Ukraine to see $53 million worth of solar power installations

A Czech group of companies has announced its intention to invest 400 million Euros ($52.92 million) for the construction of solar power plants in the Ukraine. Ekotechnik Czech will put up around 160 megawatts worth of solar power plants in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast region, reported the Khmelnytskyi Oblast State Administration. The Ukrainian authorities will lease approximately 400 hectares of land in over 14 districts to the company for...

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Flisom to build 15 MW thin film solar production plant

Swiss thin film solar manufacturer Flisom has secured funding to further develop their modules technology. Flisom, which focuses on copper-indium-galium-selenide or C.I.G.S. technology, will also be using this funding to build a production plant with an annual capacity of 15 megawatts. This third funding round was completed with participation from a Swiss investor, along with existing strategic investor,...

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E.U. can be 100% renewable by 2050 – W.W.F.

A new World Wildlife Fund report found that the European Union could be fully powered by renewable energy by 2050. To be able to achieve this, W.W.F. suggested Europe needs to reduce its energy consumption by over one third and generate almost half of its energy from renewables by 2030. According to the report, “Putting E.U. on Track for 100% Renewable Energy”, the region has significant untapped potential...

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Romania Wind Energy: Windows of opportunity and financing challenges

According to a recent study done by Ernst & Young, Romania is one of the most lucrative countries in Europe for investors in wind energy. This is partially due to their green certificates market which gives tradable green certificates to producers of renewable energy. For wind power producers, this means they get two green certificates for every megawatt of wind power till January 1st 2018. Afterwards, every megawatt...

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BYD electric buses certified for European market

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has received approval to sell its electric buses in the European Union. The company has obtained a Whole Vehicle Type Approval from the European Commission which means that BYD does not need to get individual national approval for its buses before selling them to the E.U. member states. According to a company statement, this will help ensure the successful implementation...

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German P.V. installations hit record high in 2012

New solar photovoltaic installations in Germany reached a record high in 2012 despite cuts in subsidies. According to a Reuters report, data from the Federal Environment Ministry showed that Germany’s solar P.V. installationa increased by more than 7.6 gigawatts in 2012, surpassing the previous records of 7.5 GW in 2011 and 7.4 GW in 2010. The booming solar industry in Germany is usually attributed to the...

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Iberdrola sells wind farms in France for $463 million

An international consortium is buying 32 wind farms in France from Iberdrola. GE Energy Financial Services, asset manager MEAG and EDF Energies Nouvelles are purchasing this portfolio of onshore wind farms for around €350 million ($463.2 million), plus an earn-out of €50 million ($66.31 million), depending on production over the next five years. The farms, which are spread throughout France, were commissioned...

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European Commission grants $1.59 billion for renewable energy demonstration projects

The European Commission gave out over 1.2 billion euro ($1.59 billion) in grants this week to 23 “highly innovative” renewable energy demonstration projects in a bid to boost the development of clean technologies in the European Union. The funds were taken from revenues obtained from the sale of 200 million emissions allowances from new participants’ reserve of the E.U. Emissions Trading System. The funding will deliver...

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U.S. adds anti-dumping duties to wind turbine towers from China and Vietnam

Fresh off the heels of imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar manufacturers (see related story), the U.S. Department of Commerce has again found foreign manufacturers of renewable energy technologies to be selling their products at unfairly low prices. This time, the Commerce Department found that manufacturers of wind turbine towers from both China and Vietnam dumped the products in the United States, materially...

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E.U. on track to meet 20% renewable energy target by 2020 - report

The European Union is most likely to meet its 20 percent renewable energy target by 2020, according to a new report from the EurObserv'ER Barometer program. The program, which measures the progress in renewable energy deployment in member states of the E.U., found that the share of renewables in the gross final energy consumption of the E.U. climbed from 12.5 percent in 2010 to 13.4 percent in 2011, an increase of 0.9 points...

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