Westlands offers plan to retire 24,000 acres for solar power

fresnobee.com
The Westlands Water District is forging ahead with efforts to plan a solar energy park on thousands of acres of poor farmland in Kings County. The water district is partnering with Westside Holdings LLC to prepare a detailed environmental impact report and master plan for the proposed 24,000-acre Westlands Solar Park. The environmental work sets the stage for private solar companies to build individual projects to generate electricity on farmland the district has earmarked for retirement because of poor drainage and high levels of salt in the groundwater and the soil. (...) A notice filed by Westlands to notify the state and other agencies of the plans indicates that development is anticipated in 200-megawatt increments over 12 years. At total buildout, the power-generating capacity of the solar park would be about 2,400 megawatts of electricity.

Dia Internacional do Sol na Faculdade de Ciências

Para assinalar o Dia Internacional do Sol, dia 3 de Maio, a APREN e a Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa organizam uma mesa redonda subordinada ao tema “O Aproveitamento energético do Sol”.
Esta iniciativa insere-se no Ciclo de Mesas Redondas, A APREN e as Universidades – Celebração dos dias temáticos, promovido pela APREN, que decorrerá em diversas universidades do país, com o objectivo de promover o debate em torno das questões relacionadas com as diversas energias renováveis: biomassa, solar, eólica e hídrica.
A sessão terá lugar no Anfiteatro da Fundação da FCUL, da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, com o seguinte programa:

10:30 – 10:45 António Sá da Costa, APREN – Associação Portuguesa de Energias Renováveis
10:45 – 11:00 António Vallera, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
11:00 – 11:15 Helder Serranho, APREN – Associação Portuguesa de Energias Renováveis e Generg
11:15 – 11:30 Cláudio Monteiro, APISOLAR - Associação Portuguesa da Indústria Solar
11:30 – 11:45 Carlos Sampaio, APESF - Associação Portuguesa das Empresas do Sector Fotovoltaico
11:45 – 12:50 Debate
12:50 – 13:00 Conclusões

As inscrições são gratuitas e devem ser realizadas através do e-mail comunicacao@apren.pt.

Germany to start subsidies for solar power storage systems in May 2013

SolarServer
The German solar industry welcomes the federal government's announcement that it will support battery systems to accompany solar photovoltaic (PV) generation beginning in May 2013. Germany will subsidize the purchase of new battery storage systems with up to EUR 660 (USD 870) per kWp. In the first year the KfW banking group will provide EUR 25 million (USD 33 million) in funding. (...) The new subsidies also specify that solar energy systems combined with subsidized storage must reduce their output to 60% for the entire payment period. This will allow plant operators to help avoiding production peaks.

Renewable Energy Database - The World Bank

The World Bank
This website collects data on private participation in renewable energy in developing countries. It is part of the PPI Database and applies the same research methdology. The renewable energy section provides researchers with detailed, renewable-specific information on over 900 projects that were implemented between 1993 and 2011. The PPI Database is a flagship World Bank knowledge product widely used in research and analyses of infrastructure development. The purpose is to inform stakeholders on key trends regarding private in the renewable energy sector.

Japan to Become Largest Solar Market After China, BNEF Says

Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Japan will probably become the largest solar market in the world after China this year, boosted by an incentive program that offers above-market rates for energy from renewable sources. Commercial and utility-scale projects will boost solar installations to a range of 6.1 gigawatts to 9.4 gigawatts in 2013, exceeding an earlier forecast of 3.2 gigawatts to 4 gigawatts, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in a research note. (...) The forecast reflects the push by Japan to find alternative sources of energy following the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, which prompted the closure of all but two of the nation’s nuclear reactors. Japan in July began offering incentives through feed-in tariffs to encourage investments in energy sources such as wind and solar.

World's 'Most Attractive' Incentives Will Bump Japan's Solar Status

SolarIndustryMag.com
The Japanese photovoltaic market is set to grow by 120% this year, with more than 5 GW of new capacity expected, according to a new report from IMS Research (part of IHS Inc.). Benefiting from the world's most attractive PV incentive policy, Japan's solar market is currently booming, with installations expected to exceed 1 GW in the first quarter alone, causing it to become the second largest market in 2013.
Japan's PV market currently benefits from a feed-in tariff (FIT) paying up to 42 yen/kWh [0.42€/kWh at today's exchange rate], even though this rate is likely to be reduced by approximately 10% beginning April 1.
"At 42 yen, Japan's FIT is by far the most attractive globally - overly generous, perhaps, which could lead to overheating of the market," explains Ash Sharma, senior director of solar research at IHS.
"And while a 10 percent reduction in tariffs is widely expected by industry players, this will have little effect on both internal rates of return and market demand," Sharma continues. "Furthermore, many systems that have already applied for the higher FIT are able to benefit from this rate of 42 yen, even if they are installed after April 1."
The report reveals that installations are estimated at over 1 GW in the first quarter of 2013 - the final quarter of Japan's fiscal year - and forecast to exceed 5 GW for the whole of 2013. This would see Japan leapfrog ahead of Germany, Italy and the U.S. to become the world's second largest PV market.

Chinese Subsidiary of Suntech Power Declares Bankruptcy

NYTimes.com
The main subsidiary of Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, collapsed into bankruptcy in a remarkable reversal for what had been part of a huge Chinese government effort to dominate renewable energy industries.

Suntech, a centerpiece of the country’s efforts, had grown to 10,000 employees in its hometown, Wuxi, on China’s east coast, and even set up a small factory in Arizona to assemble panels. But a tenfold expansion of Chinese solar panel manufacturing capacity from 2008 to 2012 pushed down the price of solar panels about 75 percent, undermining the economics of the business. (...) The rapid expansion of natural gas production in the United States and a curtailment of subsidies in the European Union also hurt prices, as did the United States’s imposition of import tariffs totaling about 40 percent after an antidumping and antisubsidy investigation last year. The European Union is completing its own trade investigation of Chinese solar panel shipments that could lead to steep tariffs there as well.
After Suntech grew spectacularly, with production that soared year after year on heavy investment, and after Western investors bought up its New York-traded shares and its international debt issues, the company was battered by plummeting prices as the overall manufacturing industry sank.(...) Chinese banks quietly asked a court in Wuxi on Monday to declare the operating subsidiary, Wuxi Suntech, insolvent and begin reorganizing it. The subsidiary notified the court on Wednesday that it did not object to the insolvency petition. Suntech Power, the parent, said that it was not filing for bankruptcy and would continue to honor warranties on the company’s solar panels. The bankruptcy filing is widely expected to lead to a takeover of the Wuxi operations by Wuxi Guolian Development Group, a financial conglomerate controlled by the city government of Wuxi.

More details:

Suntech Defaults On 3% Convertible Notes, Signaling Further Financial Trouble

Suntech Subsidiary Files For Insolvency In China, Plans RestructuringSuntech Solar Update: Wuxi Becomes Board Member, Jiangsu Approves Bankruptcy

Chinese Government Considers Reducing Subsidies For Large Solar Projects