Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG (CTN)’s creditors and shareholders approved a plan aimed at returning the German solar power-equipment maker to profit next year including a cut in share capital and a debt-for-equity swap.

LDK Solar Co Ltd said China Development Bank Corp approved a 440 million yuan ($69.8 million) loan, as the country's state-run banks continue to extend credit to its solar companies.

The loan will be used to finance LDK's investment in hydrochlorination technology for the Mahong Polysilicon Plant, in which U.S.-listed LDK Solar has invested more than 12 billion yuan to date.

German Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) has proposed a system to define and limit costs to German electricity consumers due to the nation's feed-in tariff, setting a maximum yearly increase of 2.5% and implementing retroactive charges. 

Under the initiative the current feed-in tariff levy of EUR 0.0528 per KWh would be maintained through 2013 and 2014. The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) argues that the proposal is neither feasible nor capable of securing a majority.

China plans to increase its goal for solar-power installations in 2015 by 67 percent to reduce reliance on fossil fuels blamed for greenhouse gases and as smog in Beijing reached record hazardous levels this month.

The world’s biggest emitter of carbon-dioxide plans to raise the solar target to 35 gigawatts by 2015 from 21 gigawatts set last year, boosting demand for manufactures that suffer from slowing sales in Europe, Shi Dinghuan, the counselor of China’s State Council and the president of Chinese Renewable Energy Society, said today by phone.

Emerging economies, solar power investments and the shale gas boom are all working together to fuel the Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) market, states a new report by GBI Research.

The new report* looks at VAM, a raw material used in the production of synthetic rubbers and polymer resins, and its main end-uses Polyvinyl Acetate (PVAc) and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) are used to produce paints, adhesives, paper coatings and textile treatments, packaging films and foams. EVA is also used in Photovoltaic (PV) applications, and the growth of the solar industry is promoting further growth in the VAM industry.

EGP places 19 new photovoltaic plants into service in Greece, for a total installed capacity of around 42 MW, as well as a further 15 MW operated by ESSE, an equal joint venture with Sharp.
The total estimated output is 76 million kWh per year, which will save the annual emission of more than 50,000 tonnes of CO.

centrotherm photovoltaics AG has now passed the decisive hurdle for the company's reorganization and recapitalization: at the discussion and voting meeting that was convened today by the Ulm District Court, creditors and shareholders approved the insolvency plan that was submitted with a large majority. With the confirmation by the court and the satisfaction of the final formal conditions, the insolvency proceedings can soon be terminated.

AEG Power Solutions, a leading global manufacturer of power electronic systems and solutions for industrial power supplies and renewable energies, opens the year by announcing a major contract with a large Western European EPC. This deal is the third large solar contract in Eastern Europe that the group is awarded. It covers photovoltaic utility scale equipment and services for 240 MW. AEG Power Solutions will provide complete electrical systems for nine photovoltaic power plants in Eastern Europe.

On January 30, 2013 in Berlin, the Egyptian State Authority for New & Renewable Energy (NREA) and the industrial consortium Dii signed a memorandum of understanding to increase their collaboration which will support local institutions to create renewable energy (RE) capacities and accelerate the dissemination of RE projects. In the long term, their cooperation with stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EUMENA) could provide an important impetus towards an integrated electricity market, with benefits for all actors involved.

The Arizona-based Solar Bankers LLC and its Dresden-based affiliate Apollon GmbH & Co. KG have commonly developed a game-changing module technology that will impact the entire solar industry.  A prototype of the high-efficiency concentrated solar module composed of a silicon cell and a holographic foil is now finished. The new innovative module has already been patented in the US.  It is ready to be produced at values defying today’s market prices while generating twice as more energy as regular solar modules.  Thanks to its patented technology, production costs for this solar module are even significantly lower as other manufacturers including Chinese ones. Reaching parity with fossil fuel energy prices is now reality.

A project to generate electricity from solar energy and wind power in 15 remote Iraqi cities is now under way, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said.

