Flemish minister for energy Freya Van den Bossche has reformed green energy support. The government intends to overhaul its renewables certificates' scheme, where renewable energy producers receive a certificate for every megawatt generated, alongside phasing out subsidies.
In a move cited to provide a more comprehensive product and service offering, Japanese PV equipment supplier NPC has merged its Germany-based subsidiaries, NPC Europe and Meier Solar Solutions. The module assembly tool specialist expects the move to support customers in and outside Europe.
Conergy’s latest solar park, located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, was officially connected to the grid with the celebration attended by Conergy officials, the Mayor of Grimmen and Stephan Johannsen, a private investor from Northern Germany. This marks the third solar plant that Johannsen and Conergy have jointly developed. The 8MW plant was built in Grimmen near Stralsund on over 20 hectares. Nearly 35,000 Conergy PowerPlus modules, manufactured in Frankfurt, will produce 8 million kWh of solar power per year.
An 8MW PV installation built in the German city of Dreieich-Buchschlag has received over 40,000 solar modules from Canadian Solar. The Federal State of Hesse's biggest solar park was finalized on a former waste landfill site spanning 153,000 square meters. The PV system installation supplies electricity for up to 2,000 homes in Dreieich.
Conergy has announced the construction of, what it is claiming to be, the largest industrial roof-mounted installation in Greece. The system provider will be installing the 1MW power plant on around 47,000 square metres on the factory roof of Greek tomato supplier Nomikos A.B.E.K. in Panagia Domokou in the Fthiotida region of central Greece.
With highs of 23ºC and cloudless skies on May 26, Germany produced 22GW of electricity, meeting nearly 50% of the country’s midday electricity needs. The Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) estimated this equaled the amount of power generated by 20 nuclear power plants.
Swiss silicon thin-film firm, Pramac has been forced to file for insolvency after shareholders rejected management proposals over restructuring the company after posting losses (net) of over €94 million in 2011. The diversified firm had been a customer of Oerlikon Solar since 2008. Pramac had a 30MW end-to-end turnkey line using Oerlikon’s ‘Micromorph' technology.
Global Solar Energy has announced the installation of three building-integrated PV projects across Italy. The company collaborated with Mapei Alubel and B.A. Energy to construct the rooftop projects using thin-film modules.
A new 44MWp module assembly plant in the De Vernejoul industrial park in Porcelette, Eastern France will assemble SunPower’s Maxeon solar cells into modules to meet demand in France, Italy, Germany and Belgium. Total and SunPower said that its 3,300-square-metre plant is equipped to produce approximately 150,000 high efficiency (20% conversion efficiency) modules per year. This is the first such plant SunPower will operate in Europe, having the majority of its production in the Asia-Pacific region.
Conergy has announced the construction of a 10.5MW solar power plant – the largest of its kind in the Saarland region. To be built near the French border, the historic Linslerhof estate is owned by the von Boch investor family celebrated for its environmentally-friendly way of life. The recent drastic cuts to the feed-in tariff will require the project to be completed by the end of June. Conergy will act as main contractor and will be responsible for the installation of the park as well as the supply of Conergy components.
