Are you an installer who uses APS microinverter technology? APS microinverters would like to thank you and encourage you to participate in their solar project of the year contest. Below are contest details as offered  by APS:

“As 2014 winds down, we’d like to look back on the great solar successes of the past year and share our very best stories with the world. So we’re pleased to announce our first ever APS Solar Project of the Year Awards – and we hope you’ll enter.

What made your project outstanding? You tell us in terms of scale, design, power output, challenging conditions, or just creative application of APS microinverter technology.

We invite you to submit your project details here, including a brief write-up about your best installation(s) along with some high resolution photographs including some showing our microinverters. The project can be under construction or completed. Entries will be judged by our APS team. We will be giving awards in both Residential and Commercial categories. We’ll announce the APS Solar Project of the Year Award winners early in the new year through promotions that highlight your project and your company. The winner in each category will receive an iPad Mini 3!

We’re excited to announce this contest to highlight the excellence of APS microinverter installations as they multiply around the US. APS is committed to helping you grow your solar business even as we grow ours, so this is a cross-promotion opportunity not to be missed.

Submit your project entries by January 9th 2015. Please read the Terms and conditions before entering. If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Deb Henderson, media@apsamerica.com.

Thank you for partnership and support, Your friends at APS America”

Solar Power World

Solar solutions provider ecoSolargy has been recognized with a 2014 SCORE Award Honorable Mention. SCORE awards “celebrate and honor successful and innovative entrepreneurs who inspire us all and the small business advocates who support entrepreneurship in America.” Presentations were made during a special ceremony in Washington, DC.

“We’re grateful for this recognition of our hard work bringing the benefits of solar energy to many American businesses and homes,” said Alan H. Lee, CEO of ecoSolargy. “It’s been a strong year for our company in 2014, and we’re looking forward to ever greater success in 2015.”

Lee founded ecoSolargy as a solar panel manufacturer in 2009. Today, it has three divisions: 1) wholesaler of solar products, 2) project developer to commercial tenants and building owners who want to take advantage of solar tax credits to save money and reduce use of electricity and 3) consultant to firms that want to develop solar-generation facilities. It sells all needed solar products for a project, and offers manufacturer-direct pricing.

Lee added, “Most manufacturers don’t sell inverters and racking and most distributors don’t have factory direct pricing. ecoSolargy offers both.”

The firm’s Irvine headquarters is a model of the benefits a company can derive from solar power; the building has four separate solar arrays, which offset 80% of the facility’s electricity usage.

Solar Power World

Clenergy has announced that its PV-ezRack SolarTerrace V (STV), a utility-scale mounting system, recently earned the TÜV Rheinland certification. The mounting system meets and partially exceeds the TÜV standard 2 PfG 1794/10.10 – an important quality indicator for mounting systems for PV modules and factory inspection. The accreditation lays a solid foundation for offering a class leading utility scale product for the global market.

STV debuted in June at the PV EXPO 2014 in Tokyo. Clenergy is proud of the strong positive response it received from developers, EPCs and installation specialists at the show. The new system is developed for utility scale PV-deployments with panels in landscape orientation. Designed with specials needs of developers and installers in mind, this innovative product offers a wide range of adjustability and easy deployment while enabling the implementation of large arrays.

“STV is another exciting implementation of our product vision and our efforts in the utility scale solar market,” said Mario Guzzi, Clenergy’s VP of international sales and marketing. “Its accreditation will further strengthen its competiveness in the global market.”

International standards and certification are a key part of Clenergy’s design map and manufacturing standards. Clenergy’s innovative and high-quality products have obtained approvals and certifications from various accrediting authorities in Australia, the EU, Germany and numerous other countries. The PV-ezRack SolarRoof mounting range, the PV-ezRack SolarMatrix Pro and the ground mounting PV-ezRack SolarTerrace II range also have TÜV Rheinland certification.

Molly Ge, Clenergy’s Global Product Manager, noted that this “is the first time for Clenergy to obtain a TÜV certificate” purely through in-house development and by directly applying with the accreditation firm. Clenergy’s PV-ezRack Team completed all the technical documents, static calculation and testing per the required standards. The TÜV certification is a strong statement of Clenergy’s technical ability to create high quality and innovative solar solutions.