“Iraqi companies have already started building integrated complexes for solar cells and towers to generate electricity from wind, to provide an equivalent of 5.5 megawatts of electricity a day,” Ministry of Electricity spokesman Musaab al-Mudarres told Al-Shorfa.

Housing spokesperson for the WA Greens, Lynn MacLaren, has unveiled her party's plans to slash the power bills of Western Australia's poorest families and pensioners.
The $68 million plan would see all public and community housing with 1.5kW rooftop solar power systems installed; reducing electricity bills on average by $500 a year.

AEG Power Solutions, a leading global manufacturer of power electronic systems and solutions for industrial power supplies and renewable energies, opens the year by announcing a major contract with a large Western European EPC. This deal is the third large solar contract in Eastern Europe that the group is awarded. It covers photovoltaic utility scale equipment and services for 240 MW. AEG Power Solutions will provide complete electrical systems for nine photovoltaic power plants in Eastern Europe.

Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), the third-biggest solar cell maker, won a contract to supply 30 megawatts of modules to Gestamp Corp.’s solar unit for two projects in South Africa.

Trina will deliver the modules in the third quarter for projects in the towns of Prieska and De Aar, the Changzhou, China-based company said today in a statement. Gestamp Solar is a closely held developer based in Madrid.

Powerway Renewable Energy Company Ltd.'s (Foshan, China) South African subsidiary has been awarded a contract to provide mounting structures and mechanical turnkey services for a 94.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in South Africa. 

Construction on the project in De Aar, South Africa, will begin in January 2013, and must be completed in one year. The project is one of 631 MW of PV projects that were awarded through phase one of the nation's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme.

SKY Energy International and METEC of Ethiopia have made the first panel in Ethiopia.  SKY Energy International was given the opportunity to install the first and only solar panel manufacturing facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

crystalsol, a Vienna (Austria) and Tallinn (Estonia) based company, developing an entirely new type of flexible photovoltaic film, announced the closing of a Series A round financing of EUR 8 million led by Conor Venture Partners. While maintaining existing investors, crystalsol received capital from Arax Capital Partners, an Austrian investor with focus on innovative and growth-oriented Austrian high-tech companies. Public funds also contribute significantly to this round.

Panasonic Eco Solutions North America has executed a 500kW solar PV plant for the University of Colorado Boulder. The system was developed and built by Panasonic with local support from Lighthouse Solar. Financing was provided by a subsidiary of Renewable Social Benefits Fund, which works with Panasonic to finance distributed generation solar projects in the US and US territories.

Constellation has completed an aggregate 5.7 MW solar generation project for Portland General Electric (PGE) in Lake County, Ore.
Constellation financed the solar power system and will own and operate it. In return, PGE will purchase all of the electricity generated at a fixed rate from Constellation under a 25-year solar power purchase agreement (PPA).

China, the biggest producer of solar products, probably won’t impose tariffs on imported polysilicon, the main raw ingredient in panels that turn sunlight into electricity, according Aaron Chew, an analyst with Maxim Group LLC.

China is expected to rule Feb. 20 on complaints from domestic polysilicon producers that imports from Europe, South Korea and the U.S. are being sold in the country below cost, Chew said in a research note today.

Atlantic Wind & Solar Inc. (AWSL), the Tucson, Arizona-based renewable-energy developer, won permission to sell electricity from two solar power plants in Ecuador at $400.30 a megawatt-hour, four times the rate of hydropower.

The plants, planned for the northern towns of Lagarto and Tonchigue, will sell power to the Ecuadorean government, Gilles Trahan, chairman and chief executive officer of Atlantic Wind, said in a phone interview today. They will have total generation capacity of 58.4 megawatts and cost $150 million.

The German Federal Ministry of the Environment has announced that new incentives for energy storage systems for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will begin in February 2013.

The three-year subsidy program will have a EUR 50 million (USD 67 million) budget and will be available for PV systems with a capacity smaller than 30 kW, providing a grant of EUR 800 (USD 1,080) per kWh of storage. No additional certification will be needed, and self-consumed solar power will not be eligible for participation in the nation's feed-in tariff.

