of 72MW of solar capacity to the country, according to the Chilean news site Diario Financiero. One plant will have a capacity of 33.48MW and the other will have 38.59MW.
Eltek announced that Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has given the company’s THEIA HE-t grid tie solar inverters the highest ratings in its product safety certification. The UL certification qualifies them for sale in the North American market, with Eltek advising that the product line is available immediately.
A report by Bloomberg has brought Solyndra back into the spotlight. The now defunct company reached a US$3.5 million settlement with former workers who filed suit against Solyndra, alleging that they had not received adequate layoff notices. The settlement resolves the issue that the company did not give employees 60 days’ notice under the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it fired most of its workforce on August 31, 2011.
After entering discussions concerning two PPAs, Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) has signed on the dotted line enabling the state-owned utility to purchase output from two 58MW PV projects in the Dominican Republic.
Hanwha SolarOne has officially launched its new North American unit, Hanwha SolarEnergy America (HSEA), which will serve customers in the utility and commercial sectors. The company noted that its new North American arm completes the integration of Solar Monkey, a California developer Hanwha SolarOne bought with an initial stake in January 2011. HSEA has developed a project pipeline of 1GW.
The US Export-Import bank signed a declaration of intent (DOI) with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. The DOI aims to progress the South African government’s Integrated Resource Plan and the South African Renewable Initiative. The agreement will see the Ex-Im bank provide financing up to US$2 billion worth of US technologies, products and services to South Africa’s energy sector, with a focus on clean-energy development.
The US residential solar lease market remains highly competitive with a new deal struck by SunPower to access US$325 million in new finance from 2-major investment banks, Citi and Credit Suisse. The new financing comes soon after major competitors in the third party leasing market, SunCity and Sunrun received significant new funding from Credit Suisse to the tune of a combined US$300 million in late July, 2012.
Installation of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (Ivanpah SEGS) worth US$2.2 billion is 50% complete, according to an announcement by NRG Energy, Google, BrightSource Energy and construction partner Bechtel.
Suntech Power Holdings revealed that in July 2012 it had achieved the milestone of delivering more than 1GW of solar panels to customers in North and South America. The company noted that it is one of the first global solar companies with a 1GW delivery record for the region. Worldwide, Suntech has shipped more than 7GW of its solar panels to over 1,000 customers in more than 80 countries.