Clenergy
www.clenergy.com

Solar Power World

Kyocera Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation announced that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC, a joint venture established by the two companies, will develop and operate a 13.4-MW floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir, managed by the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture in Japan for industrial water services. The plant will become the largest floating solar installation in the world.

Aiming to reduce its burden on the environment, the Public Enterprises Agency of Chiba Prefecture had been publicly seeking companies to construct and operate a floating solar power plant at the Yamakura Dam. Kyocera TCL Solar was selected to undertake this project in part due to its experience and expertise in developing utility-scale solar power plants in Japan. The company aims to begin operations in March 2016 after negotiating with related parties including Tokyo Electric Power Company.

“When we first started R&D for solar energy in the mid 1970s, the technology was only viable for small applications such as street lamps, traffic signs and telecommunication stations in mountainous areas,” stated Nobuo Kitamura, senior executive officer and general manager of the Corporate Solar Energy Group at Kyocera. “Since then, we have been working to make solar energy use more ubiquitous in society, and have expanded our business to residential, commercial and utility-scale solar applications. We are excited to work with our partners on this project, taking another step forward by utilizing untapped bodies of water as solar power generation sites.”

The project will be comprised of approximately 50,000 Kyocera modules installed over a water surface area of 180,000m2. The plant will generate an estimated 15,635 megawatt hours (MWh) per year — enough electricity to power approximately 4,700 typical households — while offsetting about 7,800 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Under the plan, Kyocera TCL Solar will build and operate the installation, and Century Tokyo Leasing will provide project financing. The Kyocera Group will be responsible for the supply of solar modules and related equipment in addition to construction, operation and maintenance. The modules will be installed on floating platforms manufactured by Ciel et Terre (headquarters: France), which is also supplying the platforms for a floating solar power plant project in Hyogo Prefecture currently being constructed by Kyocera TCL Solar.

By cooperating with local companies on construction and operation, and establishing an environmental education facility adjacent to the plant to provide environmental classes for local elementary school students, Kyocera and Century Tokyo Leasing hope that the project will play a role in the development of the local community. The companies are committed to promoting solar energy as a means to attain a low-carbon society.

Solar Power World

Ecolibrium Solar finalized an agreement with hb Solar Canada of Ontario, Canada, to exclusively provide the EcoFoot2+ mounting system throughout Canada. hb Solar will optimize the EcoFoot2+ mounting system for Canada, utilizing its years of experience and extensive depth of knowledge in the market. The agreement will afford both companies the opportunity to further their mission of deploying solar worldwide.

Solar installers planning projects in Canada can contact hb Solar Canada directly to obtain quotes, request layouts, and order product. Ecolibrium Solar will continue providing outstanding products, services, and support to the U.S. and global market.

Solar Power World

Advanced Energy Industries, a leader in precision power conversion solutions, has started to explore strategic alternatives for its Solar Inverter business. The company is considering various options including a sale, joint venture, partnership, licensing or other alternatives including additional product line optimization and rationalization, in order to maximize shareholder value.

“As part of our annual strategic planning process, we reviewed our entire business to determine the best portfolio mix to achieve our strategic objectives and build shareholder value. We concluded that the Solar Inverter business as currently configured required a review of our strategic alternatives to capitalize on its strong product portfolio and customer relationships,” said Yuval Wasserman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The company plans to continue offering its inverter products and services, and supporting its customers during this process. There can be no assurance that the company will enter into a transaction in the future. The company does not plan to disclose or comment on developments until it deems further disclosure to be appropriate.

As a result of the company’s strategic review and resulting retirement of certain central inverter legacy products, the company expects to record a non-cash inventory charge of between $10 and $14 million in the fourth quarter. This non-cash inventory charge will reduce net income and earnings per share on a GAAP-basis for the fourth quarter and full year 2014, but the company expects to exclude this charge from its calculation of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP earnings per share for such periods, as a non-cash, non-recurring charge.

Solar Power World

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s recent solar tariff decision will not only raise the cost of solar imports, but will also harm U.S. solar manufacturers. This decision threatens companies such as Suniva, which manufactures solar cells in the U.S. while assembling modules in China, and Hemlock Semiconductor, which last week announced it is closing down its Clarksville, Tennessee, facility for solar silicon production due to international trade disputes.

