Solar power firm Canadian Solar has secured a US$40 million loan from Harvest North Star Capital for the development of 145MW of projects in Japan.
In recent days a number of key Taiwan-based PV component suppliers have reported continued growth in monthly revenue, highlighting strong demand for wafers, cells and modules through the fourth quarter of 2013.
Germany-based materials manufacturer Heraeus’ Photovoltaics Business Unit is to increase production capacity at its silver paste plant in Singapore.
China Wind Power (CWP) has been awarded a CNY490 million (US$80 million) of 15-year long term project loans from the China Development Bank (CDB)
European companies buying products from Chinese manufacturers that flout new trade rules will face heavy penalties and even jail, a German law firm has warned.
The local government of Rio Grande do Sul has announced that Chinese firm Hanergy plans to build a thin-film solar PV module factory in the Brazilian state.
German PV project developer SAG Solarstrom has announced that its credit rating was withdrawn on Friday 6 December.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has made its largest equity investment in clean energy this year, with a €50 million (US$68.5 million) investment into the second Glennmont Fund.
Module and cell manufacturer Talesun has partnered with local energy firm Anadolu Enerji to develop and build solar farms in Turkey.
Portugal-based Martifer Solar has completed the construction of two PV plants in Romania totalling 5.41MWp.
China Wind Power Group (CWP, Beijing) has secured USD 81 million in 15-year project loans from the state-owned China Development Bank (Beijing) to build 70 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in China. This includes a 50 MW PV project in Yongren, Yunnan Province and the 20 MW third phase of a PV project in Delingha, Qinghai province.
Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Canada) has signed a USD 40 million loan agreement with Harvest North Star Capital to fund roughly 145 MW of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Japan.
SolarCity Corp. (San Mateo, California, U.S.) has unveiled a new smart energy storage system to accompany solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for its residential and commercial customers. SolarCity says that its DemandLogic can allow businesses to reduce energy costs by using stored electricity to reduce peak demand, as well as providing backup power during power outages. The system incorporates battery technology by electric car maker Tesla (Palo Alto, California, U.S.).
Italian grid operator Terna has released electricity system figures for November 2013, finding that the nation's solar photovoltaic (PV) plants produced 997 gigawatt-hours (GWh) during the month, meeting 3.9% of demand. This is a 17% increase in raw output over November 2012. The figures show that, similar to Spain, Italian solar continues to contribute to the nation's electricity needs even during winter months.
On December 6th, 2013 Creditreform Rating AG informed S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (Freiburg, Germany) that it has suspended the corporate rating (previously BB+) for S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (Group) based on an ad hoc notification and the revised earnings forecast contained in this notification (rating: n.r. / not rated).
The Asian Development Bank (ADB, Manila) has announced that it will loan USD 150 million to China to build a 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Qinghai Province, Northwestern China. The project is much larger than any operational CSP plant in China and will include seven hours of thermal energy storage, allowing it to generate power on demand at night. The project will be jointly financed with China General Nuclear Power Corp. (Shenzhen, China) and the Export-Import Bank of China.
Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd. (Changzhou, China) commissioned a 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Northwestern China's Gansu Province on December 8th, 2013. The project in Jinchang, Gansu Province is operated by Shunfeng's 95%-owned subsidiary Jinchang Zhongke New Energy Co. Ltd. (Jinchang, China). The company announced the commissioning in a brief statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and has not provided further details.
Wolf Research (Miami, Florida, U.S.) has released a new report which finds that the North American PV Mounting System market is expected to grow 67% between 2013 and 2018 to account for more than USD 1.5 billion. “North American PV Mounting Systems” expects strongest market growth in the rooftop segment, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% of the flat roof-mount market, primarily for commercial buildings. For the pitched roof-mount market, the company expects a growth of 16.1% annually.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has found an average weighted price of less than USD 0.08/kWh for renewable projects approved through the third round of its Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM), held in December 2012.
Calyxo GmbH (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) has inaugurated a new, fully automated production line for its cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at its facility in Bitterfed-Wolfen. The new line has an annual output of 60 MW.