[amor de cosmos]

Punjab government awards 250 MW in new projects to 26 developers
24. July 2013 | Global PV markets, Markets & Trends | By: Edgar Meza

India continues to expand solar power generation as the state of Punjab approves 250 MW of new solar projects as part of achieving its 1 GW goal in four years.

The Indian state of Punjab has awarded 250 MW of solar projects to 26 private developers who are set to invest between US$420 million and US$500 million in the ventures.

According to Indian daily The Economic Times, the list of project investors includes Lanco Solar Energy, Punj Lloyd Infrastructure, Moser Baer Clean Energy, Essel Infra Projects, Asopus Infrastructure, Welspun Solar Punjab and Azure Urja.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the state has “set a target to generate at least 1,000 MW power from renewable resources of energy like solar, biomass, co- generation, mini-hydel and solar roof tops in the next four years," The Economic Times reported.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...ers_100012147/

Arizona leads US in per capita solar
24. July 2013 | Markets & Trends, Top News, Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers | By: Edgar Meza

Solar generation is on the rise in the U.S. and Arizona has become the leading state in terms of solar capacity per capita, but it now appears to be reversing course.

A new report published by the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center shows that the U.S. state of Arizona now leads the nation in solar electricity capacity per capita, but recent moves by the state's utility regulator may rein its recent progress.

With 167 W of solar capacity per resident, Arizona boasts nearly seven times as much solar capacity per person as the national average, according to the report, "Lighting the Way: What We Can Learn from America's Top 12 Solar States."

The report points out that Arizona's solar energy success is due in part to its early commitment to solar energy – it was the first state to require utilities to obtain a certain percentage of their electricity from solar energy.

Arizona also ranks second in the nation (behind California) in large, utility-scale solar energy projects. As of May 2013, Arizona had 633 MW of utility-scale solar energy capacity, with another 495 MW under construction.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...lar_100012145/

Hareon Solar to build 300MW solar cell plant in Taiwan
By Mark Osborne - 24 July 2013, 10:10
In News, Fab & Facilities, Cell Processing

A potential shift by Chinese PV manufacturers to avoid anti-dumping duties in the US and EU as well as in India has started with plans by Hareon Solar to build a 300MW solar cell plant in Taiwan.

The China-based company has signed an memorandum of understanding with Mascotte Holdings, which acquired polysilicon start-up, Sun Mass Energy, last year. Sun Mass Energy has yet to start production due to technical difficulties related to hydrofluoric acid recycling facilities needed but is expected to start production at its 2,000MT plant later in 2013. Hareon Solar had previously expected to be a key customer of Sun Mass Energy.

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/hareon_s...lant_in_taiwan

Twelve US solar states prove effectiveness of policy
By Felicity Carus - 24 July 2013, 01:01
In News, Market Watch

The impact of policy on the growth of solar was underscored today by a new report examining the effect of state mandates and incentives on the industry.

The report from the Environment America Research & Policy Centre named the top 12 states which lead on solar initiatives and installations.

The "dazzling dozen" states account for only 28% of the US population but 85% of the installed capacity.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Vermont – possess strong policies that are enabling increasing numbers of homeowners, businesses, communities and utilities to “go solar,” the report said.

"The pathway to a solar future laid out by the Dazzling Dozen is open to every state," said the report. "By following their lead and implementing a new wave of public policies to expand access to solar energy, the United States can work toward the goal of getting at least 10% of our energy from the sun by 2030."

Lighting the Way: What We Can Learn from America’s Top 12 Solar found broad-ranging consistencies in effective policy among the dozen states:
• 11 of the 12 leading states have strong net metering policies;
• 11 of the 12 states have renewable electricity standards;
• nine have solar carve outs;
• 10 have strong statewide interconnection policies;
• the majority of the top solar states allow for creative financing options such as third-party power purchase agreements and property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing.

Rob Sargent, energy programme director with Environment America, said: “The sky’s the limit on solar energy. The progress of these states should give us the confidence that we can do much more. Being a leader in pollution-free solar energy means setting big goals and backing them up with good policies.”

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/twelve_s...ness_of_policy

Industry Perspective: Tips to entering the US solar market
Written by Haresh Patel 24 July 2013

Last week marked the fifth Intersolar in San Francisco. And, despite the fact that I spent much of the week in meetings instead of on the show floor, the news that seemed to linger in the air everywhere I went were the epic fails of Gehrlicher and Conergy. For those of us that work closely with European developers, the news was a sharp reminder that even the most experienced players can be brought to theirs knees by a flawed entrance strategy.

http://www.solarnovus.com/industry-p...ket_N6798.html

U.K.’s Biggest Clean Energy IPO Raises $460 Million
24 July 2013

July 24 (Bloomberg) — The Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd., raised 300 million pounds ($460 million) in the U.K.’s biggest initial public offering of a clean-power company, to invest in solar and onshore wind projects.

The proceeds from the share sale on the London Stock Exchange will be used to buy 14 onshore wind farms and four solar photovoltaic plants with a combined capacity of 276 megawatts, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. The projects are in the U.K., France and Ireland.

“TRIG’s diversified portfolio of high quality operational onshore wind and solar photovoltaic generation assets will provide investors with the potential to secure an attractive long-term, stable, inflation-linked yield,” Helen Mahy, non-executive chairman of the company, said in the statement.

http://about.bnef.com/bnef-news/u-k-...s-460-million/

Investec to invest US$813 million in South Africa renewables
By Lucy Woods - 24 July 2013, 11:19
In News, Power Generation, Finance

Specialist bank Investec is investing ZAR8 billion (US$813 million) in South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP).

Robert Gecelter from Investec's project and infrastructure finance team said the funding amount for solar has not been decided yet, but most of the funding is likely to go to concentrated solar power as well as a number of PV projects and also wind.

The funding will go towards the third round of bids under the REIPPP programme, which is due to close on 19 August and expected to allocate 400MW of PV.

In total, 27 PV projects were selected in the first and second rounds of the programme, worth over 1GW of capacity.

In total the REIPPPP has set a target of installing 3,725MW of renewable-energy capacity by the end of 2016.

According to Bloomberg, Investec has already invested ZAR20 billion in clean energy in south Africa.

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/investec...can_renewables