Arizona Solar Center - Your Guide to Solar and Other Renewable Energy Sources in Arizona

Rumors of massive solar plant auctions in Brazil set for 2013 raced through U.S. renewable energy headlines last week to no avail. Brazil's federal government quashed the rumor that it might auction off multiple solar plant construction concessions, saying instead, that installed solar kilowatt costs in the country are still too high - by three to four times - to compete with other renewable energy sources. Government officials did express hope, however, that as solar material costs continue to decline, the government could begin solar auctions in a few years' time.

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On March 26th, 2012 the PHOTON Group (Aachen, Germany) released the results of an annual survey which estimates that solar photovoltaic (PV) cell production grew to 37.2 GW in 2011, a 36% increase over 2010 levels.

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The complete 2011 report can be found here: www.photongroup.com/PhotonLibraries/Annual_Reports/Photon_Group_Annual_Report_2011.sflb.pdf

As widely expected, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has ruled in favor of American solar manufacturers, who accused Chinese rivals of benefiting unfairly from their own export subsidies. Unexpectedly, though, are the modest numbers - just 3 to almost 5 percent countervailing duties (CVD). We've read through the decision and asked a handful of industry watchers what the main takeaways should be.

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The emirate of Dubai on Monday unveiled plans to build a 12 billion dirham solar energy park, with potential capacity of 1,000 megawatts as part of its efforts to reduce its energy reliance. Under Dubai's Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, it plans to reduce energy imports and climate warming carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

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Many stocks in Canada's battered green energy sector may be set for gains in early 2012 as the Ontario government wraps up its review of the generous rates paid to producers and provides investors with much needed clarity. Like Germany, Canada's most populous province pays well above market rates for solar, wind and other renewable power under its feed-in tariff (FIT) program, in a bid to spur development of a local green energy industry. Those rates are widely expected to fall after the review, which follows a provincial election in which the high cost of green power was a flashpoint. Projects that are already in operation or near commissioning will not be affected by the new tariff, as they are locked into long-term power purchase agreements under the old regime. But analysts said there may be upside lurking in companies with early-stage projects, to which investors are currently assigning little or no value.

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Hopes that demand for solar energy equipment in Germany would rise significantly were dashed and led to disappointing third-quarter earnings, reported several Chinese manufacturers on Tuesday. The market will continue to see a bumper crop of solar panels in the next quarter or two, along with more mergers or potential bankruptcies.

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SolarWorld Industries America Inc., the largest domestic producer of solar cells, petitioned the federal government this week to counter the unfair trade balance associated with highly subsidized solar cells and panels from China. The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing, which represents a coalition of seven U.S. manufacturers of solar cells and panels, constituting a significant portion of U.S. production of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels, filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission in regards to what it calls- illegal Chinese trade practices.

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It will cost just over £7m and nothing quite like it has been built in London before. But the most striking feature of the latest addition to the capital's streetscape is that it will generate enough electricity to power about 300 houses every year.

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A computer-generated image of Blackfriars railway station across the
Thames, covered with 4,400 solar panels. Photograph: SolarCentury

China has announced its first nationwide feed-in tariff for solar projects in a step that underscores the determination of the world's biggest energy user to move toward renewable energy. Beijing has made renewable energy a keystone of its energy policy and aims to raise solar power capacity tenfold in the next five years.

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In a shift that reflects broader developments across Japan - the Nippon Paper plant will change the way it gets its power. Oil furnaces that provided much of its electricity before the tsunami will be mothballed in favour of cleaner-burning biomass generators.

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The Advanced Energy Storage and Utilization and System (AESUS) will allow solar power and wind energy producers to store energy during peak production and release it during peak consumption. W2 Energy, Inc. announces that the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (azrise.org) at the University of Arizona has prepared its laboratory to test the AESUS.

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TÜV Rheinland (with offices in Tempe, AZ) will present its new services for the testing of solar modules and components, as well as services for investors and power plant construction at the Intersolar Europe 2011 trade fair in Munich.

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Suntech Power (STP) has been donating solar power on a small scale to schools, community centers and even a base at the bottom of Mt Everest in Tibet for many years. Yesterday they announced a larger scale 10MW solar project in Chek Kang village.

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It is official: China is now the world's largest consumer of energy. And its twelfth five-year plan will set annual GDP growth at 7.0% for the next five years. The plan also outlines a tectonic shift in the structure of the Chinese economy away from export-oriented manufacturing in the face of unstable external demand, towards a service-based economy with more domestic consumption.

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The European Union's (EU) 27 countries will exceed their target of meeting 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, according to an analysis from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

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Enbridge, Inc. and First Solar, Inc. have recently completed expansion of a solar panel installation in Sarnia, Ontario, making it the largest PV installation in the world. The site, which previously operated at a capacity of 20MW, is now capable of producing 80MW of solar electricity.

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The Copenhagen Accord and agreements among G20 nations to phase out subsidies to fossil fuels is a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to reach a goal of energy sustainability, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka, speaking during the release of IEA's annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) report in London.

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Arizona-based First Solar Inc. has announced the grand opening of the largest operational solar photovoltaic installation in the world, the 80-megawatt Sarnia Solar Project in the province of Ontario, Canada.

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The global PV market is forecast to exceed 16 GW in 2010, according to recently released projections from IMS Research. Demand for PV systems is predicted to more than double in 2010, with the top five markets accounting for more than 13 GW, although slower growth is predicted in 2011.

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Global subsidies for fossil fuels dwarf support given to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power and biofuels, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.

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