Having sold its 1MW Uterne PV plant last week, SunPower has announced it has invested in Diamond Energy, a privately-owned, alternative energy project developer and clean electricity retailer headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. SunPower has acquired a minority stake of approximately 42% in Diamond Energy and under terms of the agreement has an option to increase its ownership percentage over time. SunPower will also assume a seat on the company's board of directors.
Continuing to restructure the company in hope of surviving the solar shakeout, major PV equipment specialist centrotherm photovoltaics has made sweeping changes to its senior management with the notable fall of its enigmatic CTO, Dr. Peter Fath. Current CEO, Robert M. Hartung will also step down from his position, while Peter Augustin will become responsible for core solar cell and module business, amongst other management changes.
Weaker than expected demand in key markets of Germany, Italy and UK in the third quarter have led to aleo solar further lowering its revenue expectations for 2012. The module manufacturer had said at the beginning of August that it expected a "surge in sales" especially from the German market in the second-half of the year with stability restored after the feed-in tariff changes.
Overcapacity in the c-Si ingot/wafer supply chain has forced materials specialist, Cookson to close one of its two ingot crucible production plants in China, with immediate effect. The company had closed a similar plant in the Czech Republic in July 2012, which has supplied crucibles, primarily to the European market. Major European-based ingot/wafer producers such as PV Crystalox are down below 30% capacity utilization on the back of weak demand.
Executives from American solar manufacturers, distributors and installers testified before the International Trade Commission demanding Chinese manufacturers be held accountable for the “unmistakable causes of damage to the American solar industry.” They added that without relief, including the application of duties for the surge in imports after the cases were filed, it is unlikely that the American industry can survive.
As part its senior management restructuring process, John Lefebvre, President of Suntech America has left the company, while E.L. “Mick” McDaniel, previously Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Suntech America, has assumed the newly introduced title of Managing Director for Suntech America. As with other recent changes, McDaniel will report directly to CEO David King.
Australian renewable energy firm Epuron has acquired the 1MW Uterne PV plant — which is said to be Australia’s largest tracking solar power plant — from US PV manufacturer SunPower Corporation. The acquisition was financed by Australian financial services company Commonwealth Bank, making it the country’s first major bank to support a solar project of this size.
Technology company active in the production of enclosures and industrial components, Phoenix Mecano, has announced an impairment of tangible and intangible assets in its ELCOM/EMS division effective December 2012. With the cancellation of a long-term framework supply contract for PV components with a major customer, Phoenix Mecano anticipates an impairment loss of approximately €6-8 million.
South Coast Solar advised that its CEO, Tucker Crawford, has stepped down in order to work full-time as president of the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association (GSREIA). The group is specifically dedicated to expanding the use of solar power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Head of FiTs of the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, Alisdair Grainger, told participants at Solar Power UK in Birmingham that 98.2% of installations in the UK are now from PV. The government minister made a very strong attempt to reassure the audience that cuts to and degression of the FiT in the UK was a good thing.