In response to this news, Jigar Shah, President of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE), released the following statement:

“Imposing unilateral tariffs on all solar modules assembled in China, including those with solar cells produced in the U.S., Taiwan or any third country, will undercut the growth of American solar jobs and hurt our domestic solar industry.

“Suniva, based in Norcross, Georgia, is America’s leading solar manufacturer. But the Department of Commerce’s decision to broaden the scope of the case may put American companies like Suniva in the bizarre position of paying severe import duties on a product (PV cells) they manufactured in America when those cells are assembled into modules in China.

“More drastically, Hemlock Semiconductor announced that it plans to close its Clarksville, Tennessee manufacturing plant due to ‘ongoing challenges presented by global trade disputes.’ Over $1.2 billion of investment and 50 jobs will be lost, in addition to the 400 jobs already lost to layoffs in 2013 as a result of the initial 2012 tariffs.

“Given the global threat of climate change and the recent U.S.-China commitment to reduce carbon emissions, it makes absolutely no sense to impose unproductive tariffs on solar imports that also damage U.S. solar companies.

“We continue to urge the governments of the U.S. and China to accelerate negotiations to preserve free and fair trade in the global solar industry. Affordable solar panels are a good thing for the U.S., China, and the world.”

Solar Power World

In 2008, SolarMax hit its peak, claiming the title of fifth largest inverter supplier in the world. Last week, Swiss parent company of SolarMax, Sputnik Engineering, declared bankruptcy, leaving many portfolio owners and service providers confused and without support. As unfortunate as the case may be; it likely will not be the last we witness. The well-known example of Satcon (which filed for bankruptcy in 2012) has shown the significant impact of an event like this on the market, but the question remains: how do we deal with this?

Obtaining data is not the problem
“From the perspective of data aggregation, there is no big issue when an inverter manufacturer goes bankrupt”, explains Martin Neumeyr, Head of Technical Operation Management, meteocontrol, “The submission of data is not a problem in itself.”

Hendrik Hoffmann, Director of Software Development with skytron energy, confirms this statement, pointing to the fact that that there are still other means of monitoring power plants, even if an inverter is offline. This can be done using string monitoring systems, intelligent combiner boxes and energy meters. “The real issues arise as soon as there is a failure on site”, continues Neumeyr. “Before Solarmax filed for insolvency, you could expect the company’s technical support engineers to come fix the problem. In most cases, repair is simpler and more affordable than replacing the whole inverter.”

Worst case vs best case scenario
In the current situation, there are several scenarios which face inverter failure. “The worst case scenario”, says Matias Gallego, Head of the Engineering Department at Vector Cuatro, “is that the SolarMax inverter breaks and is significantly under warranty. Since new inverters are not produced, nor are service and repairs being supported, there is a problem. If we cannot repair it, the costs get much higher, and depending on the country where the plant is located, the permit process/permission from administration can take much longer in the cases where the inverter needs to be completely replaced. The best case scenario, on the other hand, is that you are lucky to quickly find another company with the same or very similar services to those of SolarMax, and they have the competence, equipment and spare parts to quickly repair the inverter”.

Financial impact
Using the example of the SolarMax 30 kVa inverters, not replacing the inverter could easily cost €7,500 or $9,100 a year (assuming 1000 kwh/kwp and an ‘old’ plant with a €0,25, $30 FiT). On the other hand, replacing the old inverter for a new inverter of a different brand could easily cost €5,000 to €7,000 ($6,000 to $8,500) as well. Including labor costs and the potential costs of having to adjust plant infrastructure to the new inverter, this could come close to the same costs as waiting a year to replace the inverter. A nuance that can be placed here, says Neumeyer, is that in most cases it wouldn’t be that all three of the power plates fail at the same time, which means losses would be roughly one third of the aforementioned costs.
Potential SolarMax scenarios
There are a few potential scenarios that come to mind at this point. One of these could be that some SolarMax employees stick together to form a service company, specialized in these inverters. Another option is that the inverter service, which is still a valuable asset that the company possesses, is sold to a service provider.
While it is pure speculation, an ‘REC or Sunways scenario’ should normally not be unthinkable either, meaning that a Chinese company could take over SolarMax to (further) establish a European presence, such as what the Shunfeng Group is attempting to do. “This could usually be a possibility”, adds Neumeyer, “however in such a case it could easily take up to a year before SolarMax would be back to normal business”.

