Europe

Scandinavia is to receive 5MWp in equipment for solar projects from Premier Power Renewable Energy. The plants will be funded through an agreement with Danish firm, Viasol. Equipment will be shipped out this month, with all systems scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.

Updated: Due to an aggressive FiT cut of between 20% for residential and 30% for large-scale PV installations, the German government will introduce the FiT cuts from March 9, 2012 to eliminate a rush of installations to beat the tariff change. However, this would first need to be ratified in the cabinet and parliament, which could be sanctioned next week.

TÜV Rheinland has certified Emmvee modules as compliant with the Italian Energy Agency’s GSE guidelines. The TÜV Rheinland confirmation certifies that Emmvee modules are equipped with cells manufactured in Europe, primarily in Germany. The company notes that TÜV Rheinland will soon begin testing the origin of the cells in order to certify their manufacture and production sites.

MBJ Solutions has completed installation of its electroluminescence inspection systems into the production lines of Centrosolar Sonnenstromfabrik. The new equipment inspects 100% of Centrosolar’s module production to ensure any anomalies, not visible to the naked eye, will be detected.

PV LEGAL has conducted a two-and-a-half-year initiative investigating the extent of renewable energy up-take in Europe. The study found France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal have all been successful in encouraging access to renewable energy. However, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and the UK are yet to make satisfactory progress.

MPrime, the distribution arm of Martifer Solar, has expanded its parent company’s business in Germany with the opening of new Munich offices. The company advised that working out of Germany will allow it to better serve the worldwide, and especially the German, PV sector.

Considering the country’s decision in 2011 to phase out nuclear power by 2022, Germany has made a smart decision to take definite steps towards incentivizing the uptake of renewable energy technologies from a fiscal point of view. The country recently reached the point where 20% of its electricity is generated from renewable sources, and in order to maintain this rise in uptake, the federal KfW bank group has increased its lending in the multimillion euro business loan sector.

Spanish solar company ISOFOTON and Chinese oil company, China National Offshore Oil Corporations (CNOOC)'s subsidiary, TIANJIN LISHEN BATTERY JOINT-STOCK, have established a joint venture based in Tianjin, China. The new company, called ISOFOTON LISHEN New Energy, will develop PV projects totalling 150MW. CNOOC will invest up to US$300 million in the projects. For the CNOOC Group, partnering with ISOFOTON is an opportunity to have a strong European partner with experience in PV technology and extensive knowledge of international markets.

Istanbul-based energy company Merk Solar Enerji Çözümleri San. ve Tic. Ltd. ?ti. has teamed up with Gehrlicher Solar to establish a joint-venture company to expand the ground- and roof-mounted solar power plant market in Turkey and neighbouring countries. Both of the component companies will have an equal share in the new partnership.

In addition to the 8% FiT cuts made in January, effective March 1 the Swiss Federal Department of Energy (DETEC) will further reduce the FiTs for PV power plants by 10% for new facilities.