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US Launches Research Program to Advance Solar

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:37:43 GMT

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $3 million available this year to support research to significantly lower the cost of solar energy. The funding will enable collaborative research teams from industry, universities and national laboratories to work together in the Energy Department's research centers including the Scientific User Facilities to develop solutions to drive down the cost of solar energy.

EnerVault Raises $15.5 Million for Grid-Size Energy Storage Systems

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:36:45 GMT

EnerVault Corporation today announced the completion of a $15.5 million (USD) Series B financing, bringing total funding to date to $24.5 million.

PV Balance-of-System Market to Reach $24 Billion in 2016

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:06:00 GMT

Photovoltaic (PV) balance-of-system (BOS) equipment revenues are projected to increase from $17 billion (USD) in 2011 to close to $24 billion in 2016, according to a new market report from IMS Research.

Premier Power Inks Agreement for Scandinavian Projects

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:02:14 GMT

Premier Power Renewable Energy today announced it will provide a total of 5MWp in equipment for solar projects located in Scandinavia. The plants will be funded through an agreement with a Danish firm Viasol A/S. Shipments of equipment will begin in February, and all systems are scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.

Canadian Solar Supplies PV for Denmark's Largest System

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:14:37 GMT

Canadian Solar today announced the supply of 2,800 solar modules for a rooftop system in the Danish city of Virum. The solar installation, north of Copenhagen, has a capacity of 605kW, which makes it Denmark's largest PV system.

Solar-Powered Radiation Center

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:57:13 GMT

At the Lake Constance Radiation Oncology Centre, the radiotherapy center's lights, treatment systems and other machines and systems get a major percentage of their power from the sun.

German FiT Debate Comes to an End – for the time being

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:49:38 GMT

After long and controversial discussions in the German coalition between the ministry of economics and technology and the ministry of environment, the debate about the future feed-in-tariff (FiT) came to an end today, as the two ministers, Philip Rösler and Norbert Röttgen, presented the coalitions’ plans on how to change the renewable energy act (EEG). Speculations grew high in the last days and weeks, in particular after Rösler positioned himself against the current support scheme for PV installations and made his own suggestion for a radical cut down of subsidies, including a cap of some 1,000 MW installed annually.

1.5MW Energy Storage System Tested in Arizona

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:43:24 GMT

A new 1.5 megawatt-hour energy storage system the size of a shipping container that can generate the equivalent power output of 1,200 hybrid cars or 300,000 cell phone batteries is being tested by Arizona Public Service in Flagstaff, Arizona (US).

WREF 2012: Robyn, El-Ashry, Kimman and Eckhart Join Speaker Roster

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:46:45 GMT

Dorothy Robyn, Ph.D., Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, will address the World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF 2012) in Denver, 13-17 May. Also joining the distinguished list of speakers will be Mohamed El-Ashry, Senior Fellow of the United Nations Foundation; Jacques Kimman, Ph.D., Professor of Renewable Energy at Zuyd University in the Netherlands; and Michael Eckhart, President of the American Council on Renewable Energy.

Advancing PV and Smart Grid Technologies with Power Electronics and Energy Storage

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:44:46 GMT

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a university research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, is adding three members to the global Energy Research Initiative (ERI) that focuses on new technologies for renewable energy and its efficient and reliable distribution on the power grid.