Future risk of similar bankruptcies
Cormac Gilligan, Senior Solar Analyst at IHS, states that “while there have been some market exits, there is still a large number of solar inverter manufacturers. The major issue, is that the European market is very competitive and new suppliers, such as Chinese inverter manufacturers, have entered the European market to fill the gaps left by the other bankrupt companies. It is quite possible that in the next five years or so, we will see a combination of mergers, acquisitions, and at times, bankruptcies.

Bigger problems with newer inverters
From the asset manager perspective, Gallego has noted that the problems arise when inverters are newer and under warranty, which on average lasts 2-5 years, though customers can pay extra for longer warranty periods. For the inverters installed around 2008, the risk of damage is lower to the plant because the inverters are either out of warranty, or are about to expire. In the case of the newer inverters, however, the SolarMax technology is now obsolete and replacements would be challenging to find. Luckily, despite the added difficulties, there are O&M contractors in existence who are working on providing pieces of equipment to plant owners with damaged inverters that can adequately replace SolarMax’s equipment.

Looking forward
First of all, the fact SolarMax has filed for insolvency, does not mean it is permanently out of the inverter manufacturing market. From the outside it’s hard to predict what still could happen. It’s for sure a good example of the still very ‘dynamic’ PV market and urges for approaches and strategies to be developed to face these kind of situations. For instance, many portfolio owners do not have a defined ‘spare part strategy’, which could cause problems in situations such as the ones discussed here, expresses Stefano Cruccu, Project Manager from Solarplaza.

Topics like the above are discussed at the Solar Asset Management conferences which Solarplaza organizes around the world. The first of these events coming is Solar Asset Management North America, coming up in San Francisco on April 1-2, 2015.

This piece has been contributed by Solarplaza, which organizes international high-level conferences and exploratory trade missions in both established and emerging markets across the globe. With a track-record spanning 5 continents, 24 countries, and 32 cities for a total of over 60 events, Solarplaza keeps pushing forward to empower professionals in solar business development.

Solar Power World

TransCanada Corporation announced it has acquired the eighth Ontario solar facility from Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. The newly built Liskeard 1 facility has a generating capacity of 10 MW and is located in northeastern Ontario in the New Liskeard region.

The acquisition of Liskeard 1 is part of a larger purchase agreement with Canadian Solar signed in 2011, bringing TransCanada’s investment in its Ontario solar program to over $450 million. The new facility has now started generating electricity under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority.

“We are pleased to have completed the purchase of this additional solar facility in Ontario,” said Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer of TransCanada. “This acquisition continues to show our commitment to maintaining a diverse portfolio of generating capacity in Ontario which includes 958 MW of gas fired generation and our combined interest of about 40 percent in the 6,200 MW Bruce nuclear facility.

Girling adds that TransCanada is the largest private power producer in the province of Ontario and that regardless of the size or type of project, environmental responsibility is a priority. To protect people, property and the environment, Girling noted that TransCanada is at the forefront of research and in adopting new technologies to build, maintain, monitor and operate the company’s energy infrastructure in a safe and environmentally sustainable way.

TransCanada’s long-term dedication to investing in emission-less and high-efficiency energy sources, research and development and environmental initiatives was recently acknowledged by the Carbon Disclosure Project with an improved ranking for its disclosure of carbon emissions and mitigation of the business risks of climate change. TransCanada has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for 13 consecutive years and earned a place on the DJSI North America Index in 2014.

To date, the company has invested over $5 billion in emission-less energy sources including the largest wind farm in New England and 13 hydro power facilities in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as solar projects and Canada’s largest wind farm development in Quebec. TransCanada is a partner in Bruce Power, Canada’s first private nuclear generator that currently produces 6,200 MW of emission-free electricity in Ontario. TransCanada also specializes in building highly efficient natural gas-fired power plants that are helping North America’s transition to a less carbon-intensive electricity supply mix.

Solar Power World

Trina Solar Limited announced that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has set a new world record for power output from a high efficiency multi-crystalline silicon PV module.

