Major PV inverter manufacturer SMA Solar has said that its 2015 sales will continue to decline, guiding sales of between €730 million to €770 million.
An application has been put forward to Hawaii’s regulator to approve NextEra Energy’s proposed merger with the state’s main electric utility, Hawaii Electric Co (HECO), a move the two bodies have claimed will boost Hawaii’s clean energy ambitions.
SunEdison and its TerraForm Power yield co have completed the US$2.4 billion acquisition of wind developer First Wind. The deal makes SunEdison the world’s largest renewable energy developer.
Seventeen utility-scale PV plants totalling 618MW came online in the US in December 2014, taking the country’s annual total to 3,139MW across 277 projects, official figures show.
Trina Solar has claimed its State Key Laboratory Testing Center has become the first institute to attain TUV Rheinland’s Power Measurement Uncertainty Assessment Service (“UAS”) Certificate.
The US Energy Department said it would provide US$45 million in new renewable energy funding focused on solar manufacturing technologies and is part of its Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative.
Struggling small cap PV module manufacturer, China Sunergy (CSUN) has failed to comply with a second NASDAQ listing rule after its market value of publicly held shares (MVPHS) fell below the minimum threshold of US$15 million.
The Latin American solar market ushered in 625MW of projects and grew at an annual rate of 370% in 2014, according to the recently released “Q4 2014 Latin American PV Playbook” from GTM Research.
Major photovoltaic energy provider Canadian Solar has updated its ‘late-stage’ PV project pipeline heading into 2015.
Wacker has reported that preliminary sales for its polysilicon division in the fourth quarter of 2014 topped €262 million, up 5% from the prior year period, but declined slightly quarter on quarter.
The World Bank Group on January 30th, 2015 announced the launch of Scaling Solar at the Powering Africa: Summit in Washington DC, a gathering of African ministries, utility companies and the international power community to discuss progress and initiatives to increase access to energy across Africa. Scaling Solar aims to create a viable market for private solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Africa that will help governments increase the supply of energy for millions of residential and commercial consumers across the continent.
The Managing Board of SMA Solar Technology AG (Niestetal, Germany) is forecasting sales of between EUR 730 million to EUR 770 million and losses before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 30 million to EUR 60 million in the current fiscal year. To return SMA to profitability, the Managing Board will adjust the company’s structures worldwide. At the Capital Markets Day on January 30th, 2015, SMA Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Pascal Urbon is presenting the measures that are intended to lower SMA’s break-even point to less than EUR 700 million in the coming months.
Solar-Fabrik AG (Freiburg, Germany) has decided to file for insolvency in self administration. The same application will also be prepared for Solar-Fabrik Wismar GmbH. The goal of the self administration is a restructuring of Solar-Fabrik AG and Solar-Fabrik Wismar GmbH, the company announced in an Ad hoc announcement on January 29th, 2015. The other companies of Solar-Fabrik Group are not impacted. The applications will be filed with the Local Court of Freiburg on February 2nd, 2015.
Official Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) figures out on January 29th, 2015 show that solar electricity generation in the United Kingdom almost doubled over the course of last year, with almost 5 GW of capacity at the end of 2014 up from 2.8 GW at the end of 2013. This is enough power to supply the equivalent of 1.5 million homes, the UK Solar Trade Association (STA) emphasizes.
Canadian Solar Inc. (Guelph, Ontario) on January 29th, 2015 provided an update on its late-stage solar photovoltaic (PV) project pipeline, currently at 1.4 GWp, unchanged from 1.4 GWp in November of 2014, despite the completion of over 100 MWp of projects in Canada and in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2014. The Company announces progress in expanding its pipeline in several geographies, including Japan, the UK and China.
SunEdison, Inc. (Belmont, California, US) and TerraForm Power, Inc. (Bethesda, Maryland, US) on January 29th, 2015 announced that they have completed their previously announced acquisition of First Wind Holdings, LLC. (Boston, Massachusetts, US). In the transaction, TerraForm Power purchased 500 MW of operating wind power plants and 21 MW of operating solar photovoltaic (PV) plants from First Wind.
The Latin American region, which is comprised of Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean, installed 625 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2014, a 370 percent annual growth rate over 2013, according to the newly released Q4 2014 Latin America PV Playbook from GTM Research (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.).
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on January 28th, 2015 issued Andalay Solar, Inc. (San Jose, CA, U.S.) its seventh U.S. patent, which further strengthens the company's “InstantConnect” wiring technology. U.S. Patent No. 8,938,919 covers the built-in electrical connectors that mate into the Andalay solar photovoltaic (PV) module frame technology. Andalay Solar is the first and only company in the industry to enjoy the advantage of having electrical connections that are integrated in the frame, the company emphasizes.
Based on its recent analysis of the solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter market, Frost & Sullivan (London, UK) recognizes Enphase Energy (Petaluma, Calif., U.S.) with the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Leadership. Enphase is making considerable progress toward achieving its vision of providing clean, reliable and affordable solar energy to both the mainstream commercial and residential sectors, Frost & Sullivan commends.
Axion Power International, Inc. (New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S.) a developer of advanced lead-carbon “PbC” batteries, energy storage systems and frequency regulation systems, on January 28th, 2015 announced a strategic marketing, sales and reselling agreement with privately owned Portland OR-based Pacific Energy Ventures LLC (PEV), a technology and project development firm specializing in the renewable energy and energy storage sectors. PEV will promote the sale of “PbC” and “PowerCube” products for use with renewable energy and energy storage projects.