Mixed results were seen by Conergy for the first quarter as international sales took the sting out of very weak demand in Germany. Conergy reported sales of €163.3 million in the first quarter 2011, up 8.6% compared to the same quarter in the previous year. However, sales were down significantly from the fourth-quarter 2010, when sales reached €248.5 million.
Trina Solar subsidiary Changzhou Trina Solar Energy has extended its national distribution agreement with RF Industries (RFI). Initially signed in January 2010, the ~40MW deal, which recognizes RFI as Trina’s exclusive distributor in Australia, will now run until December 31, 2012.
CBD Energy is on the verge of signing a contract finalising its joint venture with two of China’s biggest renewable energy companies, China Datang Renewable Power and Tianwei Baobian Electric.
Areva Solar has won the right to install the Southern Hemisphere’s largest solar power system in Queensland Australia. The 44MW solar thermal augmentation project will be installed at CS Energy's 750MW Kogan Creek coal power station and generate around 44,000 MWh of electricity per annum.
Solar Frontier has signed a distribution contract with Italy’s DW Europe to help expand its CIS solar module marketing and sales base in southern Europe. The agreement will enable Solar Frontier to establish a comprehensive distribution network and presence within the burgeoning European solar sector.
Despite the latest report by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) advising that the feed-in tariff rates in Australia’s Capital Territory (ACT) need to be reduced, the Territory’s Minister for Energy, Simon Corbell, said the rates would remain unchanged.
Water is not a surface that immediately springs to mind when contemplating where to install a solar array, however, this may not be the case for much longer thanks to Sunengy’s ground-breaking Liquid Solar Array (LSA) technology. Sunengy hopes to build a pilot LSA plant in India before the end of the year and has enlisted the help of India’s largest integrated private power utility, Tata Power, to help realise this goal.
According to the latest report by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) the feed-in tariff rates in Australia’s Capital Territory (ACT) need to be reduced. The report proposes that the premium cash rate paid to generators of renewable energy - including those with home solar energy systems - should drop from 45.7c a kilowatt hour to 39c a kilowatt hour. Any changes made will only affect new market entrants who install after July 1, 2011.
Eaga has signed a £300-million equity and debt financing agreement to help it install solar panels on more than 30,000 homes across the U.K., reports Solar Power Portal.
Photon Consulting’s soon-to-be released report, “Solar Power Markets: Eastern Sunrise” has compiled analysis prompting the company to predict that the Asia-Pacific region holds the biggest sustainable, global growth opportunity for solar energy through 2015. The market study details how the region’s PV economics, cumulative economic growth curve and electricity needs have primed the area for impressive PV expansion over the next four years.
