The Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) market will rise again in 2012 and in the next five years, according to new research from SBI Energy (New York, New York, U.S.). Emerging from an enforced hiatus by photovoltaic (PV) technologies, the global capacity of utility-scale CSP was 2 GW at the close of 2011 with approximately another 2.500 to 3.500 MW becoming operational in 2012. SBI Energy estimates the cost of the installed base of CSP at the end of 2011 at USD 9.5 billion with power tower technology increasing its market share. Read more...

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG (SINGULUS, Kahl am Main, Germany) signed a contract for the delivery of a PV production line with an Eastern European customer who starts to invest in the manufacturing of crystalline solar cells. The delivery of the line is scheduled to take place in early 2013 under restriction of the approval of the relevant committees, SINGULUS reports in a press release. The contractual agreement with this customer means an additional important expansion step for SINGULUS in the solar segment, the company emphasizes. Read more...

Within 6 years, the Chinese solar thermal industry increased its export business 12-fold, from USD 20 million in 2005 to USD 250 million in 2010, Solrico (Bielefeld, Germany) reports. In 2011, the newly installed collector area in China has jumped up another 18% to 57.6 million m² (40.3 GWth). Putting the focus on solar technology has proven to be the right step: Nowadays, significantly more new solar water heaters are being installed per year than gas or electric water heaters. Read more...

STR Holdings Inc. (Enfield, Connecticut, U.S.), on February 3rd, 2012 announced that revenue is projected to approximate USD 36.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 and diluted non-GAAP EPS is projected to be in the range of USD 0.04 to USD 0.02. Projected revenue is below the company’s guidance of USD 44 to USD 48 million. Projected diluted non-GAAP earnings per share is below the previously-announced guidance range of USD 0.09 to USD 0.12. Read more...

On February 2nd, 2012, Suniva Inc. (Norcross, Georgia, U.S.), a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, announced that it has supplied solar photovoltaic (PV) modules for a 1-MW solar farm at the Chattanooga Airport in Tennessee. The solar facility, implemented by Inman Solar, is the first phase of a 3-MW project by the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA), designed to reduce pollution, waste and energy consumption. Read more...

On January 30th, 2012, the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council announced the closing of the public comment period on the Supplemental Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS) for solar development on public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Read more...

On January 31st, 2012, Sandia National Laboratories announced that it has developed a tool for appraising photovoltaic (PV) installations in a partnership with Solar Power Electric (Port Charlotte, Florida, U.S.). PV Value, an electronic form to standardize appraisals, is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The tool will provide appraisers, real estate agents and mortgage underwriters with more accurate values for PV systems. Read more...

On January 26th, 2012, Danfoss Solar Inverters (Nordborg, Denmark) announced that it has entered into an agreement with MimtaSolar (Istanbul, Turkey) to distribute the TLX & ULX inverter series throughout Turkey. Under the agreement, MimtaSolar will sell Danfoss’s inverters in Turkey. Danfoss will provide single phase products in the 1.8 – 5.4 kW range as well as three phase products in the 6 – 15 kW range to the Istanbul based distributor. The Danfoss inverter line will be integrated into Mimta’s turn-key photovoltaic systems. Read more...

On February 1st, 2012 SunRun Inc. (San Francisco, California, U.S.) and PV Solar Report (Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.) presented a list of California cities with the fastest-growing solar photovoltaic (PV) markets. San Jose came in first in the rankings, followed by Bakersfield and Simi Valley in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The report also found a sharp increase in PV as a service, with more than 2/3 of residential PV customers in San Jose choosing a leasing option over direct purchase in 2011. The report notes that in December 2011 solar power service was over 70% of California's residential PV market. Read more...

On February 1st, 2012, Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany) announced that it has appointed Shmuel Fledel as chief executive officer (CEO) of the solar thermal energy business unit in its solar & hydro division. Fledel’s appointment became effective on February 1st, 2012. Read more...