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is pleased to announce plans for the construction of a new solar power plant^* in Iwaki City, Fukushima. The largest of its kind in the Tohoku region, the 12,000-kilowatt facility is expected to start operating from mid-2014. The project forms part of MC’s overall strategic focus of developing its business in the renewable energies sector.

Ryukoku University; Inami Town; KYOCERA Solar Corporation (herein “KSC”), PLUS SOCIAL Co., Ltd. (herein “PS”); and The Trans Value Trust Company, Ltd. (herein “Trans Value”) have announced that they are working together to install the country’s first-ever social contribution mega-solar power generation plant (provisional name: Ryukoku Solar Park). The 1.85-megawatt solar project will sell the electricity generated under Japan’s generous feed-in tariff (FIT) and donate the profits to local communities, creating a model that provides funds to solve social problems while promoting the spread of renewable energy.

Apparel firm Gunze Ltd. said Friday it is jumping into the solar power business with an investment of about ¥1.7 billion and will use the feed-in-tariff scheme for promoting renewable energy.

Photovoltaic power generation panels with a capacity of 5.4 megawatts will be installed on roofs of the company’s plants and on its unused land in Hyogo, Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures, it said.

U.K. solar electricity may more than double this year as a boom in solar farms and domestic installations adds 2 gigawatts of new capacity, according to Trina (TSL) Solar Ltd., the third-biggest solar cell maker.

"The U.K. industry benefits from a stability that “every other country in the world pretty much envies right now,” Ben Hill, president of Trina Solar Europe, said in a Jan. 25 phone interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Government incentives for rooftop panels and ground-mounted farms are spurring both types of development, he said.

Sky Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (Shanghai, China) has commissioned a 30 MW ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Xinjiang Province, China.

The 30 MW plant in Aral City, Xinjiang is part of the first phase of Sky Solar's 200 MW project which will be built by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The company has also received a EUR 14.6 million (USD 19.7 million) loan to support 5.6 MW of PV plants that it has built in the Czech Republic.

Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), Japan’s largest trading house by market value, today announced plans to build three solar power stations with total capacity of 95 megawatts as it deepens its presence in alternative energy.

Mitsubishi and C-Tech Corp., a clean energy and telecommunications unit of Chubu Electric Power Co. (9502), will build a 77 megawatt station in Aichi prefecture in central Japan, the companies said in a statement today. It is estimated to cost more than 20 billion yen ($220 million), with 80 percent of the funding raised through project financing, according to the statement.

PV installations are projected to reach 35 gigawatts (GW) this year, up from 32 GW in 2012. In comparison, industry revenue—measured as the system price multiplied by total gigawatts installed—will retreat to an estimated $75 billion, down from $77 billion last year, and exhibiting an even steeper fall from the market’s peak revenue of $94 billion in 2011.

Solar energy is among the most important resources in Greece. Therefore, it is not surprising that photovoltaic energy is a source of hope for the Peleponnese peninsula in these times of economic depression. The solar park, which started operation near the city of Komotini in Eastern Greece, is now a small sign of hope for better times ahead.

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has been notified of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer by TRC Capital Corporation (TRC) to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares, or approximately 2.3 percent, of the outstanding First Solar common stock at a price of $30.00 per share in cash. TRC's offer price is approximately 5 percent less than the $31.58 closing price of First Solar's common stock on January 22, 2013, the day before the mini-tender offer commenced.

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change is to face a £140m damages claim from a group of 17 solar companies impacted by the changes to feed-in tariffs.

According to a report in the Financial Times, the energy department will contest the move ‘vigorously’ despite losing a string of cases at the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court over how it handled the calving of subsidies.

The financing, marketing and sales of rooftop solar panels is exploding into a big business. On the heels of Sungevity raising a whopping $125 million of equity and project financing last week, and the IPO of SolarCity last month, solar financier OneRoof Energy has announced that it’s raised $30 million in equity from Korean energy company Hanwha Group.

