Month: September 2014

37.8 MWp solar farm at Crundale, Pembrokeshire comes online

On 12th September 2014 the 37.8 MWp Crundale Solar Farm in Pembrokeshire began to generate renewable energy. Construction of the project was completed in only eight weeks. The project is a joint development between ib vogt GmbH and Solafields Ltd. and is currently one of the largest operating solar farms in the UK. Neu: Berlin/Newhaven,… Read more »

DSM inaugurates Solar Technologies Demonstration Center in India

Showcasing the benefits of current & future solar technologiesRoyal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company, today inaugurated its Solar Technologies Demonstration Center at its DSM Engineering Plastics facility in Pune, India. This state-of-the-art solar technology center has been built to demonstrate and showcase the performance of DSM’s innovations in solar technology and… Read more »

JA Solar Multi-Si Solar Cells Achieve 20% Conversion Efficiency

SHANGHAI, Sept. 26, 2014 – JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:JASO) (“JA Solar” or the “Company”), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, today announced that it achieved 20% solar energy conversion efficiency in its multi-crystalline silicon (“multi-Si”) solar cell. By using advanced proprietary light trapping and surface passivation technologies, the… Read more »

DEK Solar Metallization Advances Honored with Solar Industry Award, Speaking Engagements

At a special awards ceremony last night in Amsterdam, DEK Solar was honored with yet another Solar Industry Award. This year, the solar industry pioneer was the recipient of the Solar Industry Award for Excellence in Innovation as recognition for its significant developments in metallization technology and positive contributions to advancing solar cell manufacturing processes…. Read more »

Senvion has installed 111 multi-megawatt turbines offshore

Hamburg: Senvion SE, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Suzlon Group, the world’s fifth-largest* manufacturer of wind turbines, today installed its 111th offshore turbine. The company reached this milestone with the nineteenth Senvion 6.2M126 of 48 planned turbines that are currently being installed at the Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm. The additional 29 turbines for… Read more »

Successful start-up of bifacial high-efficiency n-Pasha cell production line with RENA equipment at Mission Solar Energy LLC

• Mission Solar Energy starts-up 100 MW capacity mass production with RENA and Tempress equipment, implementing latest n-Pasha technology from ECN • Cell Efficiencies of 19.7% average achieved after one month of ramp-up • Further capacity expansion to 200 MW in plan Gütenbach, September 26th, 2014 – RENA is pleased to announce the successful start-up… Read more »

First Wind Turbines installed at Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm

wpd, the project developer and operator located in Bremen, reports that the installation of the first three wind turbines at the Butendiek Offshore Wind Farm has been successfully completed. At the end of last week the rotor blades were fixed to the nacelles immediately after the installation of all 80 foundations and transition pieces, the… Read more »

CWind launches German subsidiary with offices in Hamburg

Announces it has won licence to lease employees under German law CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, today announced the launch of its wholly-owned subsidiary in Germany. CWind Germany will be headquartered in Hamburg and will be responsible for the sales and marketing of CWind’s services in Germany. The company… Read more »

Lufft announces new weather sensors WS510-UMB and WS700-UMB

at the end of this year, the German measurement and control technology company Lufft launches two new smart weather sensors on the market. Thereby, Lufft enhances its portfolio and completes the WS-family with the sensors WS510-UMB and WS700-UMB. With the development of the new measurement sensors, Lufft penetrates into the solar market and responds to… Read more »

Moventas Launches New Exceedtm Series High Torque Density 3 Mw Gearbox Platform

WindEnergy Hamburg 2014, Hamburg: Moventas officially launches its new high torque density gearbox platform Exceed in Hamburg today. In addition to Acciona Windpower, another customer has also now placed orders for the Exceed. The Exceed Series is a 3 MW and up product platform for medium and high speed drivetrains, with the best ratio price/nominal… Read more »

Game Changer GEMINUS – Unique Technology for Multi-Crystalline Bifacial Solar Cells

