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Originally published on Lenz Blog. Craig Morris at Renewables International discusses some interesting numbers on the regional differences in the cost of wind and solar energy in Germany. The big picture is that wind is cheaper in the north, and solar is cheaper in the south. For solar, that makes sense. Solar resources are better in the south. For wind,

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Maxwell Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a $2.68 million cost-shared technology development contract by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC) to develop a high-performance hybrid ultracapacitor/lithium-ion battery for stop-start idle-elimination microhybrid autos. Maxwell, which will provide 51 percent of the program funding, is tasked with demonstrating the technological and economic feasibility of a 12-volt

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Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) today announced it will expand its manufacturing capacity in Chengdu, China, with a 300mm wafer bumping facility. The addition of this manufacturing process in Chengdu further increases TI’s 300mm analog capacity and its ability to support customer demand. TI announced the new operation today in concert with an event celebrating the grand opening of its seventh

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SunPower Corp. expanded its product portfolio for its residential customers with the acquisition of SolarBridge Technologies, Inc., a maker of integrated microinverter technologies for the solar industry. SunPower will utilize this technology to develop next-generation microinverters for use with SunPower’s high efficiency solar panels. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Based in Austin, Texas, SolarBridge has developed a highly-reliable

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Gallium nitride is difficult to produce and difficult to handle – and the key to the development of blue LEDs, which won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. The award went to three Japanese researchers who were the first to produce high-quality gallium nitride (GaN) layers and put them into series production back in 1993. Now, researchers and engineers around

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During electronica 2014, First Resistor & Condenser Co., Ltd. (Firstohm) will showcase the world’s first surge absorber in 0204 MELF packaging and wirewound resistors with enhanced anti-surge capability. Both products echo Firstohm’s product development focus – smaller circuit designs and rising demand for circuit protection. Traditionally, in operating environment where capability of high-power handling is required, wirewound resistor is usually

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Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced the release of a new series of X1 electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression film capacitors with voltage ratings of 330Vac and 480Vac for standard X1 across-the-line applications (50 Hz / 60 Hz) in industrial power electronics. The F339X1 480 V capacitor released today features an internal series construction designed for a high grade of capacitance stability, thus

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Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (AOS) announced the release of the fifth-generation EZBuck™ with the AOZ3103, a high efficiency, simple-to-use synchronous buck regulator, with an operating input voltage range from 4.5V to 18V and the ability to supply 3A of continuous current. The device offers a low on-resistance power stage in a thermally enhanced 3mm x 3mm DFN package, allowing

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International Rectifier Corp. (IR) announced the expansion of its StrongIRFET™ MOSFET portfolio to include 75V devices for a wide variety of industrial applications including power tools, light wlectric vehicle (LEV) inverters, dc motor drives, Li-ion battery pack protection, hot-swap and switched mode power supply secondary-side synchronous rectification. Recommended: IGBT Modules Rated to 450A for High-Power Industrial Applications The new family

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