PV inverter manufacturer, Power-One reported net sales of US$267 million, with Renewable Energy Solutions contributing US$191 million and Power Solutions segment sales reaching US$76 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Driving sales was greater market penetration in the utility-scale sector in North America and Asia-Pacific, as revenue in these regions increased to 25%, compared to 17% in the prior quarter. Power-One had sales of 829MW of PV inverters in the fourth quarter.
Continued overcapacity and weak demand in the wafering sector has forced Bekaert to reduce wire saw manufacturing capacity with the loss of 1,250 jobs. Restructuring started in December 2011, which included reducing production in China.
Spanish solar company ISOFOTON and Chinese oil company, China National Offshore Oil Corporations (CNOOC)'s subsidiary, TIANJIN LISHEN BATTERY JOINT-STOCK, have established a joint venture based in Tianjin, China. The new company, called ISOFOTON LISHEN New Energy, will develop PV projects totalling 150MW. CNOOC will invest up to US$300 million in the projects. For the CNOOC Group, partnering with ISOFOTON is an opportunity to have a strong European partner with experience in PV technology and extensive knowledge of international markets.
Fotones de Chile has revealed plans to establish a 180MW project - the country's largest to date - consisting of six 30MW PV power plants in the town of Maria Elena in the Tocopilla province of Antofagasta. Work is scheduled to begin later this year, pending all necessary permissions. The project is entitled Planta Fotovoltaica Encuentro Solar, and will involve the installation of close to 2.5 million PV modules.
Istanbul-based energy company Merk Solar Enerji Çözümleri San. ve Tic. Ltd. ?ti. has teamed up with Gehrlicher Solar to establish a joint-venture company to expand the ground- and roof-mounted solar power plant market in Turkey and neighbouring countries. Both of the component companies will have an equal share in the new partnership.
SunPower, Joint Venture Silicon Valley and Wells Fargo have teamed-up to construct three solar parking canopy systems for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), totalling 2.1MW. Using a Power Purchase Agreement to finance the systems, it is anticipated that VTA will save US$2.7 million in electricity costs over the next 20 years.
Suniva has announced its high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells have been installed at a 1MW, 4.5 acre, solar farm at Chattanooga Airport, Tennessee, US. Implemented by Inman Solar, this installation is the first phase of a 3MW project by Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA), designed to reduce pollution, waste and energy consumption. Since December, the solar farm has generated nearly 90,000kWh of electricity with no pollution.
In addition to the 8% FiT cuts made in January, effective March 1 the Swiss Federal Department of Energy (DETEC) will further reduce the FiTs for PV power plants by 10% for new facilities.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance has announced that it has changed certain FiT regulations, claiming this will speed up domestic large-scale applications of PV power generation and promote sustained and steady development of the PV industry. This will apply to grid-connected PV installations.
Danfoss Solar Inverters and MimtaSolar have entered an agreement, which will see MimtaSolar distribute Danfoss’s TLX and ULX inverter series throughout Turkey. The company will offer its single phase products in the 1.8kW to 5.4kW range and three phase products in the 6kW to 15kW range. The Danfoss inverter line is slated to be integrated into Mimta’s turnkey PV systems.