• GEMINUS – now also available for multi-crystalline solar cells• Process offered from a single source Freudenstadt / Germany. So far only mono-crystalline wafers are used to produce bifacial solar cells. The GEMINUS technology from SCHMID offers for the first time a method to produce bifacial solar cells with multi-crystalline material which is presented on… Read more »

centrotherm responds to renewed weakness in the photovoltaic sector

Blaubeuren, September 23, 2014 – Due to the recent market weakness in the photovoltaic industry centrotherm will continue its restructuring and modernization program. The technology and equipment provider for the photovoltaics and semiconductor industry consistently enlarges its product and service portfolio and invests in new process solutions, upgrades and service packages. With regard to the… Read more »

Police Department Generates Power from Q CELLS Solar Modules

-140 kilowatt photovoltaic facility on the roofs of the new Thuringia State Office of Criminal Investigations (LKA) -Energy cooperative has leased the roof area for 20 years for its largest plant -Solar plants also make economic sense for public institutions [Erfurt / Thalheim, Germany, 23 September, 2014] – A photovoltaic facility with Q CELLS solar… Read more »

SeaZip Offshore Service signs further contract for two Damen Twin Axe Catamarans

Today, Damen Shipyards and SeaZip Offshore Service strengthened their working relationship by signing another contract for two Damen Fast Crew Suppliers (FCS) 2610 at Wind Energy in Hamburg. The two new vessels, to be named SeaZip 3 and SeaZip 4, will be mobilised in transporting personnel and small quantities of freight to North Sea offshore… Read more »

Navigating a course to continued success

As Director of Van Oord Offshore Wind Projects b.v., Johan van Wijland is a familiar face to many in the industry. He’s also a regular contributor to PES and joins us once again to discuss the company’s latest developments. New vessels? Massive monopiles? The Eneco Luchterduinen and Gemini projects? All are covered right here… PES:… Read more »

Solar thoughts

The PV industry is constantly evolving and new ideas and innovations are a welcome source of change and regeneration. We grabbed five minutes with LG Solar’s Sven Armbrecht to ask him where the industry is headed… PES: Can you explain a little about your background and how you ‘serve’ the solar industry? Sven Armbrecht: LG… Read more »

Taking BIPV to the next level

Here at PES, we’ve been championing the BIPV sector for many years – after all, in many ways it is the direct line to the public’s acceptance of solar. Today, we turn our attention to a new material that promises to revolutionise the industry. Façades the focal point: wafer-thin solar cells transform glass fronts into… Read more »

Navigating solar irradiance measurement issues

Words: Dr.-Ing. Joachim Jaus, Black Photon Instruments GmbH Solar irradiance measurements provide valuable information to select a site for the construction of a solar power plant, to calculate the efficiency of the plant operation, or to determine possibilities for improvements of the power plant setup. But only precise measurements can do the job well. Dr… Read more »

How to write a social media report

If you’re engaged in any way with your consumer, the chances are you’re plugged in to social media. But how effective have your efforts been? Is your content relevant? Giles Palmer, CEO of social media analytics company Brandwatch, gives us the four essential steps for putting together a useful social media report. As consumer social… Read more »

Start taking rooftop solar seriously

In many countries – Greece and Germany, for example – commercial rooftop solar is booming. Elsewhere, however, it is floundering. Gregory Barker presents his views on how big business can help boost uptake – and reap the rewards. Words: Gregory Barker, UK Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Sola is a technology which… Read more »

Las Vegas means business

SPI – Solar Power International – is North America’s premier business-to-business event for professionals in solar energy and related fields, and this year, the event heads to Las Vegas. PES presents an exclusive preview. Solar Power International (SPI) generates success for solar energy professionals and the global solar industry through an unbeatable combination of factors…. Read more »

Land of the setting sun?

