US Installs 252 MW, Makes 348 MW Of Solar Panels In 1Q-Study
16 June 2011
Dow Jones Business News


The U.S. installed 252 megawatts of solar-panel generators in the first quarter, up two-thirds over the same period a year ago, while U.S. factories produced 348 megawatts of solar panels, a third more than a year ago, according to a study released Thursday.


Solar-panel installations for companies, government organizations and other non-residential properties more than doubled in the first quarter, driving much of the growth, according to the study, by GTM Research of Boston.


Meanwhile, U.S. factories, primarily in the West and Midwest, ramped up production of solar equipment, particularly facilities that serve the domestic market, according to the study.


U.S. solar-panel installations are likely to double this year over 2010 to roughly 1,800 megawatts, helped by a steep drop in European demand and U.S. renewable energy incentives, the firm predicted. That figure includes nearly 900 megawatts of utility-scale solar farms expected to be completed this year. It does not include nearly 60 megawatts of solar-thermal power development, according to the study.


Almost half of U.S. solar-panel systems were installed in California, with about one-sixth in New Jersey and the rest in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York and other states.


Lower prices for solar panels and other equipment together with state government-backed incentives have driven the growth, GTM Research said.


A rush by solar-power developers to start construction before the Dec. 31, 2010, expiration of a key federal incentive also drove the boost in first-quarter project completiosn, GTM Research said.


In December, Congress extended the incentive program, which offers eligible solar-power developers cash in the amount of a 30% investment tax credit for renewable energy projects, for another year.


As global prices for solar panels have fallen, prices for U.S. installed solar-panel systems fell over the fourth quarter by 6% for non-residential projects, to an average of $5.35 a watt, and by 5% to $3.85 a watt for utility-scale projects, GTM Research found. The average solar-system price for homeowners remained flat at $6.40 a watt.


The first quarter of 2012 is likely to resemble this year's, as developers once again scramble to start construction before the end of 2011, when the incentive expires, and many projects are completed the following year, GTM Research predicted.


Chinese Banks Back $10 Billion Bid to Build Solar Energy Plants in Europe
Ehren Goossens
16 June 2011
Bloomberg


Two Chinese banks are providing as much as $10 billion in funding to a group of three Chinese makers of solar equipment to build sun-powered energy projects in Europe.


China Merchants Bank Co. and the state-owned China Development Bank Corp. are backing the efforts of Goldpoly New Energy Holdings Ltd., TBEA SunOasis Co. and China Technology Development Group Corp. (CTDC) to expand in Europe, CTDC said in a statement.


The solar companies say their goals align with the Chinese government’s policies on promoting renewable energy, and that the German government’s plans to abandon nuclear power by 2022 will drive up demand for solar energy in the region.


“We feel confident that we will be leading the next golden decade of solar energy development,” Tim Yiu, executive director and general manager of the solar energy business of Goldpoly, a solar cell maker based in Jinjiang in China’s Fujian Province, said in the statement.


The three companies plan to use modules produced with their own components, including polysilicon, wafers, cells and inverters, according to the statement. They expect to initially develop small projects and then move on to larger ones.


“Our PV investment consortium has strong financial support from China Development Bank and China Merchants Bank,” said Jianxin Zhang, chief executive officer of TBEA SunOasis, based in Urumqi. “Given their backing of $10 billion credit facilities, we will be able to grow steadily and advance our investment and construction of solar plants in Europe.”


State Support
An exact timeline and breakdown of the financing wasn’t disclosed. Lending by China Development Bank for clean energy projects exceeded $35.5 billion last year, according to a February report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.


China Development Bank has loaned to other Chinese solar power equipment makers, including more than $26 billion to LDK Solar Co., Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., Suntech Power Holdings Co. and JA Solar Holdings Co., according to data compiled by the London-based researcher.


The three solar makers said this is the first time three listed Chinese companies have formed such a group, and the funding will provide a new avenue to sell their own products.


Other solar companies have purchased development companies to ensure demand for their products. SunPower Corp. (SPWRA), a U.S. maker of solar panels, bought Malta-based SunRay Renewable Energy in February 2010 to increase its sales in Europe. LDK Solar bought in January a 70 percent stake in Solar Power Inc.


U.S. solar power industry booms, gains globally
Wendy Koch
16 June 2011
USA TODAY


Solar energy remains one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy as its photovoltaics produced 66% more power in the first quarter of this year than during the same time last year, the industry reports Thursday.


By the end of March, all grid-connected solar installations generated more than 2.85 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power nearly 600,000 U.S. homes, according to the quarterly report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research.


The two biggest factors driving this growth include reduced equipment costs and a rush to take advantage of federal tax credits that were expected to expire in 2010 but were extended through 2011. While residential installations show steady growth, commercial ones are posting the strongest gains.


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"On the whole, the U.S. is currently the PV (photovoltaic) industry's most attractive and stable growth market," Shayle Kann, GTM Research's managing director of solar, said in announcing the findings. He said the U.S. is positioned to nearly double its global market share this year.


The U.S. solar industry is concentrated in a few key states. California remains the largest, but New Jersey -- now second -- is experiencing the quickest growth. Other top states for PV installations, which directly convert solar power to electricity, include: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon and Texas.


The report says the total U.S. solar market gained grew 67% in value last year to $6 billion -- up from $3.6 billion in 2009 -- and now employs 100,000 people.


The research comes as the U.S. Department of Energy announces $2 billion in conditional loan guarantees for two concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, which use sunlight to heat water or another fluid that generates steam to power a turbine.


The DOE is offering a $1.2 billion loan guarantee for the Mojave Solar Project in San Bernardino County, Calif., and $681.6 million for the Genesis Solar Project, located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County, Calif.


At 250 megawatts each, the projects' will double the nation's current CSP capacity and displace a total of 40% of the output from a typical 500-megawatt coal-fired plant. They're estimated to create a total of about 1,630 construction jobs and 114 operating ones.


"These projects represent an important step in the development of solar as an affordable, clean energy resource in this country," Energy Secretary Chu said Wednesday in a statement. "By investing in the commercial-scale deployment of solar technologies, we can create greater efficiencies that will lower the cost of solar power while creating jobs and increasing our global competitiveness in this key industry."

Applied Achieved First Place Status in Solar PV Patents in 2010

(reprinted from Inside Applied)

This story is excerpted from a June 9, 2011 post on Renewable Energy World :Solar Patents Shine in 2010-Shine on Solar edition of CEPGI

As reported by The Cleantech Group at Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, Applied led other solar photovoltaic patent owners in 2010. The findings were published June 9 in the firm’s Shine-On Solar edition of the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI). As detailed in the report, Applied Materials was first in the number of solar photovoltaic (PV) patents granted last year, a total of 15.

Published quarterly, the CEPGI provides in depth solar energy patent analysis and indications of the trend of innovative activity in the Clean Energy sector since 2002 in the U.S. The Shine On Solar edition provides an indication of the trends in innovative activity in the Solar energy sector including leading solar patent owners and geographic areas.

New Solar Installations in Germany Slumps

Markus Wacket
15 June 2011
Source: Reuters

The number of new solar panel installations in Germany fell dramatically from March to May, making further cuts in feed-in tariffs from July unlikely, government and industry sources said on Wednesday.


Considerably less than 1,000 megawatts (MW) of capacity was installed in the world's biggest solar market during the so-called reference period laid out in Germany's Renewable Energy Act, people familiar with the figures told Reuters.


The sources said the reason for the low capacity of new installations was that people had brought their installations forward to log in higher tariffs, while some were also irritated by the political debate about the future of photovoltaic power.