Trina Solar’s Honey Plus multi-crystalline silicon PV module reached a new power output record of 324.5Wp, which has been independently certified by TUV Rheinland. This result marks a new world record for a multi-crystalline silicon module composed of 60 high-efficiency Honey Plus multi-crystalline silicon cells (156×156mm2) produced with advanced technologies including back surface passivation and local back surface field, which were developed by Trina Solar and are currently in pilot production.

This further builds on the Company’s recent new world record for its Honey Plus p-type PERC cell which reached an efficiency of 20.76% as independently confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab in Germany. This result was listed in the “Solar Cell Efficiency Table (Version 45)” in the current issue of Progress in Photovoltaics and was also recognized as an R&D highlight at the 6th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-6).

Trina Solar has set four new world records in 2014 for p-type PERC cells and modules. These include new records for large-area (156×156 mm2) p-type silicon substrates of 21.40% for mono-crystalline and 20.76% for multi-crystalline silicon solar cells, as well as new peak power output records for commercial PV modules of 335.2Wp for mono-crystalline and 324.5Wp for multi-crystalline silicon solar cells.

“At the Trina Solar State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology (SKL PVST), our focus is on delivering meaningful scientific and technological innovations,” said Dr. Zhiqiang Feng, vice president of Trina Solar and director of the SKL PVST. “We are proud to have set several new world records for PV cells and modules on large-area substrates in 2014 which have delivered improvements to the efficiency, reliability and cost of crystalline silicon photovoltaic devices. Such R&D breakthroughs continue to demonstrate Trina Solar’s position as the leader in technological innovations in the solar industry and sets base for future mass production of high efficiency products.”

Solar Power World

Fortune Energy, a wholesale distributor of turn-key solar solutions, has announced that it will begin carrying the brand Fronius, a manufacturer of inverters, effective immediately.

“We are thrilled to welcome the addition of Fronius inverters into our solar product distribution portfolio,” said Jack Meng, president of Fortune Energy.

“The advanced module-level power electronics uses the fewest components of any integrated module-based solution on the market,” Meng said. “Through this collaboration, we are looking forward to supplying our growing U.S. customer base with another high-quality, top tier inverter line.”

Fortune Energy will be selling products from Fronius’ SnapINverter generation of inverters, known for their sleek, lightweight design and flexibility.

“Fronius string inverters are designed specifically for ease of installation, space savings and long-term servicing, which lowers overall system costs and making Fronius the most sustainable solution on the market,” said Thomas Enzendorfer, director of solar energy at Fronius USA.

“We are excited to offer an inverter with increased energy harvest and unrivaled bankability for optimum ROI,” said Karen Hale, sales Manager at Fortune Energy. “The new inverter line streamlines design, maximizes energy production, and reduces shade impact, all while allowing for significant design flexibility.”

Fronius USA opened its doors in the United States in 2002. Under the terms of the agreement, Fronius will supply its inverters, which are developed at its headquarters in Indiana, for resale to Fortune Energy customers throughout the United States.

Fronius
www.fronius-usa.com

Fortune Energy 
www.FortuneEnergy.net

Solar Power World

Hanwha SolarOne, a global manufacturer of PV solar modules, announced it has signed a deal with a developer for the supply of 80 MW of solar PV modules to a project in the Antofagasta Region, Chile.

The solar installations will be powered by Hanwha SolarOne’s new polycrystalline module generation, the HSL S Series.

“Hanwha Solar is strongly expanding into emerging PV markets,” said Maengyoon Kim, managing director of Hanwha SolarOne GmbH. “With its financial stability and high-quality products, our company has proven a reliable partner for investors and project planners worldwide.”

The delivery, totalling 258,000 HSL 72 S Poly modules, will begin late in the first quarter 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter. The generated power will be sold under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Hanwha SolarOne’s new S Series modules feature a four busbar design, yielding more efficient energy production and industry leading weak light and high temperature performance.

All Hanwha SolarOne modules are backed by a 25-year linear power warranty and 12-year workmanship warranty.

Solar Power World

JA Solar has announced that it has delivered over 100MWp of PV modules to Solarcentury, a leading UK solar developer and EPC, in 2014. The modules were mainly used in Solarcentury’s ground-mounted solar projects and large commercial rooftops in the UK.