The future grows darker for solar energy growth in Japan – but innovation may light the way. On the second anniversary of a scheme aimed at boosting Japan’s renewable energy after the Fukushima crisis, its powerful industry ministry is taking steps critics say will choke off solar investment and pave the way for a return… Read more »

Turning words into action and concepts into solutions

As one of the PV world’s leading lights, Dow Corning Corporation is respected throughout the industry. Certainly, service plays a big part in this, but so does its commitment to relentless innovation. We put the questions to FranÁois Bertero, Dow Corning Global Solar Market Manager. PES: Welcome back to the magazine. For the benefit of… Read more »

Addressing the energy trilemma

Europe’s energy trilemma – achieving energy security, sustainability, and economic prosperity – is a hot topic right now, and is receiving attention from everyone from politicians to policymakers. But what exactly is it? Allow the IEA’s Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, to explain all. We all know that coal dominated global energy production for… Read more »

Take to the skies!

Always an exciting and interesting contributor to PES magazine, FLIR is behind a scheme to monitor photovoltaic systems’ thermography from the air using drones. We find out more… The company Paul Kitawa (www.kitawa.de) is located in Calau, Germany and specialises in film productions. In addition to advertising, training, corporate image and product films, it provides… Read more »

PV’s recovery continues apace

The crisis of the photovoltaic industry is drawing to a close. While it is true demand for solar modules is dropping slightly in Europe, demand in many other regions is rising rapidly – even the producers of thin-layer modules which had been almost “written off” are investing in new factories again. Obviously, this is good… Read more »

Taking module technology to the next level

An accomplished and adept organisation that is known for remaining one step ahead of the competition, GT Advanced Technologies is a leading light when it comes to innovation – and crucially, delivering a profitable outcome. We grabbed a few minutes with the company’s Jeff Nestel-Patt, Senior Director of Marketing. PES: The company is well known… Read more »

Specialists in quality

Any company that can survive the ups and downs of over 20 years in business must be doing something very right, and for IMT Solar – Ingenieurb¸ro Mencke & Tegtmeyer GmbH – getting things right is all part of the service. After all, quality counts, argues the company’s Dirk Tegtmeyer… PES: Welcome to the magazine…. Read more »

Smarter solar radiation monitoring

Words: Ruud Ringoir, Product Manager at Kipp & Zonen Instruments for monitoring solar radiation have been used in meteorology and climatology for almost a hundred years, but today they are also a common sight in solar energy. The data required differs for PV (Photovoltaic), CPV (Concentrated PV) and CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) applications, but they… Read more »

Let’s Talk About Targets

Today’s solar industry is built on carbon targets, but with several key countries set to miss their 2020 obligations, we ask: is our industry in jeopardy? Policy uncertainty and grid integration risks are driving a slowdown in global renewable energy deployment, especially in OECD economies, according to a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report. Clean… Read more »

Breaking the 19.5% barrier for multi-crystalline solar cells

Dutch specialist PV equipment manufacturer Levitech has developed a system that allowed mono-crystalline wafers to break the 20% efficiency barrier, resulting in considerable cost-of-ownership savings for high-volume solar cell manufacturers. Now they are able to demonstrate that this technology can extend to multi-crystalline wafers, taking them through the 19.5% barrier. Over the last several years,… Read more »

Integrated recycling concepts for photovoltaic waste

Are we moving towards more efficient, more effective methods of recycling PV waste? The experts at Loser Chemie GmbH certainly believe so… “If something isn’t done, everything will transform into a mouse grey mud”. That’s the way Boulding formulated his point of view concerning the fact that human waste leads to entropy bigger than the… Read more »

PV module output: the case for on-site optimisation

Words: Erik Lohse, Michael Fufl  The quality of solar modules is not always as expected. However, a cost-efficient way to prove the quality on-site is by using mobile test centres – under the condition that measurements are performed and test results are implemented by well-trained and knowledgeable solar experts. Testing modules on-site can establish a… Read more »

Adapt and prosper

An undoubtedly innovative and technically-brilliant company that is well known throughout the industry, meteocontrol GmbH is nevertheless perhaps less well known for its commitment to corporate responsibility and customer care. Dr. Daniel Faltermeier, Head of Quality Services PV, spoke to us about what makes the company tick. PES: Welcome to PES. Would you like to… Read more »