Industry news

Elon Musk’s solar system powerhouse SolarCity and the Norwegian solar energy provider REC Group recently announced that they will be expanding upon their earlier supply agreement — all the way up to the rather large figure of 220 MW worth of solar panel through 2015. The new announcement follows rather closely on the heels of the initial agreement between the

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The Iranian defense minister on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first-ever factory manufacturing various types of rechargeable lithium batteries for both military and civilian applications. In the factory’s inaugural ceremony, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said it has been set up by local experts of the Organization of Energy Resources Promotion, a subsidiary of the country’s Defense Ministry, Tasnim News Agency reported.

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After thrust, components dedicated to control the temperature inside the car (air con and heating) rank second when it comes to electric energy consumption in EVs. Both, air conditioning and heating are loading down the battery and thus reduce the driving range if they are used. In a research project, the Hohenstein Institute collaborates with research institutes FILK (Freiberg, Saxony)

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Trina Solar Limited today announced that its high-efficiency Honey solar module has set a new world record for peak power output for P-type monocrystalline silicon PV modules, as independently certified by TUV Rheinland. The module was developed in the Company’s State Key Lab of PV Science and Technology and is composed of 60 156mm x 156mm high-efficiency Honey monocrystalline silicon

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The noted multinational utility company Iberdrola will be investing more than €1 million into a new floating offshore wind energy project to be located in the UK, as per recent reports. The new project is being developed with the aid of researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and the public-private organization Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The project

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Hyundai and its corporate cousin Kia are planning to launch a pair of plug-in hybrid cars according to the Korean Car Blog, fueling rumors that a new Prius fighter is coming from the brand. Is it finally happening?The evidence is flimsy, but it’s there according to the KBC, which quotes Hyundai R&D vice chairman Yang Woong-Chul as saying; “We will

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In June and July of 2014, the US Department of Commerce announced its intention to impose duties on Chinese and Taiwanese solar PV manufacturing imports. This followed on from a previous trade decision reached towards the end of 2012 to impose duties on Chinese produced crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. And, as was the case following the 2012 decision, Chinese

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Times of India has reported from Bangalore that an e-tendering process for solar power projects organized by the State Government of Karnataka was completed within 40 seconds. The news is particularly important because at stake were tenders for 300 MW of solar projects (announced under the state policy this year) worth over $330 million! Needless to say, the process drew

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Last week, we reported the debut of the Tesla Model D, a dual motor version of the Model S that comes in three flavors: 60D, 85D and a high performance version, the P85D. Adding the second motor to the 60D and 85D is not done quite the way you might think. Out comes the standard 302 horsepower rear motor and

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A report prepared for the European Commission has found that onshore wind power provides the cheapest source of energy once external factors such as air quality, health impacts and expenditure, and the costs of climate change are taken into consideration. The report’s authors found that onshore wind costs around $133 per MW/h to produce, whereas gas and coal cost up

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