Approximately 49 MWp of JA Solar’s proprietary Full Square mono 275 Wp modules will be deployed for the Southwick solar farm. Once connected to the grid in March 2015, the farm will become one of the largest solar farms ever built in the UK.

“The UK market remains very successful for JA Solar and we have seen continued growth year after year,” said Baofang Jin, chairman and CEO of JA Solar, commented. “We are very proud of our relationship with Solarcentury, a leading developer of large-scale solar around the world and well respected for its high quality construction and operations. We can confidently say our product is in good hands.”

“Despite an impending renewables obligation (RO) limit to individual PV sites over 5MWp, we are still optimistic about the UK market in 2015,” Jin said. “The UK PV industry is extremely dynamic with strong fundamentals. We see the market maturing at a fast rate, and any gradual shift of focus towards rooftop solar also lends well to our strategy for higher powered products.”

Frans van den Heuvel, CEO of Solarcentury, said, “It is important for us to co-operate with financially robust and reliable companies like JA Solar to ensure the success of our solar farm projects, particularly for our major sites and projects. We are pleased to be working with JA Solar for our UK builds; increasing the UK’s solar energy capacity also improves energy independence and reduces reliance on foreign imports.”

Solar Power World

Innovative Solar Systems (ISS) has become one of the largest developers of large scale solar farm projects in the United States. The company is based in North Carolina and has developed upwards of one gigawatt of projects in the company’s home state alone before expanding operations into about a dozen key states nationwide.

ISS managing partner and CEO John E. Green said the country is hungry for renewable energy with so many coal fired generating plants being phased out over the next ten years.

“There are very few alternatives to clean energy as coal goes away and solar power is the cheapest and most cost effective way to replace these out dated coal plants,” Green said.

ISS currently has hundreds of megawatts of solar farm projects approved and ready for immediate construction in North Carolina, and it has another gigawatt of projects in various stages of development across the United States.

By taking the company public in 2015, Green said that ISS will raise the needed capital to expand operations in all 50 states and make solar energy a reality to every rate paying consumer of electricity across the U.S.

With solar power equipment costs being at all-time lows and getting cheaper by the day, prices to produce energy by solar have become cheaper than gas, oil, hydro and coal. As EPA mandates become even stricter on traditional power plant emissions solar has become the go to power source for utility companies nationwide when it comes to replacing coal plants.

Solar Power World

Ideal Power says the European Patent Office has awarded the company a patent (EP2025051 B1) for its core power conversion technology, Power Packet Switching Architecture (PPSA). This patent, along with previously granted U.S. and Chinese patents, provide Ideal Power intellectual property protection in the world’s largest markets.

PPSA is a new approach to electronic power converters. It has a 100% indirect power transfer compared to direct power transfer from conventional power converters. All the energy runs through, and is temporarily stored in, a high-frequency AC link consisting of an inductor and capacitor. Since the input and output are never directly connected together, this novel current modulation technique provides circuit isolation without the size, weight, cost, and efficiency loss of a transformer. It also provides buck/boost voltage conversion, bi-directional power transfer, and multiport applications with any combination of independently-controlled AC and DC power ports.

“Our PPSA technology is increasingly recognized as offering market leadership in efficiency, size, weight, and cost for grid storage while providing electrical isolation,” stated Dan Brdar, CEO of Ideal Power. “Securing key international patents not only protects our intellectual property, but is a core component of our commercialization strategy to develop global relationships and enter new markets while providing our customers sustainable competitive advantage.”

In PV inverter applications, the PPSA delivers weight and efficiency benefits of a transformer-less inverter, while supporting grounded PV arrays, which are the de facto U.S. standard.

Other attributes of the Power Packet Switching Architecture include:
Non-resonant soft-switching dramatically reduces electrical and thermal stresses on power switches (silicon IGBTs).
High AC link frequency utilizes compact inductor, eliminating bulk capacitors and further improving system reliability.

Precise intra-cycle current management minimizes the need for output filtering.
Bi-directional AC switches (shown in blue) minimize conduction losses, delivering high-efficiency power transfer in all modes of operation.

Solar Power World

Exosun, a provider of solar tracking technologies for utility-scale ground-mounted solar plants, has signed agreements with three major players in the renewable energy field to supply trackers for four new PV plants in France.

