On February 1st, 2012 MiaSole Inc. (Santa Clara, California, U.S.) announced that it has reached 17.3% conversion efficiency with a "champion" copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic (PV) device. The company also states that its manufacturing process for 14% efficiency is now in production at its California facility. MiaSole notes that these achievements have occurred ahead of schedule, and represent a more than 30% increase over February 2011 efficiencies. Read more...

February 1st, 2012, The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE, New Delhi, India) announced an investigation of India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The organization alleges that one company acquired nine projects in one bidding process through the program, in violation of a one project per applicant rule. CSE states that LANCO Infratech Ltd. (Gurgaon, India) created "front" companies to acquire 235 MW out of 620 MW of projects, or 40% of total bids, during the auctions for the first batch, first phase of the JNNSM. LANCO has responded that it "strongly objects" to the allegations but has not denied their accuracy, and the Indian government has promised to launch its own investigation. Read more...

Spanish PV producer Isofoton (MÁLAGA; Spain) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have signed an agreement that establishes a solar joint venture. CNOOC through its subsidiary Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Co., LTD, (Tianjin, China) and Isofoton will create a new company, based in Tianjin called Isofoton Lishen New Energy Co. Ltd. Isofoton Lishen will develop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 150 megawatts (MW), Isofoton reports in a press release. CNOOC due to the release will invest up to USD 300 million USD in the projects. Read more...

German high-tech engineering firm Manz AG (Reutlingen) presented the latest advances to its integrated production line for the manufacture of CIGS thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, the Manz CIGSfab, at the fourth Thin-Film Conference held by the solar industry magazine PHOTON. This includes achieving the previously attained increases to module efficiency under mass production conditions, cutting the capital expenditures (capex) required for the Manz CIGSfab by nearly one fifth, and reducing the cost of manufacturing modules by 25 percent since 2010. Read more...

On January 31st, 2012 MidAmerican Renewables LLC (Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.) announced that it has completed the acquisition of the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm from First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) for an undisclosed sum. First Solar began construction on the solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Tempe, Arizona in December 2011 and expects to complete the plant by early 2015. The plant is comprised of First Solar cadmium telluride PV modules, and the company will operate and maintain the plant when complete. Read more...

On February 1st, 2012 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between developer First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) and Southern California Edison Company (SCE, Rosemead, California, U.S.) for electricity generated by the Silver State South solar photovoltaic (PV) plant. The 250 MW PV plant will interconnect to the California Independent System Operator grid at the proposed Ivanpah Substation, which will be built as part of the Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project. The Silver State South PV plant is scheduled to begin delivering electricity through the PPA on May 31st, 2017. Read more...

On January 31st, 2012 Fluor Corporation (Irving, Texas) announced that it has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by an LS Power Group (New York, New York, U.S.) company for the construction of a 125 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the U.S. state of Arizona. LS Power has closed project financing and obtained all major permits for the Arlington Valley Solar Energy II (AVSE II) project, as well as securing a power purchase agreement to sell the electricity generated. Flour expects to commission the plant by the end of 2013. Read more...

On January 30th, 2012 NPD Solarbuzz (San Francisco, California, U.S.) released a report which states that the strong fourth quarter of 2011 in European solar photovoltaic (PV) markets will result in the reduction of PV incentives in 2012, and that European markets will also diversify. The company's "European PV Markets Quarterly" predicts that the German and Italian PV markets will together decline a total of 37% in 2012, but the company expects strong growth in smaller markets in Central and Eastern Europe. NPD Solarbuzz also states that falling module prices contributed to strong market growth in 2011, noting that these prices have shown recent evidence of stabilization. Read more...

On January 31st, 2012 Semprius Inc. (Durham, North Carolina, U.S.) announced that it has reached a new world record of 33.9% active area solar photovoltaic (PV) module efficiency using its concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) modules. The company notes that this efficiency well exceeds the previous record of 32.0%. The Technical University of Madrid's Institute of Solar Energy (Madrid, Spain) tested the module indoors under standard test conditions at 850 watts/m2 and 25 degrees Celsius cell temperature. The measurement was confirmed by outdoor tests performed by the Institute of Concentrating Photovoltaic Systems (Puertollano, Spain). Read more...

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has dismissed petitions to extend 2011 feed-in tariff (FIT) levels past January 28th, 2012, as well as issuing new tariff levels for systems commissioned from January 29th, 2012 through March 31st, 2015, according to the Natural Group. The order on January 27th, 2012 offers levelized tariffs for PV between INR 9.28/kWh (USD 0.188/kWh) and INR 12.44/kWh (USD 0.252/kWh) for PV plants commissioned through March 31st, 2013. The commission has also set a rate of INR 11.55 (USD 0.234/kWh) and INR 12.91 (USD 0.262/kWh) for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants with and without an accelerated depreciation benefit. Read more...