Canadian deputy minister Fareed Amin sent an update on Ontario’s two-year review of its FiT program, announced in October 2011, to the ministry of energy. The changes to Ontario’s renewable energy scheme include a 20% cut to the FiT for solar and a 15% cut to wind power. All other renewables will remain at the current level. Tariffs will be adjusted annually each November and will take effect on January 1 the following year, inline with market conditions. Prices ill be set once a contract is offered rather than when a project application has been sent to the relevant department.
The Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) advised that it had recently bought a process development tool (PDT) from SoLayTec, which will use A12O3 deposition and integrate the surface passivation layers into different type of silicon solar cells, which are under development.
Innotech Solar (ITS) and CEO Thor-Christian Tuv have decided to part ways after identifying differing opinions on the company’s future growth and expansion. The company’s board is now focusing on creating a new long-term growth strategy to meet the dynamic challenges of the photovoltaic industry. The ITS board views the introduction of new skills and expertise as an important priority, and has appointed David Hogg to the role of CEO at Innotech Solar with immediate effect.
Renewable Energy Corporation said that operating its 300MW monocrystalline wafer plant in Glomfjord, Norway would continue to lose money despite cost reduction efforts and that it will therefore be closed permanently. The plant closure will affect 200 employees.
Sainsbury’s has announced PV installations on the roofs of 115 of its supermarkets throughout the UK, totalling 7MW. The cylindrical PV modules were installed by British company Renewable Resources Energy Solutions.
China’s success will cause Germany’s solar manufacturing industry to vanish, predicts a member of EON’s managing board. Klaus-Dieter Maubach stated the industry will become non-existent in five years time.
The difficult solar market in the last quarter of 2011, led Elkem Solar to suspend operations at its plant in Kristiansand, Norway. However, the company has advised that full production has been restored due to an increase in orders for Elkem Solar Silicon.
Solar IPP Sonnedix has announced the acquisition of a 5.4MW ground mounted facility in France from Element Power Solar. Fully operational since February 2011, the plant is located in St Martin Lalande, near Carcassonne and expected to generate in excess of 6,000MWh per annum.
As revealed in Hanwha SolarOne’s recent quarterly financial conference call, the PV module manufacturer is moving downstream to become a project developer and financier. As part of those business changes the company has formed a joint venture with project developer S.A.G. Solarstrom to initially build-out 20MWp of rooftop projects - mainly in Northern Italy - that are expected to be completed by the end of June 2012.
Volker Böhm, insolvency administrator of the bankrupt Solar Millennium in Erlangen, has sold PV Power Holding shares to Bavaria-based Schoeller Renewables. Solar Millennium held 50% in PV Power Holding, a developer of PV projects in Italy.