These solar plants, totaling 20 MW of installed power, will allow to rehabilitate four brownfields: two will be installed on landfills, another one on an abandoned gravel pit, and the fourth one on a derelict industrial site.  The  sites are expected to produce a total of 28,300 MWh annually, enough electricity to power close to 10,000 homes.

The plants will be equipped with Exosun’s Exotrack HZ horizontal single-axis solar trackers, motorized structures that orient photovoltaic panels toward the sun throughout the day, to significantly increase solar plant output in comparison to fixed-tilt structures.

In order to address soil settlement, typical of landfills, Exosun developed a new adjustable foundation system. This product adaptation preserves the integrity of waste containment, while guaranteeing optimum solar tracking.

In addition to supplying solar trackers, Exosun will be in charge of their commissioning planned for the summer of 2015.

Solar Power World

Heating, running water, air conditioning, these are standard features in most homes. What if solar was too? Home builder Lennar is actually teaming up with partners such as Enphase to make this a reality on new homes. We spoke with Paul Nahi of Enphase Energy and David Kaiserman of Lennar to learn more.

Solar Power World

Signaling the growing importance of solar energy to America’s future, the “State of American Energy Report” – released today by the American Petroleum Institute (API) – includes a comprehensive section on the rapid growth of the U.S. solar energy industry and its impact on our nation’s economy and environment.

According to the report, which included an assist from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar is now the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America. “Today, the U.S. has an estimated 20.2 GW of installed solar capacity, enough to effectively power nearly 4 million homes in the United States – or every single home in a state the size of Massachusetts or New Jersey – with another 20 GW in the pipeline for 2015-16.”

The report went on to say, “Solar energy is now more affordable than ever. According to SEIA/GTM Research, national blended average system prices have dropped 53% since 2010. Today, the solar industry employs 143,000 Americans and pumps more than $15 billion a year into the U.S. economy. This remarkable growth is due, in large part, to smart and effective public policies, such as the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Renewable Energy Standards (RES).”

The impact of solar energy on the environment has been equally impressive. “Solar helped to offset an estimated 20 million metric tons of harmful CO2 emissions in 2014, which is the equivalent of taking four million cars off U.S. highways, saving 2.1 billion gallons of gasoline or shuttering five coal-fired power plants,” the report stated. “When looking at America’s energy future, solar can be a real game changer, providing more and more homes, businesses, schools and government entities across the United States with clean, reliable and affordable electricity, while also helping states to meet proposed new obligations under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.”

Most importantly, the report predicted strong, continued growth in all sectors of the U.S. solar industry – residential, commercial, utility-scale and solar heating and cooling – over the next two years.

“The United States is in the midst of a new era in domestic energy abundance characterized by rising use of renewable energy and increased oil and natural gas production that is strengthening our economic outlook and enabling America to emerge as a global energy superpower,” said API President and CEO Jack Gerard. “It’s a remarkable transformation that has been made possible because America is uniquely rich in energy resources, a talented workforce and cutting-edge energy technologies.”

“Solar energy is one of America’s great success stories,” said SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch. “Last year, solar installations were 70 times higher than they were in 2006 – and today there’s nearly 30 times more solar capacity online nationwide. We’ve gone from being an $800 million industry in 2006 to a $15 billion industry today. The price to install a solar rooftop system has been cut in half, while utility systems have dropped by 70 percent. It took the U.S. solar industry 40 years to install the first 20 GW of solar. Now, we’re going to install the next 20 GW in the next two years. In fact, during every single week of 2015, we’re going to install more capacity than what we did during the entire year in 2006. Any way you look at it, solar energy is paying huge dividends for the economy, our environment and America’s future.”

Solar Power World

Mercom Capital Group llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector in 2014.

Total corporate funding into the solar sector encompassing venture capital/private equity (VC), debt and public market financing increased 175 percent in 2014 with $26.5 billion, compared to $9.6 billion in 2013.

Global VC investments more than doubled to $1.3 billion in 85 deals in 2014, compared to $612 million in 98 deals in 2013.

