Markets

Continual rain only “whetted” the competitive appetite of the 4,000 students from 19 colleges across four continents who participated in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 in Washington, D.C., from September 23 through October 2.

Vertically integrated solar manufacturer Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has had its restart plants held back by power outages. REC Silicon’s Moses Lake, Washington, was affected.

Germany-based photovoltaic integrator Phoenix Solar has announced that it has the go ahead to begin construction of a 50 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant in Bulgaria.

On the final closing of a Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee for the project, SunPower will sell to NRG Energy the California Solar Ranch. Construction on the project began last month and is expected to be completed in two years.

Speaking after PV Taiwan’s pre-show press conference, Sam Hong, Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association chairman and Neo Solar’s president and COO told pv magazine that a photovoltaic technology war is starting. And, while the rain may be coming down in Taipei, solar prospects in Taiwan are bright, according to many of the industry’s leaders.

The off-grid market is also currently profiting from the declining module and system prices in the ongrid segment. Yet in many developing countries, particularly in southern Africa, both the industry and policy makers are challenged to make photovoltaic technology more attractive and to develop transparent markets. This was an important message sent out by an off-grid workshop to which the wholesale dealer Phaesun extended invitations on the occasion of its tenth corporate anniversary on the weekend.

Thin film solar technology is confirming its place as a booming market, with new figures suggesting that it will grow to make $44 billion worldwide by 2017.

Solar cell and module manufacturers will have to cooperate more closely with machinery and systems manufacturers. This was one of the central demands made at a meeting of Solarinput that brought all of the participants together in Germany’s Erfurt.

A packed room, interactive sessions and presentations that gave food for thought. The Solarpraxis workshop ‘Quality for Photovoltaics: the key driver for sustainable growth’ came to a successful conclusion yesterday. Bankability, testing measures and installation errors were the key topics discussed.

Spanish company Solarpack Corporación Tecnológica S.L. has formed a joint venture with Kabi Energy (Pty) Ltd, this marking its entrance into the South African photovoltaic market.