Volkswagen is making das auto a bit greener. The automaker has begun using a 33-acre solar farm adjacent to its Chattanooga manufacturing facility to power up to 12.5 percent of the plant’s needs during full production and 100% off production. VW’s embrace of solar power will reduce its operating costs over the long term.

Robert Bosch GmbH is reviewing the future of its solar-panel business after the biggest car-parts maker posted $1.4 billion of charges and losses from the unit.

Bosch wrote down 600 million euros ($800 million) in assets at the division, which also reported a 2012 operating loss of about 450 million euros, it said today in an e-mailed statement.

Aeon Renewable Energy Solution, a solar energy venture of India’s Madurai Appu restaurant chain, today announced it plans to build a 25MW solar power plant in Tamil Nadu with China’s Yingli Solar as its technical partner.

The company is also partnering with Anna University as part of its industry-academia initiatives.

The Press Agency Krampitz will be presenting its international study on public relations in the renewable energy sector at the ISH trade fair. For the first time the agency will be an exhibitor on the leading trade fair for bathroom design, heating and air conditioning technology and renewable energies in Frankfurt am Main. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is supporting the participation of the Cologne-based agency with subsidies for young, innovative companies.

NanoMarkets LLC (Glen Allen, Virginia, US) has released a new report which predicts that the market for energy storage solutions to accompany solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will reach almost USD 2 billion in revenues by 2018.

"Solar Storage Markets - 2013" forecasts that lead-acid batteries will remain the most popular technology, accounting for more than USD 950 million in 2018 revenues. The report also notes an increase in interest in the use of lithium batteries, sales of which it expects to reach USD 235 million by 2018.

NEW DELHI: Welspun Energy, India's biggest developer of solar projects, today said that it has commissioned a 15 mega-watt solar project in Rajasthan ahead of schedule.

The cost of crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) panels in the US continues to fall despite the imposition of anti-dumping and illegal subsidy tariffs on imports from China. US imports of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels from China fell to their lowest level in at least two years even amid the peak, year-end selling season based on federal government data, the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) yesterday announced in a press release.

The company will commission 20 MW solar plant - built by Mahindra EPC - in Rajasthan with an investment of $42 million ( Rs. 229 crore) next week.

Pratap Raju, joint managing director, PR Fonroche said the company plans to participate in two NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) tenders in mid-2013 for 50 MW and the upcoming Andhra Pradesh state government tender for 10 MW solar power plants.

Japan will cut its tariff for purchases of solar power by as much as 12 percent as costs to install systems to generate energy from the sun decline, according to an estimate by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The so-called feed-in tariff for solar could fall to as low as 37 yen (41 cents) per kilowatt hour for 20 years from a current rate of 42 yen per kilowatt hour, according to Yugo Nakamura, a Tokyo-based analyst with New Energy Finance.

The management of SiC Processing GmbH has decided today to call for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, scheduled for 24 January 2013 pursuant to section 49 (3) of the German Act on Limited Liability Companies in order to inform all shareholders about the loss of more than half of the company's equity.

Software makes basic industry equipment intelligent. The more complex the manufactured products are, the higher the requirements for factories because competition is intense. This is true not only in high technology branches such as semiconductor and solar industries but others as well. European manufacturers need to measure themselves against international competitors. In addition to technology know-how, cost and process efficiency are the main factors. The key to continued competitiveness is intelligent software and hardware – in short: the automation of production processes.

On January 21st, 2013, 9REN Group (Milan, Italy) announced that it has installed a 600 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant on the Canary Island Tenerife, Spain.

The rooftop PV system includes 2,526 REC-brand PV panels and 42 Danfoss inverters. It is estimated to generate an estimated 1,036,991 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar power a year.

Siemens, the German industrial giant, reported a 12 per cent slump in profits for the fourth quarter of 2012 and warned that the economy was set to remain weak this year.

DuPont Co. (DD), the largest U.S. chemical maker by market value, said its solar-materials and pigments businesses will be the biggest beneficiaries from a growing Chinese economy.