“The big story coming out of 2014 was the revival of capital markets – solar companies were able to access funding through multiple avenues like VC, public markets, IPOs and debt in record numbers, while the quest for lower cost of capital continued with Yieldcos and securitization deals. The solar sector has come a long way from being perceived  as a speculative high risk investment to attracting investors based on low risk attractive dividend yields,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Solar downstream companies saw the largest amount of VC funding in 2014 with $1.1 billion in 44 deals, accounting for 85 percent of venture funding. Investments in PV technology companies reached $75 million in 12 deals and Balance of Systems (BoS) companies were close behind with $73 million in seven deals. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) companies came in at $59 million in three deals, followed by thin film companies with $52 million in nine deals.

The Top 5 VC funded companies in 2014 were Sunnova Energy, a provider of residential solar service to homeowners through its network of local installation partners offering leases and PPAs, which raised a total of $505 million in three separate deals; followed by Sunrun, a provider of residential solar-power systems and third party finance, raising $150 million; Renewable Energy Trust Capital, a finance platform established to acquire and own solar projects and provide a single equity capital source, brought in $125 million; Sungevity, a provider of residential solar installations and third party finance, raised $72.5 million; and GlassPoint Solar, a provider of solar steam generators to the oil and gas industry for applications such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), raised $53 million.

A total of 119 VC investors were active in 2014, with 12 investors participating in more than one round in 2014 including: Acero Capital, Acumen Fund, DBL Investors, E.ON, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Novus Energy Partners, Omidyar Network, SolarCity, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Trident Capital, Vision Ridge Partners and Vulcan Capital.

Public market financing increased considerably to $5.2 billion in 52 deals in 2014, up from just $2.8 million in 39 deals in 2013. In 2014 seven IPOs brought in more than $2 billion combined including, Vivint Solar, Scatec Solar, Thai Solar Energy and Sky Solar. Yieldcos accounted for three of the IPOs for $1.5 billion going to Abengoa Yield, Terraform Power and NextEnergy Solar Fund.

Announced debt financing in 2014 totaled almost $20 billion in 58 deals, compared to $6.2 billion in 38 deals in 2013. China accounted for $15.8 billion of the debt activity.

Large-scale project funding announced in 2014  totaled $14.2 billion in 144 deals.  The largest project funding deal announced in 2014 was the $942 million loan raised by China WindPower Group for a portfolio of projects totaling 800 MW. Top investors in large-scale projects were Mizuho Bank with 12 projects and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with 10 projects.

Residential and commercial funds showed strong growth in 2014 with 34 announced funds totaling $4 billion. SolarCity, SunPower, Vivint Solar, SunEdison and Syncarpha Capital were top fundraisers in 2014.

Corporate M&A activity in solar totaled $4 billion in a record 116 transactions compared to $12.7 billion in 81 transactions in 2013. Consolidation activity continued among solar downstream companies with 57 transactions followed by manufacturers and equipment companies with 35 transactions. In a bid to vertically integrate, SolarCity made the most acquisitions in the last five years with seven, followed by First Solar and SunPower with six apiece. The largest M&A transaction in 2014 was the $1.2 billion acquisition of Hanwha Q CELLS Investment by Hanwha SolarOne, followed by Bluestar Elkem’s acquisition of REC Solar for  approximately $637 million. Danfoss acquired a 20 percent stake in SMA Solar Technology for $416 million; SolarCity acquired Silevo for $350 million and Solargise acquired a majority stake in Grapp Energies for $200 million.

Large-scale solar project acquisitions totaled $3.2 billion in 2014, compared to $1.7 billion in 2013. Transaction activity was up 46 percent year-over-year, with 163 deals in 2014. A total of 6.4 GW of large-scale solar projects were acquired in 2014. Good solar projects with solid returns continue to be in heavy demand and are being acquired at a record pace. Competition to acquire quality projects intensified with the emergence of Yieldcos.

The fourth quarter of 2014 was an active quarter for large-scale project development around the globe. Mercom tracked 241 project announcements totaling almost 9.5 GW for the quarter and 736 project announcements totaling 34.4 GW for 2014 in various stages of development globally.

To learn more about the report, visit: http://store.mercom.mercomcapital.com/product/2014-q4-solar-funding-report/

Solar Power World

Since the early 20th century, Americans have been working strenuously to harness the power of the sun and use it to supplement our dependence on fossil fuels.  By 1979, solar energy was even incorporated into the White House.  At the time, President Carter referred to this as “just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people: harnessing the power of the Sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.”

Solar Power World