An acceleration in China would “greatly support” its performance chemicals unit, which makes titanium dioxide, a white paint-pigment, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ellen Kullmansaid yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. China’s plan to double installations of photovoltaics helps DuPont’s electronic materials unit, she said.

 SolarWorld , once Germany's largest solar company, could face lengthy and painful talks with creditors as it seeks to restructure its debt, the chief executive said.

"Talks could take weeks and months," Frank Asbeck, dubbed the "sun king" for his outgoing nature, said on Friday, adding the company needed to cut more jobs in addition to the 250 announced last year to save costs.

The new company juwi Shizen Energy, headquartered in Tokyo, is the result of the successful cooperation between Shizen Energy Inc. and the German juwi group. The companies combine first class international expertise and outstanding Japanese project development expertise plus an excellent track record. juwi Shizen Energy will support the Japanese in their effort to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies in their country. Today the two companies announced their cooperation at the JETRO Invest Japan Business Support Center in Tokyo. Their first project – a free-field photovoltaic system on the Japanese island Kyushu – was already connected to the grid mid-December. Furthermore, the company has a project pipeline of 120 MW in 2013 and is targeting to install 1 GW by 2017. Thus juwi Shizen Energy Inc. will bring affordable, secure and sustainable energy to the land of the rising sun.

High electricity costs (both wholesale and retail), rumors of government tenders, and significant price declines of photovoltaic equipment have attracted a rush of solar development in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the start of 2013, more than 10 gigawatts of large-scale projects have been announced in the region, but just 91 megawatts are currently operating. While 766 megawatts have signed offtake agreements in place, much of the remaining pipeline is highly speculative. Depending on the country, developers are waiting either on interest from large industrial offtakers or for governments to announce solar-specific energy auctions, neither of which has yet to materialize in a meaningful way.

The cooling global economy has slowed the pace of growth of the Bosch Group. According to preliminary figures, the sales of the global supplier of technology and services grew 1.6  percent in 2012, to 52.3 billion euros. Subdued sales developments, as well  as a likely one billion euros of impairments and losses in the difficult photovoltaics business, had a significant effect on  the earnings situation. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stand at roughly 2 percent of sales, according to preliminary figures. “Despite slightly increased sales and positive free cash flow,  we cannot be satisfied with developments in the business year  2012,” said Dr. Volkmar  Denner, the chairman of the Bosch board of management. In 2013, therefore, priority is to be given  to improving earnings strength, but without neglecting investments in future areas of business.

Soitec (Euronext Paris), a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials for energy and electronics, today announced total consolidated sales of 59.9 million Euros for the third quarter down by 25.7% on a yearly basis.

Consolidated sales

South and Central American nations are aspiring to be more environmentally friendly, as renewable energy strategies are introduced, but thermal power remains the main player, states a new report by energy experts GBI Research.

The new research* reports that the power market in South and Central America is dominated by thermal power, which accounted for 39.9% of the total installed capacity in 2011, but this share is expected to decrease to 35% by 2020, while the share of renewable energy is expected to increase substantially in the future.

The Boards of Directors of Grupo Isolux Corsán and Isolux Infrastructure have approved the appointment of the CEOs of both companies. Francisco José García Martín takes over as CEO of Grupo Isolux Corsán and Santiago Varela Ullastres as the CEO of Isolux Infrastructure.

Ikea Group, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, will double its investment in renewable energy to $4 billion by 2020 as part of a drive to reduce costs as cash-strapped consumers become more price sensitive.

The additional spending on projects such as wind farms and solar parks will be needed to keep expenses down as the company maintains its pace of expansion, Chief Executive Officer and President Mikael Ohlsson said in an interview in Malmo, Sweden.

Nautilus Solar Energy has started commercial operation of its 1,115kW roof mounted, solar photovoltaic project located in Gibbstown, NJ. The project is on the rooftop of Raymour & Flanigan's distribution center on Swedesboro Avenue.

The power is being sold at a discount to the utility tariff rate to Raymour under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement. SRECs are being sold to Atlantic City Electric.